One of the key features of a horse that makes it possible to distinguish one breed from another is its color - a combination of the hair color of the animal with the color of the eyes and skin. This property is inherited and develops in the process of growing up: it is difficult to determine the color of a foal at birth. More confident conclusions can be made after the first molt (usually after 7-8 months from the moment of its birth).
Coloring horses with photographs and names are of interest to many lovers of these strong, hardy, strong and unpretentious animals.
Suits: general information
The most common are bay, gray, red and black suits of horses. With photographs and names, familiarity with the species and breeds of pets is greatly facilitated.
The juiciness of the color of the main suit, uniformity of color, specific features are indicated by apprentices (more than 50 species), which are mistakenly referred to as suits in the conversation, although it is just about the varieties of the latter (for example, red-tiger, gray in apples).
Sometimes, for a more reliable and correct description of the color, two or more names of the colors of the horses can be used simultaneously (for example, dark golden bay, light brown in apples). There are breeds that incorporate one suit:
- fake - gafflingers;
- black - friezes;
- red - Donchaks.
Color can prevail in the breed. A vivid example:
- Budennovskaya (80% red);
- Andalusian (80% gray);
- Russian horseback (most of the black sheep).
Also there are different breeds. In particular, the Akhal-Teke horse is worthy of attention. The suits collected in this breed: black, red, bay, gray, isabella, mulled, solovy, karakova. Akhal-Teke were bred more than 5 thousand years ago and had an important influence on the development of many breeds.
Oh you're a black horse
The black color for horse breeders is the most popular and is recognized by its uniformly black, with a brilliant bluish tint, coloring of the body, mane and tail.
A black horse is associated with something mystical, often in a negative way. Since ancient times, riders on horses of a black color have been raising fear and causing panic among others. The headless horseman from the movie Sleepy Hollow, the Nazgulls from The Fellowship of the Ring, Woland and his retinue from The Master and Margarita - they all sat on black ravens. The same suit was the famous Bucephalus - a real historical character who died during the rescue of his beloved master Alexander the Great.
Carriers of only the black suit are friezes - beautiful, blue-black, without a single mark horses, bred in Holland.
Representatives of the black color of horses (photo and name indicate the variety of color of animals) are found among many breeds, including:
- Karachay;
- Kabardian;
- Ariege (French Ariegeois);
- Shires
- perchersons;
- cladrub;
- Hanover
- trakenenskaya.
Crow Palette
Crowing in a tan ("karya" in Old Russian) - an apprentice, characterized by the ends of hair that are reddened and burnt out in the sun. In the summer, with prolonged exposure to sunlight, and also due to the instability of the coloring pigment, the horse may temporarily change color to dirty brown. In winter, the color of the animal is restored.
Piebald piebald is an unusually elegant variation of the suit, distinguished by large white spots that are randomly scattered around the body. The bright contrast between black and white invariably attracts attention, especially with the same uneven color of the limbs.
Ash-crow is an apprentice of the crow's suit, characterized by a less saturated color with a specific chestnut or dark brown tint.
Raven-roan. The horse's body seems outwardly ashen, although in reality the hairs of the hair are alternately colored in white and black.
Karakova is a variety of black suit, recognizable by:
- black coloring of the body, mane, tail, limbs;
- light brown tan marks in the area of ​​the eyes and nostrils, in the groin and on the belly.
Many experts highlight this type of color as a separate suit, but some consider it the darkest variation of the bay suit.
Bay suit and its variations
Coloring horses with photos and names are of interest to many fans of these magnificent animals. If the horse is completely painted in red-brown color, and its mane, tail and sometimes legs (in the lower part) are black, then the animal can be safely attributed to the bay suit. The bay color of the horse is widespread and is found in almost all breeds, and only in Cleveland (Great Britain) there are no other stripes - this is the hallmark of the breed.
- A dark bay horse is characterized by a richly brown, in some cases almost black coloration of the back, croup, sometimes sides, upper part of the head, neck. The remaining parts of the body are characterized by a lighter tone.
- Light bay - the animal is evenly painted in a reddish, light or gray-brown tone. The lower abdomen, areas around the eyes, muzzle - several tones lighter. There is an admixture of brown hair in the mane and tail. The coloring of the legs is a mixture of black and brown colors.
- The stag-deer combined the variations of the bay suit: the muzzle, throat and abdomen are painted in a light tone; back, croup, sides, neck, upper part of the head - dark brown
- Coddling - it is distinguished by very light, almost white tan marks around the eyes, the oral cavity, in the inguinal zone, and the internal parts of the limbs. Coddling is also observed in karakova, ginger, or game horses.
The photo and name of the breeds colorfully convey the specific features of animals that are sincerely loved and revered by humans.
Red suit and its derivatives
Representatives of the red suit are characterized by a uniform red color of the coat (from yellow and light apricot to dark chestnut tones). The mane and tail can be painted in a darker color, although there are specimens with a white tail and mane, acquiring such a color depending on the season. The key difference from the bay suit is the identity of the color of the trunk and legs. The most common shades are light, dark, golden red.
The red color of the horse is characteristic of many breeds:
- Breton (France);
- Suffolk (England);
- Belgian (Belgium);
- Russian and Soviet (Russia);
- Frederiksborg (Denmark).
A variation of red is a brown suit, found in dark and light colors. The darkest version of the brown suit can be mistaken for dark bay: the body is chocolate, the mane with the tail is close to black. The difference lies in the color of the lower legs: in a brown horse, their color matches the color of the body.
The light brown apprentice is recognizable by the light brown color of the coat, without the presence of red tones.
