What is the difference between a chestnut horse and a sorrel horse

What is a chestnut horse? A chestnut horse is a very dark red, sometimes appearing almost brown much like the color of a. Within chestnuts and sorrels, there are further distinctions that describe different coats by shade. Liver chestnut: This is the darkest chestnut — in fact, the darkest of all the red shades! It presents as a reddish black.

It can even be so dark, that sometimes this shade of red can look almost fully black or even with purple tones. Chestnut: The standard chestnut, this color possesses a deep red coat, coppery and bright but also with undertones of brown.

Red chestnut: This refers to a classic chestnut horse, but with brighter red tones throughout. Sorrel: A clearly reddish coated horse that contains no black. Genetically the same as the chestnut, sorrel typically refers to lighter shades of red, going up to that clear, bright, red tint.

Light sorrel: having a red coat, but with more palomino or flaxen tones. Chestnut sorrel: A confusing term, this still refers to a sorrel horse, but with legs that are lighter colored than the body.

Blonde sorrel: One of the lighter sorrel colors, it is a bright, sandy red coat with pale areas around the eyes, muzzle, and flanks, along with paler legs, especially common in American Belgians. This coat color is the unique genetic result of the pangare gene, a gene causing a light or flaxen coat, acting upon a flaxen-maned chestnut.

Classifying chestnuts or sorrels for breed registries can get a little confusing, as many different breeds have different rules and different definitions. The Suffolk chestnut can encompass yellow, light, copper, gold, red, dark and liver, while the Canadian can recognize four shades of chestnut — clear, golden, dark and burnt.

With other draft breeds, though, the distinction for registering as a chestnut or a sorrel comes down to the amount of easily identifiable or distinguishable shades of red versus lighter colors on a coat. A foal who looks grey when he is born might be red once he matures. Genetically, a sorrel horse and a chestnut horse are the same. The gene that gives them their red coloring is a recessive gene, making it necessary for the horse to have two red genes in order to show as red.

When a specific color gene is paired with a roan gene, that makes a red roan, chestnut roan, sorrel roan, or any of the other types of roan, such as blue. Tags: chestnut horse. Send us a message from our contact page or email us directly at admin horsefaqs. Just Click Here to see the most popular! The below information was gathered on our research from horse owners on several different forums including Reddit and Horseforum.

We also corrected grammar where we thought it would make easier to read. This is actually quite normal when it comes to Western and English based riding and horse care. The terms can be very different but they both really mean about the same thing. But when you finish this article, you will be an equine expert on sorrel and chestnut-colored horses.

Sorrel horses are a specific shade under the umbrella of chestnut color classifications. Sorrel horses are chestnuts that are a lighter red. Their coat is copper-red colored, and their manes and tails are typically the same color as their coat or slightly lighter. Some early studies indicated a genetic difference between sorrels and chestnuts; however, these studies were debunked by modern science and a greater understanding of genetics.

However, the terms describe different shades of red. The American Quarter Horse Association welcomes horses for registration as a sorrel if their coat has the appearance of red or copper color.

Chestnut and sorrel are two of the most popular colors of registered quarter horses. There are other breeds besides quarter horses that recognize sorrels, but outside of the U.

For example, the Suffolk Punch and the Haflinger recognize only chestnut animals. Dash for Cash is the most famous sorrel quarter horse.