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Horses have a very old lineage covering millions of years, and many different terrains. It isn't so surprising, then, to learn that horses are found in an array of colors and patterns, with a host of different markings. By familiarizing yourself with the names of horse colors, patterns, and markings, the two lists below will help you to intelligently spot, name, and discus horses among your peers. For beginning riders, it will be comforting to know that when your trainer asks you to saddle up the buckskin blaze, you'll never have a quizzical look on your face, or wonder if you should 'fess up' that you don't know what she means.
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Markings
Terms to describe marks on a horse can be divided into facial and leg areas. People around horses often describe these white marks as 'chrome', a rather funny use of the word to refer to variations seen as attractive additions to a horse's appearance.
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Here are some facial chrome feature descriptions:
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A star is a white spot on the horse's forehead.
A stripe is a narrow white strip that runs down the center of the horse's face, from the forehead down the bridge of the nose.
A snip, I suppose, is a part of a longer stripe. It's a white spot on the muzzle, on or just below the area between the horse's nostrils.
A blaze mark is a wide white area that starts at the horse's forehead and ends along the bridge of the horse's nose.
Bald refers to a horse with a large amount of white on the face that starts above the forehead, runs along the front of the face to the muzzle, and extends beyond the bridge of the nose to the sides of the face.
The main kinds of chrome on the legs include:
The coronet band is a small white band just above the hoof.
Half pastern means a white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends halfway up the pastern. Think of the pastern the horse's equivalent to the upper part of a human foot, and the white marking on the horse would be equivalent to a human wearing white footlet sock.
A sock is a larger white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends about a third of the way up the leg.
A stocking, then, is a white marking that extends from the hoof to the horse's knee, or hock if the stocking is found on the back legs of the horse.
Half cannon is a white marking that starts at the edge of the hoof and extends halfway up the middle of the leg. Consider it to be between the length of a horse sock and a horse stocking.
Colors
Gray: A gray can be nearly white to dark gray or everything in between. Many gray horses will have dapples, which are circular, indistinct spots. In those cases, these horses are called 'dapple grays'. Most gray horses are born dark and develop their gray color as they age.
Bay: Bay is a rich brown color on the body with a black mane, tail, and legs. Bays can be dark tan to reddish brown.
Brown: In the world of horses, the color brown describes a very dark brown animal, often with a lighter brown around the muzzle, flank or inside of the upper legs. The mane and tail of these brown horses are black.
Spotted: Spotted horses feature one of several different coat patterns that often consist of oval, egg-shaped spots. These spots can be distributed throughout the body or limited to the horse's hindquarters and hips.
Black: For a horse to be truly considered black, he must be jet black with no light areas anywhere on the body, including the mane and tail. A fine, black horse in a sunny pasture is truly a poetic spectacle.
Dun: A dun horse has a gold, reddish, or tan body color and a black or brown mane and tail. All duns have a dark stripe down their backs. Roan colored horses are believed to exist within the family of duns. A subset among the roans are the grullas described as a mousy grey dun.
Buckskin: A buckskin looks very much like a dun but without the dark stripe along its back. The color can be anything from light to dark tan, always with lower black legs, a black mane and tail.
Roan: This term describes a horse who has a dark background color that's intermixed with white hairs. The head and lower legs of the roan are usually darker than the rest of the body. Roans come in different colored patterns, most often red (white hairs mixed with chestnut or red hairs) and blue (white hairs mixed with black hairs). Many quarter horses fit this description.
Palomino: A golden yellow body with a white mane and tail is characteristic of the palomino coloration. This color horse comes in different patterns, depending on their breed.
Chestnut: Chestnut is a distinct reddish color covering the entire body. The mane and tail are usually the same color, although some chestnuts have what is called a flaxen or a blond mane and tail. Chestnuts come in different shades, from very light (called sorrel) to very dark (called liver).
Pinto: A pinto horse is marked with irregularly shaped patches of dark color against white or, sometimes, white irregularly shaped patches against a darker background color. The dark patches can be just about any color, including palomino, chestnut, bay, buckskin or black.
None of us were born an old hand around the ranch, rodeo or show arena. If you find the information above useful at this stage of learning, print a copy to have nearby. It will help you get a verbal handle on what your peers and trainers are saying.
How to Talk About Horse Markings and Colors
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