Color And Coat Patterns Of the Appaloosa

Tags: Appaloosa, Coat And Colors

 

When most people think of an Appaloosa they think of a solid colored horse, usually bay, brown, or black with a white rump blanket that is covered with spots. While this is one of the most popular colorations and patterns of an Appaloosa, there are many other colorations possible, including solid colors.

There are several base coat colors that are acceptable in the Appaloosa registry. They include bay, black, brown (dark bay), palomino, cremello or perlino, dun, buckskin, grulla, gray, chestnut, and the three roan colors, bay, blue (gray) and red (strawberry). There is no recognized white colored Appaloosa but a cremello or perlino may be very close to white; however, this is a dilution gene, not a true color gene. A solid base colored Appaloosa must have other features that identify it as part of the breed which must include at least the mottled skin on the nose and mouth, belly, and genital areas, and one of the other two features that include white sclera around the eyes and striped hooves.

The Appaloosa registry allows all types of markings on the face and legs including lightening marks, which are non-connected white markings on the legs. Face markings can include a bald face, which is solid white through to a small snip on the nose or a star on the forehead. An Appaloosa does not need to have white on either the face or the legs depending on the other color patterns or the features present.

The patterns that are acceptable in a non-solid colored Appaloosa are categorized by how they appear on the horse. The blanket pattern looks like a small or large white blanket that has been placed over the rump and back of the horse. A spotted blanket has solid or roan colored spots within the white area. Sometimes the spots are the same as the base coat color but they can also be darker or lighter. Roaning has the mixing of light and dark hairs across the body, often found on the jowls and forehead, along the back and along the loins and hips. Roaning is not considered Appaloosa marking unless there is a blanket or two of the other three Appaloosa characteristics present. Roan blankets or roan blankets with spots will classify as an Appaloosa coloration on an otherwise solid base colored horse.

Not all Appaloosa coat patterns and variations are easy to classify. What is not permissible in the registry is any type of pinto coloration. Leopard spotting or spotting all over the body either on a white or roan background is very striking presentation that is considered to be a true Appaloosa coloration although it is less commonly found. Many Appaloosa horses do change color as they mature, and winter and summer coats are likely to appear slightly to extremely different. With any Appaloosa the white areas of the coat will not vary, although the roan colored areas will change slightly as the horse matures. The mottled skin of the Appaloosa will also change slightly with age but will always be present.

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