A REFERENCE GUIDE:
Arabian Coat Coloration
by Margo Weise (printed with author permission)
Arabian horses of unusual colors have long been discriminated
against and thought to be impure. With today’s technology, blood typing has made these foolish rumors a thing of the
past. Some of the most flamboyant patterns and shades were not thought impure in the desert but were actually sought
after. One of the Abbas Pasha’s most celebrated mares was Faris Saouda, a parti-color (wildly spotted) horse. This
ancient gene is not a sign of impurity but exactly the opposite. The true parti-color is not a common spotting pattern as
seen today, but instead is the failure of pigmentation cells to spread throughout the body of the horse, a unique
mutation occurring mostly in hotbloods. The Abbas Pasha set great store by this color and collected 11 mares with
these attributes. Faris Saouda can be found in most of the bloodlines available in the U.S. today.
The true parti-color is hardly ever seen today and is strictly hotblood in origin. Desert Name-Ablak This color is not
related to the tobiano or the overo gene groups. Appaloosa type spots in the Arabian also seem to be a throwback to
the parti-color. These horses are not eligible for the Appaloosa registry, even though some could be confused with the
true Appaloosa.
With the exception of white markings, Arabians differ from other breeds in that they are always black-skinned. The color
variance of the Arabian can be attributed to mutations of the basic hard coat colors of red, black, and bay, with grey
being a phase of the white hair pattern group. White markings are a sign of domestication and differ from wild animals in
that the markings are randomly placed, unlike the symmetrical markings of the zebra.
There are many variations in the markings and common colors that occur within the Arabian population; some are
common and some extremely rare. We will attempt to cover them here in this work. In order to comprehend the basic
concepts of purebred Arabian color, it is first necessary to understand the definitions of certain color-altering factors,
such as shade, sooty, and mealy. These three factors effect the hair coloration without changing skin pigment.
Shade is governed by both genetic influence and environment. This influence gives the appearance of dilution without
the dilution gene in some cases. Sooty is a modification that allows black hairs to intermingle with the basic coat to alter
the general appearance of the color. This usually appears across the back. Sooty is also the element that turns the bay
to mahogany bay. The mealy effect is caused by a single gene that is dominant and changes the hair color around the
muzzle, eyes, and belly. The mealy component affects both red and black coats, changing the black to seal brown. The
chestnut coat is merely lightened in these areas.
The Colors
Serr Ebony Star, a non-fading
homozygous black
stallion. He has never sired a chestnut,
and most
of the mares he has been bred to are
chestnut.
The true black, with no brown in the ears, muzzle, or flanks, has always been rare but is becoming more popular due to
many breeding programs that have bred into certain lines known to produce the color. Egyptian breeding is the most
prolific of the black coloration through the mare Venus, root mare of the Hadban Enzahi strain and the stallion Dahman.
Dahman was the sire of Rabdan, who appears three times in the fifth generation of Nazeer’s pedigree and is the
grandsire of *Fadl. Polish black Arabians are represented through the line of the desertbred Kuhailan Haifi. Black can
come in several shades: Jet black, raven black, blue black, and summer black. Desert Name-Aswad
Seal brown is another rare color in Arabians and is believed to be a close relative of black, but the horse will have
brown in the flanks, ears, and muzzle. Desert name-Adham
Bay is a brown or reddish-brown horse with black points that was considered to be the original color of the Arabian. Bay
also comes in various shades acquired through altering factors. Desert Name-Hamra
The chestnut is a loose term for horses of reddish tint with no black points, which appears in many shades as well. The
mane and tail color of the chestnut group appears to be polygenic (not controlled by a single gene). Most mane and tail
colors of the chestnut coloration group can be divided into four types: Dark, red, light, and flaxen. Desert Name-Ashqar
Washy bay refers to a horse that could almost appear to be chestnut as the points of the legs, mane, and tail are
neither black nor chestnut but a “washy” reddish color with a few intermingling black hairs. In most cases, this washy bay
is actually a bay whose black points fade with exposure to sunlight, giving the bay the misleading appearance of being a
chestnut.
The white horse, born white with black skin, is the result of abnormal action of the grey factor in which the basic color of
the coat has been entirely replaced before birth. These foals are born in what would otherwise be considered the adult
coat phase. MS Czarthan AHR#44054 was one of these rare and unique horses. Desert Name-Abyad
The grey Arabian can start with any basic coat color, but is most common with dark horses. With the exception of the
rose grey (a red chestnut that greys from the base coat to give it a rosy color), most greys go through several darkening
phases where the horse eventually becomes near black before turning grey. It is impossible to tell what color the base
coat of the horse actually was unless it was viewed as a foal.
Greys usually dapple at some point in the greying process. All colors are capable of dapples as it is associated with
good nutrition, however, the dapple effect is most noted on the sooty shade horse by contrast. Desert Name-Kurush
(White spots on the grey during the color transitions are clear white with underlying black skin. They are not to be
confused with dapples.)
