Read an introduction to horse colors and about the two base colors in the January issue of America's Horse.
 |
Black and red are the two base colors of the American Quarter Horse.
Black pigment is caused by eumelanin (you-MEL-ah-nin) and is dominant
over red.
AQHA PHOTO |
 |
Red – chestnut or sorrel – is a recessive trait.
The color is caused by pheomelanin
(fee-oh-MEL-ah-nin). This sorrel is
Higher Math, owned by Julianna Hawn Holt
of Blanco, Texas.
AQHA PHOTO |
 |
These two horses are the same genetic color, but are different
shades. The horse on the left is a flaxen sorrel. The horse on the right
is a liver chestnut.
AQHA PHOTO |
 |
Love That Chapelle, owned by MJ Farms of Veguita, New Mexico, is a
sorrel.
AQHA PHOTO |
|
Big Daddys Caddy is owned by Robert and Sandra Ogden of Shadow
Hills, California. The mare is a sorrel with a sooty flaxen mane and tail.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OWNER |
 |
This youngster is a liver chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail.
AQHA PHOTO |
