Among the huge variety of existing colors and styles of horses, red is one of the main ones. That is, it developed completely in natural conditions without human intervention. And only after this, in the course of painstaking selection work, breeders managed to obtain various characteristic colors in their horses. But no matter what the prevailing shade, “fiery” horses always look impressive and attract attention.
"Fire" horses
What is a horse's color?
A horse's color is a simultaneous combination of the horse's skin color and the color of its hair. Determining a horse's color is also influenced separately by the color of its legs, tail and mane. Color is one of the main individual differences between a horse. It can be compared to the fur of livestock, the color of cats, or the coat of dogs.
Color depends on genetics and is inherited from parents. It is determined not by one color, but by their combination and geometric relationship. For example, with the same body color, the color may differ depending on the color of the mane. Among dozens of different suits, there are several central ones.
What are the main types of horse color? These include bay, red, black and gray. At the same time, there are only two main pigments - black and red. Mixing them gives black, bay or red color, and the process of early graying of horses gives gray color.
Which horse colors are considered derivatives? These are all other horses whose colors are formed by mixing base breeds at the genetic level or changing the color of individual parts of the body. Spotted suits also form on base suits. So from the red one came the game and nightingale colors, from the black one - ash-raven and tanned black, and from the bay - karak and dun. Suits can be formed on wild savras suits, such as mouse and kauraya.
Genetics
When breeding, the selection rules are taken into account. Special pigments determined by genetics are responsible for the transmission of color. Gray color in horses at the genetic level is the strongest. In biology, such a trait is called dominant. The red color is “inferior” to it, that is, it is recessive. If a parent has a gray color, the children often look like him. The red color is obtained thanks to the protein pheomelanin.
The gene responsible for the “fiery” color is present in all breeds. It sometimes appears even after several generations. For example, chestnut foals are born to black mares and bay stallions because their ancestors had the gene responsible for the presence of pheomelanin.
If one of the parents is fiery and the other is not, the color of the offspring is difficult to know in advance, because the combination of genes is unpredictable. To obtain a suit, as a rule, parents of the same color are crossed.
Among the varieties of red color, game and isabella horses are less common. For this coloration, the Flaxen and Cremello genes must be expressed, respectively.
Voronaya
Black suit is a purely or predominantly black suit. Its description indicates a uniform black coloring of the head, body, limbs, mane and tail. Black color is found in most breeds. In some breeds, this color is the only possible color, for example, the Dutch Friesian horse. Other breeds, such as the Kladrub, have only two colors - black and gray. Black suit is a basic color and can be tested using a DNA test.
Although pure black does not provide for any color other than black, gray hair and tan are also distinguished. In the first case, the horse has white hair interspersed with it, which does not change color with age. In the case of tanning, ash-black hair at birth fades in the sun, its tips becoming reddish.
Black in tan - a type of black suit: Wikipedia
Breeds with this color
As already noted, horses with this coloration can appear in many breeds. But for certain breed lines, the red color is the main feature of the exterior and is found in most of its representatives. Among the variety of such horse breeds, several have gained particular popularity.
Budennovsky horses
These horses were bred on the territory of the USSR for the purpose of use in cavalry troops. Accordingly, in new generations, breeders sought to consolidate the following qualities:
- speed;
- endurance;
- a strong constitution;
- high growth.
Budennovsky stallion
Such stallions were trained especially carefully, as a result of which temperament and courage were fixed at the genetic level in the horses.
The specified set of advantages of the horse is complemented by an expressive brownish-red color. In some individuals it appears in combination with white spots on the forehead and limbs.
Today, cavalry regiments have not been used in combat for a long time. But the frisky, hardy Budennovsky stallions are still popular. They are used mainly in sports racing, where they show quite good results.
Akhal-Teke horses
Eastern Akhal-Teke horses are considered one of the most ancient horse breeds. Moreover, it should be noted that the red color is not considered prevalent for these animals. Here there are black, dark bay, mousey representatives of the breed line. But among them, golden, isabella and dun colors, which are derived from red, are especially valued.
