# Rare and Common



## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

bay is the most common, and maybe brindle being the rarest =/


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## Midnight Angel (Oct 31, 2010)

I think it will depend on what country you are in ? And even what area within the country ? Etc etc


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I live in the American south, where the quarter horse is supreme, so the most common color I've seen in sorrel. The rarest seems to be true white. Most people around here don't like whites because they sunburn and are hard to keep clean, as well as wives's tales about white horses being sick all the time/not as strong/not as skilled as other colors.


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

I've always heard that grulla is the rarest coat color, but I would also say that true white/albino horses are extremely rare. 

Around here, bay and sorrel are tied for the most common.


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## QHDragon (Mar 6, 2009)

I tend to see a lot of chestnuts around here, and grays. I think the rarest color in my area would probably be a true black.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

I'd say bay (or any variation of the color) is the most common. Bay is typically a dominant gene isn't it?
Sorrel would certainly be net.
Brindle and Albino are the rarest i would think.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Most rare, IMO, is a TRUE WHITE or a brindle.

Most common is a bay or chestnut.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i'd say the Chimarea(sp?) IE Brindle, or those ones that are brown and white like a paint but with no white.

and most common around here is Bay and sorrel of course. around you you RARELY see a Grey.. it's kinda sad = ( i LOVE Greys!


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## rbarlo32 (Aug 9, 2010)

here in shetland pony contry ie most equines up here are shetland the most common colour in black anc to go outwith shetland ponies the rarest colour is spotteed as i n stud book rules shetland ponies can't be spotted and as they are the most common breed up here it makes them really rare. and a little bit of topic shetland has now imported their first miniture horse which happens ti ve spotted.


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## back in the crosby again (Feb 4, 2009)

A knack for horses said:


> I've always heard that grulla is the rarest coat color, but I would also say that true white/albino horses are extremely rare.
> 
> Around here, bay and sorrel are tied for the most common.


Just goes to prove the part of the country your from makes a difference. Grulla is pretty common around here. 
It would be hard to say what the most common color around here is. Other then the hand full of other barns I have been to, I don't really interact much with the horses in the local area. People here do seem to like colored horses. For example on my way home from town I pass (in order)
-a BW paint and a blue roan paint
-2 roans and a grulla
-a bay and a chestnut 
-a grulla overo (weird right I had to stop and talk to the old man that has him)
-a chestnut paint
-2 buckskins and a red roan appy


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

back in the crosby again said:


> Just goes to prove the part of the country your from makes a difference. Grulla is pretty common around here.


In my part of the country, we are primarily QH and paint territory (And being a western rider, thats about the only breeds I ever see). I said grulla because thats what I've always been told, but seeing that there are quite a few breeders that breed for the color, I doubt that is the case anymore.

P.S. I've seen a grulla paint, too. :shock: She was so odd looking. Her mane started at the top layer as grulla colored but turned white on the underside. Pretty cool, though.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

i'd say bay was most common in my area and i mean realllly common.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

As a note, albino has never been found to exist in horses, so if you're seeing albinos then yeah, they WOULD be the rarest! :lol:

I was going to say I've never seen/heard of a cremello or perlino dun, but I did a Google search and it seems the double cream gene just hides the dun anyway, so nothing special there!

Brindle would be the rarest pattern, but it's not a color. Most brindle horses are a mix of two very common colors actually. True tobiano (with no other patterns) would probably be a close second!

I really don't know if dominant white would be the rarest, unless you're referring to the completely white horses. Dominant white can display as totally white or partially white, so as a genetic gene it's a bit of a toss up!


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## CloudsMystique (Mar 3, 2009)

Chestnut is definitely the most common around here, followed by bay.

Of the more 'common' colors, black and gray are pretty rare. Obviously the more complicated colors are always going to be the rarest, such as palomino, buckskin, grullo, roan, and champagne. And the even more complicated ones, such as cremello dun, palomino roan, and champagne cream will be even rarer.


