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Horse Color Explained: A Breeder's Perspective
A simple yet thorough guide to horse color and equine color inheritance, featuring 185 color photos.
- GenresHorses
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 6, 2021
Excellent book. The author takes a complex topic and makes it as clear as she possibly could, with beautiful color photos which help clarify the many different color combinations possible in the horse world.
This was published in 1999, and I am a little curious if any new findings have been discovered since then, specifically concerning white markings on a solid color horse. At the time of writing it was known that 68 percent of the cause of white facial markings was heredity, and the rest a result of non-genetic factors. Which means that the exact explanations of how a solid color horse is born with a blaze face or a star, strip, or snip, is not completely understood. "White low on the face tends to have white above it. Why this is so we do not know."
Fascinating to me that with all the details we know there are still so many basic unanswered questions. Or at least they were unanswered in 1999.
Even with all my years of working with horses and more years of reading about them, I had never seen some of the colors pictured in this book. And of course now when I am watching any horse events on YouTube I am processing color information a little more critically, trying to go beyond the basic bay, brown, or chestnut my brain usually registers. It's challenging and fun!
This is the first in what will be a fit of horse books. I am attacked this way every so often, so anyone reading my reviews regularly can expect a whole herd to gallop through here over the next few weeks. lol
This was published in 1999, and I am a little curious if any new findings have been discovered since then, specifically concerning white markings on a solid color horse. At the time of writing it was known that 68 percent of the cause of white facial markings was heredity, and the rest a result of non-genetic factors. Which means that the exact explanations of how a solid color horse is born with a blaze face or a star, strip, or snip, is not completely understood. "White low on the face tends to have white above it. Why this is so we do not know."
Fascinating to me that with all the details we know there are still so many basic unanswered questions. Or at least they were unanswered in 1999.
Even with all my years of working with horses and more years of reading about them, I had never seen some of the colors pictured in this book. And of course now when I am watching any horse events on YouTube I am processing color information a little more critically, trying to go beyond the basic bay, brown, or chestnut my brain usually registers. It's challenging and fun!
This is the first in what will be a fit of horse books. I am attacked this way every so often, so anyone reading my reviews regularly can expect a whole herd to gallop through here over the next few weeks. lol
August 25, 2025
Five stars!!! This book was well structured, the information was accessible and the photo illustrations were top notch.
Although this book was intended for horse breeders, it is a useful volume for others as well. While it helps the breeder to better understand the genetic inheritance of coat colors it is also a useful tool to anyone who owns a horse in enabling them to discern the true coat color of their animal. Registration papers are often outdated as the animal matures and changes occur in pigmentation. My reason for purchasing this book was to have examples of all the colors and patterns for spotted, paint, sabino and roan coats. As a model horse artist I want to have all aspects correct to nature, from the little ermine spots on the coronet band to the hair growth patterns on the flanks.
The science of color identification in equines has advanced greatly in my lifetime. In the past I relied on volumes such as The Color of Horses: A Scientific and Authoritative Identification of the Color of the Horse by Ben K. Green but I always had questions about certain colors that were never addressed in his book. Horse Color Explained: A Breeder's Perspective provides a comprehensive explanation for all those previously unanswered questions. This book addresses even the complicated results of double and triple hybrid dilute genes that have baffled horsemen for ages.
As a reminder to potential readers; the author is Australian and uses Australian terminology. For example, the dominant dilute gene classified as "silver" in North America is "taffy" in Australia, so keep that translation in mind while reading. She cites Australian breed registry coat color requirements and limitations. While she states that the Pinto registry does not accept gaited horses; this is not true for the American Pinto Horse Association registry; where many pinto colored American Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses and other gaited breeds are also double registered as Pintos.
Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in knowing the correct colors of horses.
Although this book was intended for horse breeders, it is a useful volume for others as well. While it helps the breeder to better understand the genetic inheritance of coat colors it is also a useful tool to anyone who owns a horse in enabling them to discern the true coat color of their animal. Registration papers are often outdated as the animal matures and changes occur in pigmentation. My reason for purchasing this book was to have examples of all the colors and patterns for spotted, paint, sabino and roan coats. As a model horse artist I want to have all aspects correct to nature, from the little ermine spots on the coronet band to the hair growth patterns on the flanks.
The science of color identification in equines has advanced greatly in my lifetime. In the past I relied on volumes such as The Color of Horses: A Scientific and Authoritative Identification of the Color of the Horse by Ben K. Green but I always had questions about certain colors that were never addressed in his book. Horse Color Explained: A Breeder's Perspective provides a comprehensive explanation for all those previously unanswered questions. This book addresses even the complicated results of double and triple hybrid dilute genes that have baffled horsemen for ages.
As a reminder to potential readers; the author is Australian and uses Australian terminology. For example, the dominant dilute gene classified as "silver" in North America is "taffy" in Australia, so keep that translation in mind while reading. She cites Australian breed registry coat color requirements and limitations. While she states that the Pinto registry does not accept gaited horses; this is not true for the American Pinto Horse Association registry; where many pinto colored American Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses and other gaited breeds are also double registered as Pintos.
Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in knowing the correct colors of horses.
May 31, 2010
I was really impressed with this book. I found it very well written as well as easy to understand with a large number of pictures helping clarify the color differences.
January 22, 2018
Wonderful book on the colors of horses.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews