# Black horse question??



## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

I have been reading these colour threads and have learnt a lot but I'm still confused about some things. 

There is a horse at work that is black but can a black horse have brown on it? He is in a stable almost 24/7 with a rug on all the time and it's winter. The other day he broke his rug and I saw him without a rug and he looked a bit browner on his flanks and belly. From what I have seen though his face is pitch black no brown. 

I'll put the only pictures I have up of his face just so you can see. The first horse is (scar) the black horse I am talking about and then a brown colt (Battery) what I am comparing him too. Sorry about the bad lighting. Thanks for any help.


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## Lakotababii (Nov 28, 2010)

apachewhitesox said:


> I have been reading these colour threads and have learnt a lot but I'm still confused about some things.
> 
> There is a horse at work that is black but can a black horse have brown on it? He is in a stable almost 24/7 with a rug on all the time and it's winter. The other day he broke his rug and I saw him without a rug and he looked a bit browner on his flanks and belly. From what I have seen though his face is pitch black no brown.
> 
> I'll put the only pictures I have up of his face just so you can see. The first horse is (scar) the black horse I am talking about and then a brown colt (Battery) what I am comparing him too. Sorry about the bad lighting. Thanks for any help.


Well here it is summer and I have a black gelding. He looks like a brown horse right now, minus his face and legs. But his flanks and back are brown. I have *heard* that this is because the sun can bleach them out. Almost every black horse I have ever met turns a brownish color when exposed to sunlight. They are dark dark black when they are shedding or growing a new coat, but when they are sun bleached they turn brownish. I think thats normal.


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

Yes that makes sense. I was just questioning it because the only direct sun he gets is if he being ridden, has the back door of his stable open to a little pen or he is out in a day paddock. Even then except when being ridden he would always have a rug on. So the areas that go brownish would be covered.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

The second pic makes me say brown. You can see the mealy on the muzzle if you look closely, and also around his eye.

Black horses that sunfade usually don't fade in the 'soft' parts of the body first - if the horse is black but has faded in the muzzle, around the eye, at the elbow and flank, and at the base of the butt, it isn't a black at all, but a brown


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

sorry if I didn't make it clear they are two different horses. I was saying was confused because the second horse is definitely brown. It was like for comparison. The first horse is black except on his flanks and belly which you cant see. On his face though its completely black which is what confused me. Any brown you may see on the first horse is just dirt.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

lol well that explains why the second horse is brown lol.

I can't tell from the first pic to be honest.


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

Yeah I didn't think anyone would I just thought I would add them in case.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

From what I can see he looks black, but I really can't tell


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## ginaxmarie13 (Aug 2, 2011)

Dark bay horses can commonly be mistaken for black horses. If he isn't exposed to sunlight a lot and has brown near his flanks, it sounds like he isn't a true black horse but is rather a dark bay.


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## Deslumbrar (Jul 31, 2011)

Bay has black points... mane, tail, below knees & hocks. Some bays can be incredibly dark but there is almost always a difference in color of mane and tail to body.

Copper deficiencies are the main reason for black horses fading without having cause for sun burned hair - and its considerably more common than most think.


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## ginaxmarie13 (Aug 2, 2011)

the copper deficiency is an interesting thought.. ive never looked into that.

but in regards to the bay, we had a holsteiner at our barn who was just as dark as this horse is, no distinction between coat and mane/tail except some brown flecks near her flank and she was registered as a dark bay. i guess it depends on the horse!


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanks for all your thoughts i wish i had better pictures. From what I can tell he is pitch black everywhere apart from those few small areas that look really dark brown. On the board at work that has info to help identify horses and know where they are, it says he is black. So I would assume he is black on his registry, he is thoroughbred in training for racing.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss (Aug 10, 2010)

Never thought of copper deficiency, I always assumed it was sun bleached- thanks! Might give it a go


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Oakley Eastern Miss said:


> Never thought of copper deficiency, I always assumed it was sun bleached- thanks! Might give it a go


 
Balanced Equine Nutrition - Mineral interactions


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