Complements the spectacular color of the horse and its physique. Exterior features of Akhal-Teke stallions include:
- dry body, legs and neck;
- graceful forms;
- long, dry, but strong limbs;
- silky, iridescent coat;
- soft thin skin, under which blood vessels and muscles are clearly visible.
In addition to their outstanding appearance, Akhal-Teke horses are also valued for their speed, endurance, courageous and loyal character. In addition to the sports field, such animals are also often used in various parades and on television.
Suffolk horses
For Suffolian draft horses, the red color is the calling card of the breed. All its representatives have this color. The homeland of these mighty animals is the county of Suffolk, which is one of the administrative divisions of Great Britain. Agriculture is widely developed in this region of the country, so strong and hardy draft horses were bred as a significant help to local farmers.
Suffolian draft horses
Suffolian horses differ from other varieties of horses by their high stature, massive muscular body and neck, and minimal hair on their legs. But it is worth noting that the formidable appearance of such stallions does not fit well with their good-natured, patient disposition. In addition, despite their impressive dimensions, such animals eat quite little and are unpretentious in food.
Reference. Today, the area of their use in agriculture has expanded far beyond the borders of their native England.
Other breeds
In various variations, this color is found in many other breeds. Thus, among Breton and Soviet heavy trucks, brown color is typical. Moreover, most of these large, muscular stallions suggest exactly this coloring.
For the mighty Belgian draft horses, the game color is more typical. In addition to coloring, this animal also differs from others in the long hair on its legs, mane and tail. A similar color is often found among Haflingers.
Reddish coloring of horses also prevails in the Don, French riding breeds and among purebred trotters. Isabella color is considered the main color for the American cream variety, which was recently bred by breeders from the USA.
Red horses have always attracted attention with their bright “fiery” color. This color looks impressive and offers a number of options, among which golden, isabella, dun and others are especially popular. Moreover, this color is one of the main ones. It is determined in the foal at the genetic level and manifests itself in representatives of a wide variety of horse breed lines.
Redhead
This color is characterized by the red color of the body, tail and mane, while the shade of red horses can differ significantly from each other. Depending on the undertone, light red, dark red and brown colors are distinguished. The red color appears in almost all horse breeds, and such as the Don, Kabardian, Haflinger, Black Forest and Noriker horses have a unique red tint.
As with the black suit, one of the main suits, red, can be easily identified using a DNA test. At the same time, all possible shades of red color are tested as the basic red color, and there is no difference in the genotype of brown, light red, typically red or dark red at the genetic level. This test can be useful to separate dark brown horses from black horses.
About the history of the breed
The name of the breed was given in honor of Marshal Budyonny, who himself observed how the breed was created.
At first, attempts to use purebred mares as a basis failed. The influence of the mother on the offspring of horses is greater than the influence of the father, therefore, foals from purebred mares and Don sires were almost not adapted to herd keeping. Foals developed poorly in steppe conditions and could not be the basis for creating a breed.
Soviet horse breeders took a different tactic. To create the breed, with the support of the state, pure blood stallions and Don and Black Sea mares were used. An attempt was made to use steppe Kazakh mares, but it was not successful.
We visited young animals at the age of one and a half years. The best horses were sent to the army and to the cavalry school, which bore the name of Budyonny. Horses that showed good results were returned to stud farms for breeding. With the help of selection and training, such qualities of horses as good growth, strong physique, the breed of eastern horses, as well as the unusually beautiful red color were consolidated.
The Budennovsky breed was created for the army, therefore, the horses were brave, playful and temperamental. Endurance is another important property of this breed. Such horses could walk under saddle for a hundred kilometers a day, and then they even had enough strength to attack the enemy.
Nowadays, horses of the Budenovsky breed perform well at races, showing excellent results.
Mighty red Suffol horses
This breed is considered the oldest draft horse in England. The name of the breed is given from the name of the eastern English county where horses were bred back in the sixteenth century. According to historical records, this breed was intended for farmers. They were suitable for such strong horses that did not have hair on their legs, which was ideal for working on heavy clay soil.
