For more information about the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, please call (866) 4MUSTANGS or Click HERE
This website is owned and created by Nancy Kerson, a private citizen - I am not the BLM or any other branch of government!
Information about BLM adoptions is offered as a service, to help mustangs find homes and to promote public appreciation of wild horses and burros.
Please direct adoption questions to the BLM, not to me.
And I sure as heck am not a Mustang car dealership!
I have NO horses or burros for sale and am not interested in buying or listing or otherwise promoting your sale animals!
This website: Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All Rights Reserved. I am happy to share, but please give me a credit when you "borrow" things off my website! Thanks! Just say, "author, Nancy Kerson www.mustangs4us.com "
DVD or VHS (2-DVD or 2-VHS set) almost 3 hours of instruction!
$39.95 plus $5 shipping/handling = $44.95 total
Lesley Neuman: The First Touch Gentling Your Mustang $45.00
Lesley works with 3 wild horses at a BLM adoption, and very clearly explains what is happening, what she is doing, & what she sees in each horse as it progresses. Study this video and you can learn "pressure and release" gentling techniques to gentle your own new mustang!
Help for Burro adopters! Crystal Ward Donkey Training
All the basics of gentling, handling, and training. A MUST for new burro adopters! Good for domestic donkeys, too!
Can't do Paypal? No Problem! Just Call TOLL FREE 1-877-345-6748 (1-877-FILMS4U)
Disclaimer: I am not a geneticist. The information on these color pages represents the best scientific info I have been able to locate. Theories and knowledge change over time, and it may be you know something I don't - this site is not intended to be "the last word" in colors, just a guide for those wishing to explore the topic.
Color genetics are the same for all horses, regardless of breed or ancestry.
Since this is a Mustang website, I have used pictures of wild, or formerly-wild horses wherever possible.
Colors and color patterns in mustangs are extremely varied, the inheritance of the early Spanish Horses who came in many colors and patterns. - Dr. Phillip Sponenberg
Horse Color variations are so numerous, and they go by so many names, that it may seem impossibly complicated to understand. But understanding horse coloring does not have to be so hard.
Think of it as LAYERS, like painting with stencils or making wax-resist batik.
You start with a BASE COLOR: it will be one of two: Red or Black. That's all there are. Every horse is, at base, either red or black.
All other colors and color patterns are created by the actions of genetic modifiers on these two base pigments.
CHROME
"CHROME" is a term refering to white facial markings (stars, snips, blazes, aprons) and lower leg white (socks, etc).
Chrome is determined genetically (by a color blocking agent) as an entirely separate component to coloring, and is not considered in identifying base coloring. A horse may be any color or combination of colors and also have chrome - or not.
The exact genetics of Chrome are not well understood at this time, although horses with lots of chrome tend to reproduce foals with similar markings.
What About BAY? Because many color genes affect BAY differently than Red or Black, BAY is also considered a "Base Color" although genetically it is the result of a genetic modifier on the base color Black.
White results when a genetic modifier - or combination of genes - or another agent such as scarring - BLOCKS color from being expressed, or DILUTES it (think "bleach") to white or near-white, or, in the case of GRAY, the gene progressively REPLACES the original color with white.
There is a Dominant White color gene - but it is rare. Most white horses are white due to some other agent.
BROWN is not a color gene in itself. Brown comes about in many ways:
The most common useage of the term "Brown" in horses refers to a black horse or donkey with tan or lighter muzzle, and lighter mottling around the flanks.
Silver Dapples on Black creates "Chocolate"
Dark Red or Bay horses also appear "brown"
How to use the "Horse Color" section:
Scroll down to the CHART below and click on the link of the color you want to read about. Or choose from these links:
There is also the whole subject area of "Chrome" (white markings on legs & face) and "acquired coloring," such as Bend d'Or spotting and corning. For now I am not going into those subjects.
Here's a quick Pictorial Overview of all the Known Horse Color Genes and how they affect each Base Color: Click on a link to go to a page about that subject:
black/red, agouti, tobiano, cream, sabino, and silver.
$30 for the first test and $25 for any additional test (per animal). Send to: E. Gus Cothran, Ph.D. Equine Genetics Lab. VIBS, CVM Texas A&M University TAMU 4458 College Station, TX 77843-4458 (979) 845-0229
Special thanks to Leah S. Brault of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory University of California, Davis for reviewing this site for accuracy
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Note to viewers: I am always looking for good photos to illustrate colors. If you have one you'd like to share, especially for a color or pattern that I don't already have good pictures for, please email me!