You may have wondered this question yourself, because we get asked it a lot: What colors are our horses?
American Quarter Horses like the ones we have at Rawhide Ranch typically come in 13 color patterns, as you can see in the picture below.
Chestnut is a reddish body color without any black. The mane and tail are usually the same color as the body or slightly lighter.
Sorrel, a reddish-tan, coppery body color, is often considered a variation of chestnut.
Black is a relatively uncommon horse color, although with books like Black Beauty and The Black Stallion, you wouldn’t think so! Black horses are usually born gray or dun and grow into their black coat, although they may be born jet black!
Bay is a common body color from light reddish-brown to dark brown, each with black points—the mane, tail, and lower legs.
Dun features a yellow or tan coat with faint zebra-like markings on the upper legs. Dun-colored horses will have a darker mane and tail.
Red dun is a variation of dun, with a yellow or tan base coat and chestnut zebra markings.
Grullo is the “blue” variation of dun, featuring a solid gray or silver coat with black or deep gray zebra markings.
Brown horses with a brown coat and a deep brown mane and tail are common colors in the quarter horse world.
Palomino horses show off a gold, yellow, or tan body complemented by a white or flaxen mane and tail.
Buckskin resembles a palomino or dun in base coat color, but has black points.
Blue roan is a variation of roan, a color pattern with fine white hairs mixed in with the horse’s base color. The blue variety occurs when a horse has a black base coat mixed with white “roan” hairs. They usually have darker heads and legs.
Red roan is also a variation of roan, except the horse has a chestnut base mixed with white “roan” hairs. This color is also called “strawberry roan.”
Gray is another common horse color, when a horse has black skin but a white or black-and-white coat.
Next time you visit your favorite horse at Rawhide Ranch, look closely and see if you can guess what color it is!