The stallion Crisps is considered the founder of the breed. It is interesting that all Suffol horses are red horses.
Despite the massiveness of these horses, their maintenance is quite economical, and the rations are not so large.
At the age of two years, horses of this breed are already used for not very difficult work. These red heroes are very kind, have good health, and mares can bear offspring up to twenty years of age.
The Suffolian breed has long been used in many countries for agricultural work and as a draft horse.
Igrenovaya
The game color includes horses that have a red body color from light red to chocolate. The color of the mane and tail of these horses is white. The legs are pure tan or have white markings. The game color should not be confused with the illuminated red color. There are breeds that are characterized by a playful color: the Haflinger, the American Belgian breed and a rare breed of draft horses - the Black Forest horse.
Game suit: Wikipedia
bay
The bay color has a red or brown color to the body, neck and head. However, the lower part of the legs from hoof to hock, mane and tail are black. There are black hairs on the body that mix with the overall red color. Unlike the red or black base color, bay horses have both red and black pigment in their coat and hair. At the same time, black and red colors are clearly distinguishable. As a base color, bay color is easily identified by a DNA test for the presence of a special Agouti gene.
This is one of the most common horse colors. It is quite common among breeds, such as the Arabian, Thoroughbred Saddlebred, Russian Trotter, Oryol Trotter, and for some, the only one (Cleveland Bay Trotter). Often found in mongrel horses.
The role of genetic factors in the formation of suit
It is worth noting that the main reason for this color in horses is genetics. Special combinations of genes manifested in young animals determine the basic pigmentation of the animal’s body and coat. Moreover, such combinations can be inherited from parents to foals in both unchanged and mixed forms.
When transmitting colors through generations, individual forms of specific genes - alleles - play an important role. Moreover, each allele corresponds to its own pigment. For example, if the main pigment is pheomelanin, then the horse’s hair will be red. When the E allele is manifested, the eumelanin pigment is responsible for color. In this case, the horse's color will be black.
Diluent genes
According to standard rules, when crossing two chestnut horses, the foal will definitely be chestnut.
Red foal
Reference. When crossing red and black horses, the probability of the appearance of red young animals is 50%.
But there are exceptions to such rules. They occur when particularly rare diluent genes are found in combinations of animal genes. These include the following:
- Dun. Manifesting in the horse's genotype, the alleles of this gene provide foals with a brown color.
- Cremello. The presence of this gene in combination with the others determines the horse's color as Isabella.
- Flaxen. Horses with this gene in their genotype become playful as they grow older.
It is worth noting that the action of congenital genetic factors in some cases can also be influenced by others. So, under certain conditions of detention, an animal with a reddish color can become completely bay. In the same way, red horses turn into horses with completely black hair. Moreover, unlike seasonal lightening of the coat, such changes in the appearance of the horse remain with him forever.
Karakova
Horses of karak color have a black color of the head, body, legs, mane and tail, but there are also characteristic “tan marks” of a red color. They are located at the end of the snout, legs and groin. Only the horse that has bright and clearly distinguishable “tan marks” of red color can be classified as karak color. If they are brown or close to black in color, the color is considered bay.
Karak is a special shade of bay that is DNA tested in the same way as a horse's base bay color. Most often, the karak color is found among the Kabardian and Karachay breeds.
Classification and origin
The huge variety of colors of horses made it necessary to classify them. One of the first accepted in hippology is the classification of Hippocrates, which classifies black, red, bay and gray as the main or basic colors. Traditionally, the domestic horse breeding adhered to this classification. However, due to the fact that the teachings of Hippocrates were based on the ancient idea of the structure of the world from four elements, in modern science this classification is considered imperfect.
Today, Sponenberg’s classification is considered more accurate, and most importantly, scientifically sound. He identifies three main colors of horses: black, red and bay, explaining their occurrence by the action of two basic genes, Extension and Agouti. If they have other genes in their background, color variations, or so-called derived suits, are obtained.
