46 



TYPES AND BREEDS 



Color is the most conspicuous feature by which a horse can 

 be described or identified, so that a uniform and comprehensive 

 color standard is important. Colors may be generally classed as 

 solid or broken, distinguished by the presence or absence of white 

 spots. Solid colors are further differentiated, as hard or soft. 

 A hard color is one in which the shade is sharply pronounced, 

 while soft colors are characterized by either a total absence of 

 pigment, as in the case of white horse with pink skin, or a 

 washed-out or faded shade of some of the other colors. 



Broken colors are either the piebald and skewbald, in wliich 

 the amount of white is considerable and the distribution irreg- 

 ular; or marked, when the white is limited in amount and 

 definitely restricted in its location. 



Then there are a number of odd colors and markings which 

 do not conform to tlie above distinctions nor admit of any but a 

 group classification. 



Bay — bright, blood, mahogany. 



Brown — bay, seal, mealy, black. 



Chestnut — golden, red, burnt, 

 black. 



Black — jet, sooty. 



Gray — dappled, steel, iron, black, 

 flea-bitten. 



Roan — blue, red, strawberry. 



White (pink skin). 

 ■| Mealy bay. 

 [ Washy chestnut, 

 f Cream. 



1 Mouse. 

 Dun — light or Isabella, dark or 

 buckskin (black points). 

 / Black and white. 

 \ Bay, brown or chestnut and white. 

 VVhite — bald face, blaze, strip, 

 star, snip, splash, stocking, sock, 

 fetlock, pastern, coronet, heel. 

 Black — points, back and leg 



stripes. 

 Odd — ■ tiger lily spots, leprous 

 spots, watch eye. 



Color Inheritance. — The color of the hair coat of horses is 

 one of the comparatively few animal characters that have been 

 demonstrated to be Mendelian. Quite extensive stud-book 

 studies and observations as to how colors behave in transmission 

 have established the fact that chestnut is recessive to all other 



Classification 

 of the coat 

 color of 

 horses 



Solid 



Broken 



Hard 



Soft 



Odd 



Piebald 

 Skewbald 



Marked 

 (markings) 