There are two basic types of grey: Those that lose pigment in the mane and tail and become white, known by the Desert
Name-Safra bardah, and those that retain some black in the mane, tail, and sometimes the legs, Desert Name-Safra el
jahra. Both types maintain the black skin pigment. Another form of grey is the fleabitten in which small flecks of color are
viewed throughout the coat. These flecks are usually reddish but can sometimes be black or both. These colored flecks
in no way represent the base color of the horse. Desert Name-Marshusha
Bloody marks are distinctive large reddish patches on a grey horse that increase in size as the horse ages. They are
independent of both background color and greying phases. Rarely, in a very aged horse, this coloration could appear
uniformly red. This phenomenon appears to be a reversal of the greying process.
The rare palomino color is not a true palomino in Arabians but a phase of chestnut that is born lightened by shade.
This rare yellow color was highly prized by the Arabs. Desert Name-Asfar
The buckskin, similar to the palomino, is a lighter phase of the bay but not a true buckskin. The Arabian does not carry
the dilution gene and suffers no loss of skin pigment with either of these phases.
The light-tailed bay with a tan-colored tail is a unique occurrence sometimes seen in young horses. As the horse ages
the black tail hairs appear until the tail is the regular black color.
The true lustrous red roan is seldom seen today. This is a permanent color and not a phase of grey. Roaning covers
the entire body of the horse, giving a silvery appearance. Roaning in the coat is a dominant factor and should never
skip a generation. Even in horses that are slightly roaned there will always be a few white hairs in the coat. This gene in
Arabians is also an ancient trait. Desert Name-Maward (Here a controversy arises in that color genetic experts are now
saying that the Arabian carries no true roaning gene and that the unique roaning look of the Arabian is caused by the
silver dapple, white, or sabino genes. To avoid confusion, we will continue to use the term roan in this work as it
is the easiest to understand.)
Flecks or ticking at the flanks and tail base thought to be associated with the roan may be present at birth or can be
developed later. These are also permanent patterns and occur in all color horses. In the white dock, there is a fall of
white hair starting at the tail base. This is usually referred to as skunk tail or rabicano, and is believed to be a type of
sabino gene.
Belly spots and body patches can be either clean-cut, ragged-edged, or roaned-edged but all have underlying white
skin. These spots are
An Example of
Skunk Tail
A Beauty Mark
A purebred pinto
ancient in origin and can be of any size. They are present at birth and are permanent.
Beauty marks are dark red or black spots that occur most commonly in the chestnut coat. They can be one or many in
number, either large or small. The genetic control of these spots is unknown. The current name for this coloration is
Bend Or, after the Thoroughbred horse most noted for them.
Birdcatcher spots are very rare and are associated with certain families. These random white spots occurring on any
area of the body can appear at any time in life and just as mysteriously disappear.
The Phenomenon of White Markings
White markings can have roaned endings that appear lacy or can blend entirely with the solid coat. In this instance, the
face and leg markings will be roan instead of white.
A detached leg marking
An expanding blaze
The leg run is another ancient variation to the stocking. Most white leg markings do not extend above the knee or hock,
but in this case, the marking travels up the leg often in a broken line. This marking usually effects the hind leg on a full
stocking and travels up the front of the leg. Detached leg markings are independent of other markings and do not
touch the hoof. They most often appear below the knee. The high white leg markings are also an ancient legacy of the
breed. These markings extend above the knee and hock even into the forearm. Coronary spots are fairly common and
are solid-colored spots that connect with the hoof. They have underlying black skin within the white marking. This also is
reputed to extend into the hoof, aiding in the striped coloration of the hoof.
Bald facial markings are rare in Arabians, but do happen. This is where facial markings continue past the face and
extend into the head. The expanding blaze is an ordinary blaze that travels down the face until it
reaches the muzzle where it abruptly extends to encompass the muzzle in part or fully. This ancient unique pattern can
produce white hooks that stretch out into the jaw and into the throat. Desert Name-Sabha Dots within the blaze are dark
dots with underlying black skin found within the white facial markings. They are completely separate from the outside
color. Desert Name-Sa’ad The dot within the blaze is a solid color marking, usually round, and very rare when found on
the forehead.
The glass eye is very uncommon in today’s horses but was seen much more frequently in the desert. It has recently
been associated with a form of spotting gene. The glass eye contains no pigment in the iris and appears blue. (There
seems to be no vision impairment in horses with glass eyes.) The Crabbet stallion Jeroboam was a glass-eyed horse.
Arabian horses with no markings at all are extremely rare. A horse’s white markings seem to be similar to our fingerprints
in that no two are really alike.
In an experiment with twin embryo transplants, both twins were born identical in every way except for their white
markings. This concludes that white markings are a product of the individual and have no association to purity.
It is universally believed that the original horse was a drab little
dun-colored fellow with a bay-type coat that could vary slightly as a camouflage measure according to the area in which
he lived. If you were an artist setting out to paint this little creature and you had only the primary colors and black and
white, which ones would you use? The answer is, all of them. The basic coat color of the dawn horse contained all the
colors of today’s modern horses, and somewhere over the course of time, these colors separated into the glorious
variations seen in the coat patterns of today.