- The Extension gene is considered “wild” because it is found in all wild equines. In genetics, it is designated by the letter E. When E is dominant, it leads to the synthesis of the black pigment zumelanin. Thus, a black (black) suit appears with the designation EE. If the e allele is recessive, it causes the synthesis of the red pigment pheomelanin. A horse carrying such an allele will have a red color with its designation.
- Agouti is a dominant allele designated A, which, as a result of its action, causes the appearance of the zumelanin pigment in some areas. Thus, the entire lower part of the legs and the protective hair are painted black. The rest of the integumentary hair remains under the action of pheomelanin. As a result, horses get a bay color, although at the genetic level they are black: the Agouti gene appears only if the E gene is present. If the Agouti gene is recessive, then the horse remains black.
All other genes identified by science act only against the background of two main ones, Extension and Agouti, and are divided into lightening genes and white hair genes. All horse colors formed by their action are called derivatives.
Bulanaya
The dun horse has a sandy-yellow body color, black mane, tail and lower legs. The eyes of horses of this color should be brown or amber. Shades of body color vary from almost white sand to dirty yellow. The lower part of the legs may not be pure black, but with a brown tint. On the spine of dun horses you can often see a black stripe - a “strap”.
The dun color is a derivative of the bay color. It arose due to the influence of the horse pigment illuminator gene. The color is typical for Akhal-Teke horses.
What color is the horse?
Before the widespread introduction of various machines into people's lives, the horse played a huge role in the history of the peoples inhabiting Russia. Until the middle of the 19th century. Horse breeding was one of the most important industries in the Russian economy. Today, a city dweller can only see a horse at the hippodrome or riding tourists and children during city holidays. The terms associated with the horse, once known to many, have also begun to be forgotten. Nowadays, few people are able to answer a question that seemed simple a century ago: what color is a brown horse?
Friesian horse, black color
Let's try to restore this gap together and remember what colors horses come in.
White suit. White horses have white skin and white fur. Dominant white (white) horses have dark brown or dark blue eyes.
Red color. The protective and outer hair is red (shades of red can be different: from golden-red to red-chocolate, almost black), the skin and hooves are dark.
Game suit. The outer coat is red, the mane and tail are completely white (there may be a small admixture of red hair at the base of the tail).
Red color with lightened protective hair. It is similar to the game, but in the mane and tail, in addition to the white fur, there is a large amount of red hair.
Connemara pony, or Connemara, dun color
Red color with zonal darkening . It looks like a red horse, but some parts of the horse's body are dark or black.
Narynj suit. This is what people call a red horse with a black mane and tail.
Nightingale suit. The horse is milky yellow in color with a white mane and tail.
Nightingale color with zonal darkening. Like the nightingale, but some parts of the body are darker or black.
Dark salt color. The body is yellow-brown with the same mane and tail.
Isabella suit. A light cream-colored horse with a slightly pinkish tint. Isabella horses always have blue eyes!
Perlino. This is sometimes called the Isabella color with a dark mane and tail.
Ash-black suit. The guard hair is chocolate-colored, the guard hair and the lower part of the legs are black, the eyes are amber-yellow, sometimes blue.
Trakehner horse, bay color
Ash-karak suit. Like karakova, but the color of the body is chocolate.
Damn suit. Characterized by a light yellow, ocher body, legs partially or entirely black. The mane and tail are also black. Sometimes dun ones are red-yellow in color. White strands in the mane at the withers and the head slightly lighter than the body will help to distinguish it from a light bay - typical differences between a dun and a bay.
Brown color with zonal darkening. Like the dun coat, but in some areas of the body there is a large admixture of black hair (on the withers, back, croup, etc.), often with an apple pattern.
Light dun color. Pale yellow body, black mane and tail. The legs are black up to the fetlock joint or the hock (on the hind leg, on the front leg - up to the carpal).
Brown color. The horses are dark chocolate in color. The shade is evenly distributed throughout the body, only the legs are slightly lighter (a typical sign of red color is light legs).
Black suit. A very ancient color of horses. The color is shiny black.
Black woman in tan. Sometimes black horses can burn out in the summer sun, and both the protective hair and the outer hair can burn out. The black color fades to dark brown, brown, but the muzzle and lower legs always remain black.
