There is something interesting about a roan horse, the dark points are almost mesmerizing against soft pastel coats. Lovely bay and brown animals are the most colorful, usually framed by deep black.
Updated Colors
We’ve been giving our colors section a major overhaul, to make the information more accurate and provide better images. Equine color genetics are incredibly complex and some of it still remains a mystery, even for geneticists. We think that is part of the fun.
Tricky Roan
Roan is found in a variety of breeds, including Spanish Mustangs which lend their genetics to a vast swathe of North American breeds. True roans are born with the pattern and it remains throughout their life. While it looks like it should change yearly, it remains fixed. The white hairs are more or less evenly distributed throughout the coat, while the ratio of white to color isn’t always 50/50. The classic roan gene is not to be confused with roaning patterns (excluding rabicano), which tend to be patchier and not as uniform. The comparison below shows the difference in several white patterns on a similar base color that can look similar, including both types of roan.
Classic Roan
Roaning
Rabicano
Grey
The Range
As roan can affect all base colors or be combined with dilutions, modifiers and other white patterns, there is quite a range in shades. From pink to steel grey, all softened by white and contrasted by their darker head, legs, mane and tail.
Blue Roan
Strawberry Roan
Bay Roan
Seal RoanInteresting Comparison
As we search for color images, we run across some that are just begging to be compared. Showing differences in colors that might not be as apparent otherwise. Below are two roan animals, with roughly similar coloring and body type, one bay and one brown. It’s always interesting to see them side by side and not something that’s always easy to do. Especially on similar animals, these two handsome specimens are probably Ardennais.
Bay Base
Brown Base
Roan Breeds
There is a wide range of breeds that carry the roan patterning, but as far as we can tell there aren’t any that are bred specifically for the pattern.
Colorful World
The world of horse colors is truly a spectacular one and we will continue to share updated color (and breed) pages, with all of their spectacular images. We’ve been working on some quick color cheat sheets for all of the horse color lovers out there. Click the image below for a larger version.
