Equine coat color genetics determine a horse's coat color. There are many different coat color possibilities, but all colors are produced by the action of only a few genes.
Try pressing the genetic buttons to the left of the horse below and see how they all interact!
- E - Black
- e - Red
- A - Agouti/Bay
- a - recessive Agouti
- G - Grey
- CR - Cream
- prl - Pearl
- D - Dun
- CH - Champagne
- F - Flaxen
- Z - Silver
- STY - Sooty
- RB - Rabicano
- RN - Roan
- SB1 - Sabino 1
- W - “Dominant” White
- TO - Tobiano
- O - Lethal White Overo
- SPL - Splashed White
- LP - Leopard Complex Spotting
- PATN1 - Pattern 1
- PATN2 - Pattern 2
*Capital letters indicate DOMINANT variants and lower-case letters indicate RECESSIVE variants. Some of the color variants below are not yet genetically discovered but known to be heritable. More discoveries to come!
**This is a legacy tool designed by Jennifer Hoffman. Not all of the colors/variants shown are fully mapped. For a current demonstration of known/mapped variants only, please see Build-a-Horse.