Bay color. It is characterized by a brown or red-brown body color, black legs, mane and tail. The word “bay” in the Old Church Slavonic language means “smoke”, “fumes”. Usually the word “bay” refers to the color of a horse the color of a very smoldering flame. But there are also light bay ones, somewhat reminiscent of duns. There are especially dark bays, which in their color are very similar to tanned blacks, but there is a difference: a dark bay has a red muzzle near the nostrils, and a tanned black has a black muzzle.
Karak suit. The horse is completely black with small reddish tan markings near the eyes, nostrils, groin and under the elbows.
Barbary horse, red color
“Wild” bay color. In appearance, it is an ordinary bay color, but the dark hair on the legs only reaches the fetlock joint.
Gray suit. Some horses turn gray over time, and foals destined to be gray are born brown or black in appearance. A gray horse has black skin and dark hooves (if without white markings), and white and black hair scattered over its body. Sometimes the hair is only white (for light gray ones), but it is the black skin that distinguishes it from white.
Light gray color. There may be a slight admixture of dark hair on the body, but the rest of the coat, mane and tail are white.
Dark gray color. Essentially a gray black, the horse looks black, but the head is lighter, and there may be an admixture of white hair on the body, legs, mane and tail.
Red-gray suit. It is a gray based on a bay or red. On the body, red (red) hair is mixed with white, the horse may appear pink.
Buckwheat gray color. It is light gray, on which small specks (the size of buckwheat) of a dark color are scattered. If the spots are black, then such a horse is sometimes called gray with black buckwheat, if red - gray with red buckwheat.
Dapple gray color. A black horse turns gray so that white spots (the size of an apple) with blurred edges form on its body. There is a small distance between the apples, it looks like a dark mesh from the outside. The apple pattern can be scattered throughout the horse's body, or in some parts of the body, most often on the croup.
Roan color. The coloring is a uniform inclusion of white hair on the body of red, black, bay and other colors. The head and legs have the color of the main color. The horse looks like it has been sprinkled with flour on top.
Chubby suit. This is what spotted horses are called. Chubara is a common name for a group of spotted coats that are similar genetically and have some characteristics of all Chubara coats: striped hooves, mottled skin, white sclera of the eye (visible white), white fuzzy spots on the inside of the leg (pseudo markings), glossy markings (dark slightly elongated spots along the cheek, on the neck, at the elbows and on the thigh). Although they are signs of forelock, a horse of any color can have them.
Lipizzaner horse, dappled gray
There are the following excuses:
Chubby leopard. The horse is completely white, with spots of dark color scattered on the body (depending on the basis of the color of a particular horse, there may be raven-forelock, bay-forehead, red-forehead, dun-forehead, etc.).
Chubaraya little-spotted. The horse is also white, but there are very few spots on the body.
Black and white. The horse appears to be of any basic color, but the croup is completely white (“shabrack”) and has dark spots of the main color on it.
White-washed. Any base, but the “saddle cloth” is completely white.
In "frost". Small white specks reminiscent of frost are scattered on the rump. If the specks are located too close, they merge into one small spot; this color is called “frost saddle.”
In "snow flakes". On any dark base, white spots are scattered. Such an excuse is extremely rare.
Marble. Hair of primary and white colors is evenly scattered on the rump. The horse resembles a roan, but unlike it, the marbled horse has white hair scattered only in the “saddle cloth” area and there are signs of forelock coloring.
Drozdovaya. There are dark specks scattered on the white horse. It resembles a buckwheat-gray color, but the blackbird sometimes has larger spots and always has mottled skin. Quite a rare color.
Speckled. It looks like any dark color (bay, black, brown), there are no spots on the coat. But such horses have mottled skin, striped hooves and white sclera of the eyes. Very rare.
Glossy roan. Contrary to the name, genetically this color has nothing in common with roan, only phenotypically (outwardly). It looks like a roan, but there are glossy markings, always mottled skin and other signs of roan coloring.
