HORSE COLOR, MARKINGS & COMMON HORSE DEFECTS

Please select from the following:

Horse Colors | Horse Markings | Common Horse Defects |

COLORS

Bay: The coat colour can vary from reddish to brown or yellowish with a black mane, tail and points, i.e. limbs
Black: The coat is all black except for occasional white marks on the head and/or the legs.
Blue Roan: A black or brown body colour with white hair giving a blue shade.
Brindle: A coat with brown or grey streaks or patches in a darker colour.
Brown: The colour brown is a combination of black and brown hairs with black limbs, mane and tail. A very dark brown may appear as almost black.
Chestnut: The colour varies from a pale gold to a rich red gold. The mane and tail are usually lighter or darker than the coat colour.
Cream or Cremello: A cream coloured coat with unpigmented skin.
Dappled: A light grey base coat with dark grey rings.
Dun: A dark skin with a light sandy coloured coat with a black mane and tail but can also range from yellow to mouse colour depending on the diffusion of the pigment. The colour is often accompanied by dark, dorsal eel stripes extending from the line of the neck to the tail. There can also be stripes on the withers and legs.
Fleabitten Grey: A grey coloured coat flecked with brown specks.
Grey: The colour grey is a combination of black and white hairs. The coat varies from light to iron to very dark.
Liver Chestnut: Liver chestnut is the darkest of the chestnut shades.
Palomino: A gold coloured coat with a white mane and tail.
Piebald: A coat with large, irregular patches of black and white hair.
Roan: A certain body colour infused with white hairs, which lighten the overall effect.
Skewbald: A coat with large, irregular patches of white and any other colour hair except black.
Sorrel: A light red chestnut coat.
Spotted: Small, circular patches of hair of a different colour from the main body colour scattered over various areas of the body.
Strawberry Roan: A chestnut body colour with white hair giving a pinkish red shade.

MARKINGS

White Markings:
White spots on the face and legs and occasionally on the body. They are recorded on registration papers as they are a valuable means of  distinguishing one horse from another.
Facial Markings: Markings in the face include star, stripe, interrupted stripe, snip, blaze, white face and white muzzle.
Leg Markings: Leg markings are described in detail for registration purposes, they include white to fetlock, white to knee, white to hock; sock - white colouring from the coronet to the knee; stocking - white colouring from the coronet up to and over the knee or hock.
Hoof Colouring: The horn of the hoof varies in colour from black to blue to white and is often marked with dark stripes.
 

Photos supplied by Horse Directory Australia ©

COMMON DEFECTS
 
Back at the knee: The knees tend to extend backwards when viewed from the side.
Calf knees: The knees are shallow from the front to the back.
Cow hocks: The hocks turn inwards when viewed from behind (like the hocks of a cow).
Ewe neck: The top line of the neck is concave and the lower line of the neck is convex.
Herring gutted: The horse has an upward slope from the front to the back on the underside of the belly.
Over at the knee: The knees extend forward.
Pigeon toes: The toes turn inward.
Roach back: The spine has an exaggerated upward curve.
Sickle hocks: When viewed from the side there is a concave line in front of the hocks and a slanting cannon bone.
Slap sided: The ribs are flat instead of well sprung.
Splay footed: The toes turn outward.
Sway back: The back has an exaggerated hollow.
Tied in below the knee: The measurement of the bone right below the knee is less than the measurement further down the cannon bone.