First though...basics. What you see!
Scientifically speaking, this is called 'phenotype'.
All horses are one of two basic coat colors, believe it or not! All the variation comes from modifiers. Horses, at their base, are either black or red.
That was easy! We humans call 'red' a couple different terms....chestnut or sorrel. You will not find a 'sorrel' Arabian-they don't exist. The term 'chestnut' is used for all red Arabians. The opposite is true of Quarter Horses-they are all sorrel, if they are red. American Miniatures differentiate!
If a Miniature is a bright red, no hint of brown to it, it is sorrel. My Fancy is a sorrel. Here she is:
Sorry the picture is so small...it's the only copy I have left. Back up your photos! I am kicking myself now.
oh, her daughter, Princess/Gentle Spirit, a few blogs ago...she is also a sorrel (pinto)
If a Miniature has a brown tint to their red, it is a chestnut. Snippa is a chesnut, as is her colt here, from '09.
The difference can be subtle, and both are genetically 'red'.
The basic variations one will see are:
- bay
- brown
- smoky black
- buckskin....these 4 are modifications of a 'black' horse.
- palomino...a modification of the 'red' horse.
- pinto's of any color-the 4 pinto genes are their own modifiers, and adds white to any base coat.
- true grey (a 'white' horse)(and not very common in Minis)(we will get to this in detail)
- silvers...which have a whole variety!
- roan, which is like pinto...it adds white hairs to certain parts of any base coat
- perlino...a double dose of a certain modifier on black
- cremello...a double dose of the same modifier on red
There are others...appaloosa, champagne...both modifiers that apply to any base coat. I will take all of these in turn over the next weeks and explain them. Blessings!