Swiss Warmblood horse, nighting color
Piebald suit. On any suit there are large, irregularly shaped spots (pejins) of white color.
The following types of piebaldity are distinguished:
Tobiano. White pejins are arranged in a certain symmetry. Pejins are present on the neck, girding it, one or both sides are spotted, the legs are light. The mane and tail of Tobiano are usually two-colored.
Sabino. The legs are almost completely white, with a spot on the belly and/or lower neck. The spots have blurred edges, and there may also be white hair all over the body. Sometimes with Sabino the horse is almost completely white, but the ears and poll remain dark and spots in the groin.
Frame overo. “Frame” is translated from English as “frame”, and it’s not surprising. The white pezhina seems to be surrounded by dark fur, like a frame. Usually the pezhina does not go over the head and never crosses the spine.
Splashed white. The horse looks like it ran through a puddle of white paint. Usually the horse is completely white underneath, but unlike the Sabino, the spots have clearly defined edges.
Manchado. Uneven ridges with jagged edges go from top to bottom, usually from the neck and withers. White sandhills may have spots of the primary color. Manchado, as a rule, does not go on the head.
Tovero. Mixed type of piebald, more precisely, tobiano and any type of overo (sabino, frame, etc.).
Savras color (bay + Dun gene). Sandy-red shade of the outer hair, dark mane and tail. The legs have zebroid markings (transverse stripes), a clearly defined black stripe along the back, sometimes stripes on the withers, a dark muzzle and white strands in the mane.
Norwegian fjord, savras color
Mouse color (raven-savrasaya), gray-bluish protective hair, mane, tail, legs - black, belt along the back and zebra stripes on the legs, an admixture of light hair in the mane.
Brown suit (red-savrasaya). Pale red tint to the top coat, dark red stripe along the back and zebroid stripes on the legs. The legs are pale yellow, the mane and tail are red.
Mukhortaya suit (Karakovo-Savrasaya). The color of the outer hair is dark ocher with a gray tint, the mane, tail, legs, belt along the back, stripes on the legs, muzzle and sometimes the withers are black.
There are other combinations of wild colors: bulano-savrasaya, isabella-savrasaya, solovo-savrasaya, etc.
Article on the topic Colors, marks and signs of horses
Silver suits
There are several of them, and they have the following characteristics: marbling on the legs, ashy strands at the base of the mane and tail, blurry gray vertical stripes on the hooves (not always), white eyelashes (not always), light corolla. The silver gene lightens only the black pigment, so the following suits are distinguished :
Silver-bay color. Bay with light ash mane and tail and ash legs.
Silver-black suit. The color of the outer hair is black or chocolate, the lower part of the legs is slightly lighter (but not always), the mane and tail are light ash or dark, almost chocolate ash.
Silver-karak suit. Like karak, but the mane and tail are light ash or dark ash, the legs are marble.
Silver-damn suit. Like a dun coat, but the mane and tail are ashen, the legs are marble.
Silver color with apples. Dark blue-gray or chocolate shade of topcoat and apples all over the body, mane, tail and legs are marbled.
Australian pony, mouse color
Champagne suits. There are several variations here, but all have common characteristics of champagne horses: speckles on the skin on the face, genitals, around the eyes; amber eyes; shine of wool; return apples, but not always (return apples are the opposite of regular apples, i.e. dark on a light background). Champagne horses are currently found only in the United States.
The following variations are distinguished:
Classic champagne color (raven-champagne). Yellowish-burnt or chocolate-ashy color of the body, sometimes with a purple tint. The legs, mane and tail are dark, the eyes are amber.
Amber champagne color (bay-champagne). The color of the body is golden-red, amber. The legs, mane and tail are brown, the eyes are amber.
Sable champagne color (carakovo-champagne or dark bay-champagne). Outwardly it looks like classic champagne, they differ only genetically.
Gold or golden champagne color (red-champagne). Golden-red, golden or golden-whitish hue of the body. The mane is white or pale red. Outwardly, it resembles the nightingale color, but what distinguishes it from gold is its speckled pink skin (the nightingale has dark skin).