Game suit: signs
The names of the suits of horses are varied and in their extensive list include such a name as "fake". An animal of such a suit is characterized by a brown or red torso, a mane and tail of a smoky or white color. The latter, unlike the red horse, does not change during the year. In its pure form, the playful color is found only in 2 breeds: the haflinger and the heavy Belgian.
Breeds having in their population horses of the suit color:
- Russian Soviet heavy truck;
- Germanic Jutland and Schleswig;
- Austrian Norwegian.
Description of gray horses
The color of the horse in black and white is inherent in the gray suit. The combination of shades in different proportions and configurations is found in dark gray, light gray and ermine (light body, almost black tail with a mane) variants. The admixture of white hairs may increase with each shedding.
Gray in apples is the most frequent and incredibly beautiful variety of gray color, characterized by the presence of light spots on the body that duplicate the network of subcutaneous blood vessels.
Gray color is widespread among Oryol trotters (1/2 livestock) and Arabian horses (more than a third). The colors of horses with photographs amaze with a variety of colors and shades.
Carriers of gray color are the following breeds:
- Lippician (Spanish);
- Percheron, Camargue and Boulogne (French);
- shagia (Arab, grown in Hungary);
- lusitano (portuguese);
- Andalusian (Spanish);
- Terek (Russian).
The white color of the horse is a variation of gray and is characterized by a natural white color. In the West, even the corresponding breed is bred - American white. Mistakenly, these animals are called "albinos", but in reality this is not so.
The specifics of the gray suit
A gray foal may appear black, but as it grows up due to growing white hairs, it becomes light gray, becoming light gray by its “coming of age”, and gray in a few years. The head and stomach are parts of the body that turn gray faster than anyone.
The speed of clarification of gray horses is individual, some become completely white by 3-4 years. Moreover, small dark spots may appear on the body. Other horses remain dark until old age.
Bulan suit
Against the background of the rest, the bulan suit is highlighted with a yellowish-sand or golden color of the body, emphasized by the black color of the mane, tail and lower legs. A dark strip called the “belt” is allowed along the back. The suit has different colors, including reddish or light bay. There are voluptuous horses of bright yellow color with a golden tint. On the legs there may be zebra stripes inherited from the tarpans, extinct wild ancestors.
- Light brown. The color of the main background is pale yellow, light sand, down to white. The belt is dark in color. On the legs, an admixture of blond hair is sometimes observed.
- Dark Bulan. Has a reddish or brownish-yellow body color, black belt.
The remaining suits of horses with photos and names
Solovaya
Representatives of the salt suit (otherwise called “palomino”) are characterized by a golden-yellow uniform body color, a white mane, and the same tail.
Salt horses can be born in a white color, have a pinkish skin, which darkens over time. Presumably, the nightingale color originates from the Arabian horses.
Isabella
Cream coat, pink skin, blue or green eyes. The suit is quite rare, one of the purest and strongest along the genetic line, compatible with saline and bulan. By the way, the remaining colors (except piebald and forelock) are inherent in gray skin color.
Isabella is found among Akhal-Teke horses, Kin horses, and some pony breeds. The suit is named after the Spanish queen Isabella Clara Eugenia, who, according to ancient legend, vowed not to take off her white shirt until her husband took a large Belgian port. The siege lasted 3 years, during which time the shirt changed its color. Indeed, it was during the reign of Queen Isabella that yellow suits of horses became popular.
Savrasaya
"Wild" suit, which has the characteristic features of native breeds. A prominent representative is Przewalski’s horse. Uneven pale red color of the body, lighter in the abdomen. The lower regions of the limbs are black, the same color, sometimes with a mixture of brown and light strands at the tail with a mane.
On the body along the ridge there is a black-brown, clearly defined strip (“belt”), on the legs there are zebroid stripes. Sometimes there is the presence of a black piping of the ears, “wings” - transverse, slightly blurry stripes of dark color on the shoulders and “hoarfrost” - white tail strands.
Kaurai
The kaura suit of the horse has a second name - “red-savrasay”. Its representatives are characterized by a reddish coloring of the trunk and legs, a brown-red mane with a tail. Be sure to present a “belt” of red-red color. In some instances, “zebroidity” may be observed.
Mouse
A “wild” coat, well recognized by its ash-gray (in some specimens with a brownish tint) coat color. The mane with the tail is black. The body is painted unevenly. There may be a “belt” and “zebroid” marks on the legs. Another name for the suit is raven-savrasai.
Roan
A sign of the roan suit, which does not change with age, is a rich admixture of white hair on the main background of any color. At the same time, white hairs are practically absent on the legs (lower parts) and the head, which retain their basic tone.
Chubaray
It is formed on the basis of "background" suits. Small spots of irregularly oval shape, having the color of the main suit, are randomly scattered along the body of the animal. The background is formed by an admixture of white wools to the main color.
Also a symmetrical white mark in the sacral zone is considered a characteristic feature of the forearm suit. Sometimes it can be located on almost the entire body of the animal. Pink color (speckled) skin color, as well as “longitudinally striped” color of hooves, is inherent in horses of a black suit.
Appalousian breed of horses (America) belongs to the black suit. This color is found in some lines of the Austrian breed - Norikian. Of indigenous breeds, a bright exotic color is inherent in Kazakh, Mongolian, and Altai. This fact involuntarily leads to the idea that the forebear suit has its origin in Central Asia.
Pie
It is distinguished by large white marks of irregular shape, randomly scattered around the main background of any of the stripes. This is the pinto of a horse - eye-catching, bright, with an exotic appearance.
In America, it is very popular and loves the avid horse breeders painthorse - a breed of pinto horses. In past times, pinto, mainly common among indigenous breeds and workhorses, was unloved among the population, was considered "gypsy", "cow", "plebeian".