Horses

Horses

Types of horses

colt: a young male horse

filly: a young female horse

foal: a horse less than a year old; the phrase “in foal” means “pregnant”

gelding: a castrated horse

mare: a mature female horse

stallion: an adult male horse

Colors

bay: a reddish-brown horse

color ranges from a light reddish-brown to very dark brown with "black points". Points refer to the mane, tail, and loweregs.) legs, muzzle, tail, mane and ear tips are black. With or without white markings.

black: a black horse; relatively rare

chestnut:

a grayish-brown or reddish-brown horse

dun: a grayish-yellow horse with a dark mane and tail

Grey

What most people would call a white horse. They are considered grey because their skin is actually black while the hairs are white and/or black. A horse with black skin but white or mixed dark and white hairs. Gray horses can be born any color, and lighten as they age. Most will eventually gray out to either a complete white or a "fleabitten" hair coat. Most "white" horses are actually grays with a fully white hair coat. A gray horse is distinguished from a white horse by dark skin, particularly noticeable around the eyes

White

One of the rarest colors, a white horse has white hair and fully or largely unpigmented (pink) skin. These horses are born white, with blue or brown eyes, and remain white for life.

CHART OF COLORS ON NEXT PAGE

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Markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual.

Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life

SEE SEPARATE FILE ON FACE & LEG MARKINGS PICTURES

Facial markings

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Facial markings. Top row, L-R: Blaze, Stripe, Stripe (or thin blaze) and nose, irregular blaze, Interrupted stripe, bald face. Bottom row, L-R: Faint star, Star, Star and strip, irregular star, snip, lip masking.

Common facial markings

Blaze: a wide white stripe down the middle of the face.

Strip or stripe: narrow white stripe down middle of the face.

Bald Face: a very wide blaze, extending to or past the eyes.

Star: a white marking between or above the eyes.

Leg markings

Leg markings are usually described by the highest point of the horse's leg that is covered by white.

As a general rule, the horse's hoof beneath a white marking at the coronary line will also be light-colored ("white").

If a horse has a partial marking or ermine spots at the coronary band, the hoof may be both dark and light, corresponding with the hair coat immediately above.

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Leg markings. Top row, L-R: Stocking, Sock or Boot, Fetlock or Sock. Bottom row, L-R: Pastern, Coronet, Partial Pastern

From tallest to shortest, common leg markings are:

Stocking: white marking that extends at least to the bottom of the knee or hock, sometimes higher.

Sock: white marking that extends higher than the fetlock but not as high as the knee or hock. This marking is sometimes called a "boot."

Fetlock or Sock: white marking that extends over the fetlock, occasionally called a "boot."

Pastern: white marking that extends above the top of the hoof, but stops below the fetlock.

Coronet: white just above the hoof, around coronary band, usually no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the hoof.

Scarring

Scarring on a horse usually results in white hairs growing in over the injured area, though occasionally there may be no hair growth over the scar at all.

Saddle marks

may be seen on the back or withers as a patch of white hairs, usually a result of wearing an improperly-fitted saddle for long periods, but also could be related to straightforward long-term saddle wear, unclean saddle blankets and other causes.