Coat Colors
Learn about horse & pony coat colors
Horse & Pony Coat Color Examples
Some Well Known Colors Include:

Chestnut
Chestnut horses (also known as sorrel) are a reddish-brown color with the same color or lighter mane and tail. They vary from light golden-red to dark brown known as Liver Chestnut. The mane and tail may also be a blond color, also known as a Flaxen Chestnut.

Palomino
Palomino horses & ponies have a golden colored coat with a white or cream colored mane and tail.

Bay
Bay horses & ponies have a brown or reddish-brown body with black points on their legs, and a black mane and tail.

Dark Bay
Dark Bay horses have a deep brown red body color which can almost look black, with black points on their legs, and a black mane and tail.

Gray
Gray or Grey horses & ponies are born with a solid base color such as chestnut or bay, and slowly become lighter grey as they get older. The graying process often starts when foals shed their baby coat, although it can take several years for the gray color to show.

Pinto
There are different types of pinto coloring:
Piebald
Piebald is a type of spotting that has large patches of 50% white with 50% black.
Skewbald
Skewbald is a type of spotting with any other color and white. They usually have large patches of 50% white and 50% brown or chestnut.

Liver Chestnut
Liver Chestnut horses are a dark brown Chestnut color with the same color or lighter mane and tail.

Cremello
Cremello colored horses are not white, but are cream colored from birth. They have a light mane and tail, pink skin and blue eyes.

Light Bay
Light Bay horses & ponies have a light red to almost golden yellow body color with black points on their legs, and a black mane and tail.

Brown
A Brown colored horse looks like black, but has a brown sheen in the sunlight. It also looks like dark bay, but not all points are black.

Dapple Gray
Gray horses are born with a solid base color such as chestnut or bay, and slowly become lighter grey as they get older. The graying process often starts when foals shed their baby coat, although it can take several years for the gray color to show. Dapples can appear between the ages of 4 and 12 as the horse gets lighter as they age. Horses with any base color can dapple.

Dun
Dun colored horses & ponies have a golden colored body with a black mane, tail & legs. To be considered a Dun, the horse must have a dark dorsal stripe & many will display dark striping on their shoulders, legs & forehead. If they do not have the dorsal stripe, they are considered a Buckskin.

Buckskin
Buckskin horses & ponies have a golden colored body with a black mane, tail & legs. They are very similar in color to a Dun, although they will not display dark striping on their shoulders, legs & forehead, or a dorsal stripe down their back.

Appaloosa
The Appaloosa color coat has small round spots or speckles. They can have a dark base coat with light spots, white with dark spots, roan with patches of spots, or have a dark base coat with a white “blanket” and spots over the hindquarters.

Flaxen Chestnut
Flaxen Chestnut horses are a reddish-brown Chestnut color with the a lighter or blond mane and tail.

Grulla
Grulla or Grullo colored horses have the Dun gene and appear to be mouse-colored or tan-grey. They have dark tips on their ears, a dark face and legs, and have a dorsal stripe that runs down their back. Grulla horse & ponies often have dark stripes on their legs, forehead, back, shoulders or neck.

Blood Bay
Blood Bay horses & ponies have a deep blood-red body color with black points on their legs, and a black mane and tail.

Black
Black horses & ponies have no brown or red hair. They may have white markings on face or legs.

Flea-Bitten Gray
A gray horse with flecks of chestnut hairs throughout it’s coat.

Strawberry Roan
Strawberry Roan horses & ponies, also known as Red Roan, have a chestnut base coat with white hairs mixed in that creates a slightly mottled appearance. This creates a range of colors that have a pink tint to the body color. Strawberry Roans keep their base color on their heads, manes and tails.

Blue Roan
Blue Roan horses have a bay or black base coat with white hairs mixed in to create a slightly mottled appearance. This creates a range of colors that can have a blue tint. Blue Roan horses keep their base color on their heads, manes and tails.

Overo
Overo is a type of spotting with large jagged patches of white. The patches do not go over the top of the horse or pony’s back. Patches go under the horse’s belly. It does not need to be 50-50 distribution of white and another color.

Leaderboards
Want to see where you stand?
View leaderboard results from across the entire Allpony site and see where you rank in the results.
Quizzes
Want to try a different quiz?
Choose from horsemanship topics about riding, horse & pony identification, barn & travel, and tack & bits.
Shop Pony Lover Apparel, Gear, & Accessories
-
Horses & Ponies Activity Book
$12.99 -
Horses & Ponies Activity eBook
$4.99 -
Horse & Pony Coat Colors, Gaits & Markings Guide
$1.99 -
Jump the Moon Gift Set
$34.95 -
Horse & Pony Tack, Bits & Breed Identification Guide
$1.99 -
Allpony Bubble-Free Stickers
$3.00 – $3.50 -
Horse Face & Leg Markings Bingo Game
$2.99 -
Kid’s Grooming Kit & Drawstring Bag
$43.99