COAT COLOUR CRASH COURSE

Sometimes coat colours can get confusing, especially because ponies and horses come in so many different breeds, shapes and sizes. Even though standard coat colours and markings exist, ponies never stop surprising us with their unique appearances.

Bay

Bay ponies are brown with a black mane and tail and usually black legs as well. There are also bright bays with a lighter shade of brown and dark bays, which are a dark shade of brown but not quite black. You even get some ponies called ‘blood’ bays, which means their brown coat has a reddish tinge. Bay is the most common coat colour for horses and ponies!

Chestnut

Chestnuts have an orange tinge to their coats, and their legs, manes and tails are chestnut in colour as well. Darker coloured chestnuts are called liver chestnuts. If a chestnut has a lighter or blonde mane and tail, we say the pony or horse has a flaxen mane.

Black

Black ponies and horses have a black coat, mane and tail. It can be easy to confuse black horses with very dark bays. Truly black ponies are quite rare! The trick is to look at the hairs around the pony’s flank and muzzle. If you see shades of brown, then the chances are that the pony is probably a very dark bay.

Grey

Grey is quite a tricky colour to pinpoint. Some grey ponies are completely white in colour. Dapple greys have a mixture of grey and white hairs, which often appear in circular patches on their bodies. Dapple greys also have darker manes and tails. To add to the confusion, grey horses start out as much darker coloured foals and ‘turn grey’ over time.

Palomino

Palomino ponies have a golden coat with a cream or white mane and tail. These ponies are born very light, and as they grow older, their golden coats may become darker, although some can stay relatively light throughout their lives.

Dun and buckskin

Dun ponies come in a variety of different shades. Some have dark coats, while others can be almost cream, but they always have a black mane and tail. Dun ponies also have a dark stripe that runs from the wither to their tail – often called the ‘dorsal stripe’. Buckskin ponies are almost the same as duns with markings, except they do not have a black dorsal stripe.

Roan

Roans can either be classified as strawberry or blue. Strawberry roans have a mixture of chestnut and white hairs, while blue roans have a mixture of black, brown and white hairs. The greatest variety is usually around the belly area. Necks and hindquarters are generally a bit darker.

Pintos

Pinto ponies are ponies with large patches of white and any other colour. Usually, they are either white and brown (skewbald) or white and black (piebald), but there have been some exciting varieties. Some ponies are even white with cream patches or white with black and brown.

Spots

Appaloosa ponies have spots. Sometimes the pony can be white with black or brown spots all over his body, and sometimes the spots only appear on the hindquarter area. Appaloosa colouring is complicated and will be looked at on its own in a later issue.