American Quarter, roan color
Champagnes of the ivory group (cream champagnes). They have a pale cream body color. All suits of the ivory group have minor differences from each other.
Pearl suits. Such colors are found only in horses of the Quarter Horse, Paint Horse, Peruvian Paso, Andalusian, Lusitano and Tinker breeds. Distinctive features of pearl colors: purple skin, lighter coat and eyes than ordinary horses.
There are the following excuses:
Bay-pearl suit and Karak-pearl suit. The body is milky caramel in color, the mane, tail and legs are noticeably darker, the skin is lilac, and the eyes are amber.
Raven-pearl suit. The body is light caramel or milk chocolate, the guard hair and lower parts of the legs are slightly darker.
Apricot or red-pearl color. The body of such horses really resembles an apricot in color. The hooves are light. The skin is pink. Protective hair is often the same color as the cover hair, although it can be lightened. Over the years, the skin darkens from pink to purple, speckled. The speckles may also increase in number over the years.
There are other combinations, for example: solo-pearl, dun-pearl, etc. But when it is impossible to determine the basis of a pearl horse, it is called pseudo-isabella.
Pastel color. The pastel color is a light beige color of the body and guard hair with a grayish tint, changing with age to a dark sepia color. So far, this color has only been identified in Shetland ponies.
Author: Elena Golovach
Isabella
Isabella color has the color of baked milk or beige. The tail and mane can have the same color as the body, be lighter or darker. Horses of this color have pink skin, often with freckles, and blue eyes.
At one time, Isabella color was thought to be white or caused by albinism, but this is not the case. In fact, this suit is a derivative of all three basic suits with a double set of the pigment illuminator gene, which is confirmed by the research of Denis Mariat. Isabella color can be seen more often in Akhal-Teke, thoroughbred riding, Tory, Irish draft, Belarusian draft, many breeds of ponies and mongrel horses.
Gray
The gray color is formed due to the early graying of any of the possible colors. Because of this, it is very common. Animals begin to turn gray at different times, sometimes even before birth. Gray horses are usually born hyperpigmented, with a pronounced presence of pigment in the coat and hair.
The gray coat retains the color of the eyes, skin and hoof horn, only the base color of the hair changes. The shades of the gray horse are very diverse, from light gray to pink and red-gray. Gray horses with apple or buckwheat patterns are often found. Gray horses are found in almost all breeds.
Buckwheat gray: Wikipedia
Care and maintenance of gray suit
When keeping horses, it is very important to properly prepare their habitat. It should be dry and spacious, with good lighting. Preferably with a ceiling height of 2.5-3.5 meters. A durable floor covered with dry bedding is essential. Sawdust, straw or dry peat can be used as bedding. There should be no drafts; for this purpose, the entrance is planned on the windward side with a width of 1 m and a height of 2 m, and the door should only open outward.
The stable should not freeze; buildings made of brick or wood are well suited for this. A pen or stall is set up inside: for mares with a foal, an area of 10 m2, and for the rest, 7-8 m2. Windows should correspond to the floor area in a ratio of 1:15. The stalls are equipped with feeders or boxes with 2 sections: large for roughage, small for concentrated feed. Near the stables they set up a pen for walking animals - a subdock; it is usually made of strong poles.
The horse is cleaned with a brush or a rope of straw, always starting from the head. Particular attention is paid to the hooves. It is mandatory to keep the hooves clean; they must be regularly inspected and trimmed as they grow, approximately once every 1-1.5 months; at the same time, the animal must be re-shod if required.
Roan
Roan color is characterized by a uniform admixture of white hair based on any color. Moreover, the darker the horse, the more noticeable the contrast between the white and the base color. Predominantly white hair is distributed throughout the horse's body, but can also be found in the mane or tail. Roan suits vary depending on the color of the main suit. For example, the raven roan has white hair on the body with a black tail and mane. Roans are found among mustangs, Soviet and New Alexandrian feathers.
