Horse colors: what are the names of colors, a list of colors

The hairline of horses differs not only in texture and density, but also in color. The colors of domestic horses depend on several factors. These are the distinguishing features of each animal, although sometimes visually similar coats have a different combination of dyes or pigments. Often animals of different colors require certain conditions of keeping, care, feeding.

Basic horse colors

In modern horse breeding, only four suits are considered basic.

Crow

Black or black as a raven's wing is one of the basic colors of horses. Can be distinguished:

• classic black; mane, tail, hooves are black, no inclusions, except for the limbs and muzzle;
• in tan - lighter than the classic version, unstable pigment is destroyed by sunlight, a brown tint appears;
• ash-black - looks black, but in bright light casts brown, chestnut, smoky;
• black piebald - spotted, with a clear predominance of black color, tail and mane can be two-tone;
• silver-black - silvery tail and mane of the same color, clarified body with apples are acceptable.

An example of black breeds are representatives of the Frisians and Ariejoises. Other colors are not allowed on these horses.

Redhead

The red suit has the largest number of tints or shades. Among the horses of this color, you can see animals of various colors. As a rule, these are horses of sand, yellow, apricot and chestnut colors.The color of the manes and tails differs from the color of the body in a darker or lighter tone.

In red horses, the lower part of the legs, from the hoof to the hock, must match the color of the body. On this basis, they are easy to distinguish from bay animals with black limbs.

Red color is characteristic of many breeds. It is worth noting the red Suffolan heavy trucks. Approximately 80% of the livestock of the famous Donchaks has golden wool. This color is typical for most horses of the Budennovskaya breed.

Grey

Several factors are responsible for the gray color of horses. Usually this shade gives a combination of white and black hairs. In order for a gray foal to be born, one of its parents must also be of this color. Sometimes offspring of various stripes are born, but carrying the gene for early graying. And the black foal that was born in 3-4 years becomes gray.With age, some individuals turn white, but differ from whites in gray skin color.

Animals of this color may develop lighter rounded spots, the so-called "apples". Their borders repeat the grid of subcutaneous blood vessels. In addition to gray in apples, there are horses gray in buckwheat. Gray horses are characteristic of many breeds. The Lipizzan horse is widely known. More than half of the livestock of the Oryol trotting breed also have a gray color.

Bay

The bay color is considered the most common in the horse world. Animals of different shades of brown with black limbs, mane, tail belong to this suit.

In ancient people, the color was associated with the smell of burning, fire blazing in the steppe, its charred black edges. All this was expressed by the Latin word "nidor". Later, the name was transformed into nidor, bay, bay. Can be distinguished:

• light bay horses with lightened muzzle, underbelly and an admixture of brown hair in manes and tails;
• dark bay horses with almost black head, neck, back.

The Cleveland bay horse is known all over the world. Often this color goes to simple outbred animals, which receive the uncomplicated nickname Gnedko.

What other suits are there

In addition to the four main colors, horses have other color options. Their appearance depends on a certain combination of genes. They are usually called otmastkami and (or) apprentices.

Savrasaya

Horses of a faded red or sandy color, with a dark belt along the back and a lighter belly, black legs, mane, tail belong to animals of the Savras suit. It is believed that savras horses were the ancestors of bay horses and represent a light bay color with a variety of yellow hues.In Russian literature, the nickname of the village workhorse Savrasky was also fixed.

Nightingale

Nightingale horses differ from other otmastok yellow or golden color of the body and a lighter mane and tail. In light-s alted individuals, the eyes can be brown, amber, and very rarely blue. In Europe, horses of this color are called palamino.

Karakova

One of the darkest shades of the bay color. Mane, tail, upper body - black. Under the armpits of the animal, in the groin there are red hair, and near the eyes there are scorch marks. Their boundaries should be clearly visible. It is by them that caracal animals can be distinguished from black and bay.

Isabella

If you look at an Isabella horse, it may seem that the color of the animal resembles baked milk with a pinkish tint, since the skin color is pink. Eyes with this color are blue.

The genetics of the appearance of this color is associated with bulan and nightingal colors, it is found in all breeds where there are horses of these colors. The name is associated with the name of the Queen of Spain, Isabella, who ruled in the second half of the 15th century. She, according to her vow, wore an undershirt for three years. The color of this piece of royal attire gave the suit its name.

This is also due to the fact that it was during her reign that horses of yellow shades became fashionable. Newborn foals have white coats, pink skin and blue eyes. Isabella Akhal-Teke horses are unusually beautiful.

Piebald

Horses with free-form spots are skewbald. Perhaps the color is associated with a violation of the pigmentation of the skin. In America, this option is called pinto. It is believed that spotted, "cow" color is more common among ordinary non-pedigreed horses or native breeds.

Playful

The body is brown or red, distinguished by a white tail and the same white mane, a small amount of red hair is acceptable. Relate to variations of the red color. It is very common in heavy breeds, such as the Soviet Heavy Truck and Noriker.

Bulanaya

Horses of this color can be with hair from light golden to dirty yellow-brown. But the color of the limbs, as well as the tail and mane, must necessarily be not just dark, but black. There are dark brown individuals in apples.

Kauraya

Very often in Russian fairy tales they remember the prophetic kaurka. We are talking about a red horse with a red belt and darker than the whole body, brownish mane and tail. Very often this color is called red-savras. There may be markings inherited from wild ancestors, such as zebroid.

White

White horses are distinguished by this coat color from the moment they are born, that is, from birth. The skin is pink, it is by it that they can be distinguished from light gray, in which the skin is gray. Not albinos, which are characterized by red eyes and being born unviable.

Other

Besides those listed, there are other colors:

• cherry - a beautiful bay suit;
• fuzzy - animals with lightened areas of hair near the eyes, nose, on the insides of the legs, stomach;
• Chubary - individuals in small spots; can be among animals of all colors. The skin is often pink, with small patches of dark color. This suit is typical for knabstruppers, they have leopard, marble, black-backed variations.

Horses also have "special signs":

• on the head - stars, grooves;
• on the limbs - pants, socks, stockings;
• on the body - belts, tan marks, underlegs.

The relationship of color and character

Color names are not directly related to the nature of animals. Red horses have been considered hardy, loyal, and docile for centuries. Blacks were difficult, and light grays or whites were considered too pampered.

For many years, red animals were attributed to the temperament of sanguine, blacks were considered melancholic, and whites - phlegmatic. There is also an opposite opinion, according to which black horses are classified as phlegmatic, and red horses as choleric.

Turkmen and Arabian horse lovers highlight the excellent character of bay animals, they consider blacks too vicious, and grays too meek.

Beginner athletes or horse breeders should not be prejudiced against animals of one color or another. Connoisseurs say that a good horse does not have a suit or an expensive horse has a worthy suit, and the fashion for animals of one color or another quickly passes.

Reliable evidence of the dependence of character on the color of the horse has not been received. However, modern scientists have found that dark-colored horses are hardy and get sick less often. Their character is even, the psyche is stable. In this they differ from light-colored horses. The lack of pigmentation even in a small area makes animals vulnerable to various diseases. For example, gray horses are more likely to get melanosarcoma. Animals devoid of pigmentation or albinos die in the womb of a mare.

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