A Color By Any Other Name?

I came across a problem a few weeks ago as I was jugding a photo show. This one photo was in the "other" class, which surprised my because the horse looked to me like a bay. On the back, the owner had indicated the color as a "silver ringed bay." I couldn't remember ever hearing of that color so I did some research and what I found confused me more, not about the silver ringed bay, but about colors in general.

Years ago, I learned that there was not a "palomino" in the Arabian bloodline. But why were these seemingly palominos showing up as Arabs? Turns out they can't be palominos, but they can be golden chestnuts, or chestnuts, but definitely not palominos!

I soon learned other specialties, those beautiful chestnut draft horses are usually called sorrels. A white Morgan is extremely rare. A white Arab? No, there isn't a "white" either. It is called a gray. And speaking of grays, dark, light, rose, dapples, and fading as the horse grows older, wow!

Buckskins and duns: red, gold, and mouse, they look very similar except one has a dorsal stripe. (Dorsal always makes me think of sharks and what do they have to do with horses?!?)

The roans, with their darker heads and legs and softly speckled bodies, strawberry and blue. Yes, there are blue and red horses out there. And I can't forget grulla, which sounds like gorilla but actually is a muddy gray color. I won't even start on bays and browns. With each breed comes a new name for the same color. I don't really know why.

Should I dare to discuss pinto colorings? For years I was taught that a dark coat with white patches was an overo coat, and a white coat with dark patches was tobiano. I couldn't tell them apart, but that was OK. Then, not very long ago, I was told I was wrong and overo and tobiano were the size and placement of the white patches, over the back vs. fluffy cloud patches. So I tried to keep that in my mind and that actually made more sense, but I got a new horse book the other day and guess what? It says that a dark coat with white patches is an overo and a white coat with dark patches is a tobiano. I still need to learn piebald (not a bald pie) and skewbald (not a screwed up bald man).

I even get confused when asked if my appaloosa is a snowflake. It doesn't look like a snowflake. I thought a snowflake was a white crystal thing!

I know that coat color has to do with the skin color and on model horses, it is really hard to tell when the skin color is, so don't take this light hearted view of horse colors too seriously.

My head is spinning and I'm drooling over all these beautiful, colorful horses. Oh yes, a silver ringed bay is a dapple bay that has silver rings around its dapples. I don't care what the horse goes by. I love them all, any color at all, no matter what that color is called.

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Published April 1994 in the NorthWest Breyer Horse Club Newsletter. (mc)
© 1997-201 NW Breyer Horse Club & Refiner of Gold Creations
Equinealities in place since 1997, Section in place 2001, Updated 1/27/2019