Savrasaya
Savras color is the oldest horse color. Because of this, it is also called wild. Thanks to the special colors, owners of the savras suit can camouflage well. A number of “wild markings” help horses do this. They form different dark patterns on the animal's body: a belt on the back, a web on the forehead, a mask on the face or frost on the tail.
Savras color is present in many breeds: Bashkir, Vyatka, mustangs, Polish skates, Belarusian draft horses and American quarter horses. In artificially bred breeds, for example the Trakehner, the savras color is not found. Since the ancient ancestors of horses had the savras color, it can easily be analyzed through a DNA test.
Mousey
The mouse suit is formed by the savras suit on the black suit. Such horses have a gray or dirty gray body color, a black mane and tail, and often have a black head and legs. "Wild markings" are also black in color and are clearly visible. Unlike gray horses, which have a mixture of white and gray hairs, the hair of murine horses is gray on its own. It is common among Sorraya horses and among Polish skates.
Mouse color of horses: Pxfuel
Oh you black horse
Black color is the most popular among horse breeders and is recognized by the uniformly black coloring of the body, mane and tail, with a shiny bluish tint.
A black horse is associated with something mystical, often in a negative way. Since ancient times, riders on horses with a black color incited fear and caused panic among others. The Headless Horseman from the movie Sleepy Hollow, the Nazgulls from The Fellowship of the Ring, Woland and his retinue from The Master and Margarita - they all sat on black black horses. The famous Bucephalus was of the same color - a real historical character who died saving his beloved master Alexander the Great.
The carriers of only black color are Friesians - beautiful, blue-black horses, without a single mark, bred in Holland.
Representatives of black horses (the photo and name indicate the variety of colors of the animals) are found among many breeds, including:
- Karachay;
- Kabardian;
- Ariège (French Ariègeise);
- shires;
- Percherons;
- Kladrubskaya;
- Hanoverian;
- Trakehner
Piebald
Pinto horses have large, irregularly shaped spots scattered throughout the body, mane and tail. By their color on the horse's body, you can determine the base color of the animal. On this basis, raven-piebald, bay-piebald, red-piebald and other colors are distinguished. The most common type of piebald is colorful. It is characterized by large colored spots on a white background, usually oval in outline. From a genetic point of view, all piebald colors are distinguishable and belong to different base colors, but for convenience they were combined into one.
Chubaraya
Another spotted color is Chubara. Such horses have spots of different colors densely scattered across their white body. Depending on the location on the body and the shape of the spots, more than ten types of forelock are distinguished, for example chaprak, leopard, speckled, snowflake and others.
Although the forelock color is one of the most ancient (horses are depicted in cave paintings from Paleolithic times), now this color is extremely rare. It happens in the Appaloosa, Knabstrupper, Noriker, Altai and Yakut horse breeds.
Chubby leopard-type horse: Wikipedia
White-born
Typically, a horse with a pure white coat will be light gray or light Isabella. However, the white color of horses does exist, although it is extremely rare. White-born horses, contrary to popular belief, are not albino. They have pink skin, dark eyes and white fur.
Beautiful animals come in a dozen colors. It never hurts to demonstrate your horizons and name the correct color of the animal.
Original article: https://www.nur.kz/household/pets/1941959-masti-loshadey-foto-opisaniya-i-nazvaniya/
The influence of red color on character
Since ancient times, people have tried to find a connection between the color of a horse and its behavior. Some peoples believed that red horses had a grumpy character. The Arabs especially did not like them.
Nowadays, it is not customary to look for a connection between suit and character. It is believed that temperament and character are influenced by:
- Breed. But it is difficult to establish a direct relationship here, because almost every variety can have red representatives.
- Features of a particular animal. These qualities are inherited from parents and shaped by the environment. Much depends on living conditions and the behavior of the owner.
In both cases, the horse's red color does not play a role. Some people apply the saying to horses: “Whatever you call a ship, that’s how it will sail.” Although it is customary for professional breeders to name a horse based on the nicknames of its parents. If the animal does not participate in selection, you can dream up. Red pets are given nicknames like Rusty, Zorro, Chubais, Bucephalus or the like. People believe that this changes the pet's character in the right direction.
