Black
Solid black, no brown or other colors.
EE or Ee (dominant). No agouti.
True black Friesians have improved the coat color in other breeds. Sometimes horses are crossed in such a way to improve breeding stock, as is done with other animals such as dogs and cats.
Photo of Black Friesian from cyborgsuzy on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
EE or Ee (dominant). No agouti.
True black Friesians have improved the coat color in other breeds. Sometimes horses are crossed in such a way to improve breeding stock, as is done with other animals such as dogs and cats.
Photo of Black Friesian from cyborgsuzy on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
Black-Brown
Mostly black, some brown hairs around muzzle, eyes, flanks, and insides of legs.
EE or Ee (dominant). Seal is one variation of agouti, and with this gene a horse may appear black-brown; otherwise they would be pure black. If the seal gene is present (or any other agouti) then the black horse may expose other colors as well. All horses showing ANY black in the coat have EE or Ee, but a horse with EE or Ee may have the black obscured by certain modifiers. Thus black in the coat does mean the black gene is present, but lack of black in the coat does not mean EE or Ee isn't present. Also must have sooty gene, and may or may not have pangare.
Darker than a horse with just seal agouti modifier. The sootiness adds more darkness and makes it look closer to black, although it actually has more different genes. Sooty gene being active or inactive has no effect on a pure black horse. It can't get any blacker.
EE or Ee black horse with seal agouti and sooty marking from DrabikPany on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
NOTE brown fur around muzzle, eyes, and flanks.
EE or Ee (dominant). Seal is one variation of agouti, and with this gene a horse may appear black-brown; otherwise they would be pure black. If the seal gene is present (or any other agouti) then the black horse may expose other colors as well. All horses showing ANY black in the coat have EE or Ee, but a horse with EE or Ee may have the black obscured by certain modifiers. Thus black in the coat does mean the black gene is present, but lack of black in the coat does not mean EE or Ee isn't present. Also must have sooty gene, and may or may not have pangare.
Darker than a horse with just seal agouti modifier. The sootiness adds more darkness and makes it look closer to black, although it actually has more different genes. Sooty gene being active or inactive has no effect on a pure black horse. It can't get any blacker.
EE or Ee black horse with seal agouti and sooty marking from DrabikPany on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
NOTE brown fur around muzzle, eyes, and flanks.
Brown Seal
Mostly dull brown with black or dark brown points. No golden hairs in lower leg. Mealy browns have pangare fading on muzzle, underbelly, insides of legs and flanks.
EE or Ee with seal agouti modifier. Mealy brown seal has pangare.
Image of seal foal and parent from Saparevo on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
NOTE dark shading outside of points. Also, lack of mealy muzzle on pair.
EE or Ee with seal agouti modifier. Mealy brown seal has pangare.
Image of seal foal and parent from Saparevo on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.
NOTE dark shading outside of points. Also, lack of mealy muzzle on pair.
Bay-Brown and Sooty Bay
Bay-brown is the same as brown with the addition of reddish-colored fur around eyes, muzzle, flanks, and inner legs.
Sooty bay: 'conker-colored' black nearest the topline and red-bay lower down, including face and lower legs.
EE or Ee with seal agouti (always) and bay agouti (always) with sooty (in the case of Sooty bays only).
Image of bay-brown horse used under Creative Commons. Found on Flickr under quinn.anya.
Sooty bay: 'conker-colored' black nearest the topline and red-bay lower down, including face and lower legs.
EE or Ee with seal agouti (always) and bay agouti (always) with sooty (in the case of Sooty bays only).
Image of bay-brown horse used under Creative Commons. Found on Flickr under quinn.anya.