Cool Facts About Horse Colors You Might Not Know

by Joseph Zheng, age 7

The most common colors of a horse are red-brown, red-gold, and gray. Horses can have markings on their lower legs and even their bellies. White markings below the knee are called white socks. Markings on their belly are called flesh marks. These markings make each horse unique and valuable.

Horses are identified by their white patches of fur on their face. They have different markings on their faces, one marking is a stripe that runs down their face. Another one is called a blaze, a white patch covering their nostrils up to their forehead. The last marking is a snip, a patch of white between the horse's nostrils. Part-colored horses have large patches of different colors on their coats. Horses with white and black fur are called piebald.

Lastly, skewbald horses have large patches of white and any other color that is not black. Oftentimes, the markings and colors of horses widely depend on the creature's genetics. Horses with similar traits will have offspring that will resemble their colors and markings. Horses are beautiful animals that can vary in appearance, next time you see a horse try to spot their unique features!

[Source: 100 Things You Should Know About Horses and Ponies ]