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## TheLastUnicorn (Jun 11, 2010)

Around here I'd say probably Bay then chestnut would be the most common color... and I've never heard of a Dominant White (or True White) in our area, so I'd have to go with that as the rarest (since it's also rare elsewhere in the world too)


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> As a note, albino has never been found to exist in horses, so if you're seeing albinos then yeah, they WOULD be the rarest! :lol:


That is exactly what I was thinking! There's dominant white, and maximum sabino. Both look albino, but genetically aren't. I did some research on genetics recently, and some scientists recently (within the last month or two) put out some info on albino. If I remember correctly, they said that they discovered a way that horses could be albino(it was thought before to be 100% impossible), but there has never been any record of it. They also said that the creme dilution gene results in a partial albino. So Buckskins, Palominos, Perlinos, Smokey Black etc are technically partial albinos. 

Anyyyyway, I live in Thoroughbred country, so it's mostly bays and chestnuts. However I'd say bays are a tad more common. (By the way, for whoever it was that had asked if bays were dominant, yes, they are. It's the agouti gene over a black base coat. Agouti is dominant to black, and technically it's dominant to red too I believe, but since it doesn't act on a red base that doesn't really matter...) Greys are also extremely common around here. Paints/pintos and Creme colors (Palomino etc.) are also fairly common. Rarest color (excluding patterns, like Brindle) would probably be grullo. I've only seen one I think in the last 9 or so years.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Actually albino in horses is really common. You see it all the time - cremello, perlino and smokey cream. Albino is not required to present as snow white with pink eyes. Cream hair with blue eyes is still albino.


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Chiilaa said:


> Actually albino in horses is really common. You see it all the time - cremello, perlino and smokey cream. Albino is not required to present as snow white with pink eyes. Cream hair with blue eyes is still albino.


Sort of... There's two different variations of albinism. Cream horses are one form, but not technically the "true" for of albinism that most people think of. There's more info here if you're interested in it. Albino Miniature Horse


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_Here in the area that I am in, I would have to say Bays are the most common. But I live in/around Mennonite country, and a lot of their (buggy) horses are Standardbreds. But, the barn I ride at is full of grey ponies. Seriously, I think the BO has an obsession!_

_To be honest, I think the area I live in has a pretty good mix of everything. Although there are a lot of English riders, there are also a fair amount of Western riders as well. All the barns seem to have just about one of everything. _


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

Techincally Albino is a lack of all pigment. 
I know that in humans it is caused by a simple mutation which stops one metabolic pathway from being complete and little to no melanin is produced.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Just because it is a different variety doesn't mean it isn't a true albino. That's like saying that Polish Arabians aren't purebred because they aren't Egyptian Arabians.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

I play horseeden and one of my favorite horses on the game is my Snowflake stallion. So I googled them today to see if any of them actually looked like the ones on the game. 

I've never seen a horse spotted like this:


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

It depends on the breed I'd say..

Like a lot of TB's are bay or Chestnut
Connemara's would be mostly grey

etc etc..

So i'd say it depends on what breed is common in your area.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Interesting thread. I found an article Rare Horse Colors ? The Facts With some interesting stuff. I have a chocolate flaxen that I always thought was correct. From the article I'm not sure if she should be a chocolate palomino or a flaxen chestnut. She is a RMH and that registry calls it chocolate flaxen so I guess that's what she is. 
As with most of you, it seems chestnut and bays are the most common around here in QH country.


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## TheLastUnicorn (Jun 11, 2010)

I believe that RMH's can be silver, quite commonly.... I'd have to ask again with the lady who owns them in my area though! (they do also come in flaxen chestnut)

If your horse is nearly black in body (or very very very dark brown) and his mane and tail are nearly white (like a palomino) it's very possible he's silver - not palomino or flaxen chestnut


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## Adenfire (Dec 2, 2010)

I have a Silver Bay Roan Appy...I haven't seen anything like him.


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Adenfire- he's beautiful!!!


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## HorseOfCourse (Jul 20, 2009)

I'm just throwing my two cents in here, but being an albino as I am, I've read up a lot on it and there are many different forms of it, for instance I have both ocular albinism in my eyes and type 2 albinism, as some refer to it, in my skin. Albinism is, as CessBee said, a genetic mutation. You can carry the gene for albinism with a heterozygous fashion as both of my parents did and not know it, just your daily lesson. 
I don't know a whole lot about albinism in horses, but in the 4-H book that I have it says there is an albino horse registry.

To get back on topic, common colors near me are chestnut and bay, but mostly chestnut and rare colors are perlino, grulla, cremello, palomino, and paints other than chestnut.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Adenfire (Dec 2, 2010)

hflmusicislife said:


> Adenfire- he's beautiful!!!



thanks  best free horse ever


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