# colors of paints



## saigejudd (Apr 2, 2012)

Today my father asked me, "how come there are not black and brown paint horses?" You always see red and white, brown and white, and black and white, but you never see black and brown.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Because a black and brown horse is a bay. ;-)

It has to do with genetics. The pinto coloring evolved as a form of camouflage. It breaks up the horse's outline and simulates patches of shadow and sunlight. A black and brown horse would have to live in an area that is rather dark in order for its camouflage to be effective. The two colors are too close in tone to give enough contrast to break up the outline of the horse. Also, most predators don't see in color like humans do, so black and brown look too similar, especially when side-by-side/together, to create the illusion of shadow and sunlight, as a typical pinto's coloring does.

If an animal's camouflage isn't effective, it doesn't survive. So, while there may have once-upon-a-time been brown and black pintos, their camouflage wasn't effective and the genetic line died out.


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## saigejudd (Apr 2, 2012)

That makes alot of sence


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I used to want to breed paints, so of course, as is normal for me, I did all the research I could on them.  Learn a lot of things that way (this was before the internet, so I got all my info from good sources, like library books...no Wikipedia for me!).


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## saigejudd (Apr 2, 2012)

Haha


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

This site is pretty cool, apparently there's something called "mosaicism" with two base colors, but I haven't been able to find a real horse photo online. :/
Horse Colors


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Not entirely a fan of that site, to be honest. Quite a few of their representations are off (for example, the medicine hat). And the colors they call "taffy" don't exist, to my knowledge.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Taffy does exist. It is another name for the silver gene. The term taffy weems to be used excessively in RMH versus the rest of the world. There are some silver APHA horses out there, but they are _extremely_ rare.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Taffy is also a VERY common term here in Australia


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Ah, see, not up on the RMH world...and not from Down Under...so I didn't know that it was a real term. My apologies.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Some minis are referred to as taffy as well. I run into the term every now and then.


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## Bridgertrot (Dec 2, 2011)

oh vair oh said:


> This site is pretty cool, apparently there's something called "mosaicism" with two base colors, but I haven't been able to find a real horse photo online. :/
> Horse Colors


Just have to google a chimera horse and you'll get some. Here's one. http://kahmira-eye-view.deviantart.com/art/horse-of-a-different-color-106453457
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

If you want the terms for Paint colors go the paint horse registry site. They will tell you what colors are accepted for registry. The same goes for Appys and any other breed of horse. The registry for each breed has their color and patterns that are acceptable to the breed.


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## saigejudd (Apr 2, 2012)

thank you guys! i just thought that it would be a interesting question to ask


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## TheRoughrider21 (Aug 25, 2009)

There are different mutations(I guess you would call them that) that can lead to strange coloring patterns. One is Chimera- which is basically where faternal twins fuse in the utero, producing one foal with two sets of DNA. Here's some cool pictures to blow your mind. And this is a pretty good website, one I find fascinating since lately I've been obsessed with horse genetics.

Equine Color Genetics


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

yes the Chimeras are really intersting. There was a huge article in one on of the major magazines about a year ago?? or so. The horses in that article were brindled. Very unique. These pics look like they have been enhanced and had the brightness etc messed with . I have accidently done this when trying to adjust a photo that was to dark. And like some of the pics posted earlier with horses that shed out strangely, I can make my solid sorrel horse look like a dalmation by hand pulling out loose hair , as it appears on the bottom photo. 
You can also ad sepia and rose and green tints to photos . 
So I will be the doubting the thomas on these. Dont believe this is the color these horses would like in 'person'.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

stevenson - the second is a proven and known chimera. That picture of that Icelandic pony has been around for a long, long time and is well known. 

This is also another chimera that is a _true_ tricolored horse.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

that ponies color is believable. still think the others have been manipulated.  I have seen many tri colored paints and even a few tri colored appys . but none of them ever looked like those other pics..  
so sorry, but i dont believe it.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

That one is definitely a real photo. That is the actual colour of the horse. It has been verified as a chimera.

The "tri-colours" you say you have seen many of sound like they were actually just bay and white, or bay and appy spotting. That's not tri-colour. That's bay and white.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

What Chiilaa said.

Stevenson can you show us pictures of what you are saying is a tricolor?


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## TheRoughrider21 (Aug 25, 2009)

stevenson said:


> yes the Chimeras are really intersting. There was a huge article in one on of the major magazines about a year ago?? or so. *The horses in that article were brindled.* Very unique. These pics look like they have been enhanced and had the brightness etc messed with . I have accidently done this when trying to adjust a photo that was to dark. And like some of the pics posted earlier with horses that shed out strangely, I can make my solid sorrel horse look like a dalmation by hand pulling out loose hair , as it appears on the bottom photo.
> You can also ad sepia and rose and green tints to photos .
> So I will be the doubting the thomas on these. Dont believe this is the color these horses would like in 'person'.


And the chances of a brindle horse actually being a chimera is very, very rare. Most testing for chimerism on those horses turns out negative.

You can doubt it all you want. I just thought the OP would like to see some interesting paints, since that's what she asked asked.


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## Bridgertrot (Dec 2, 2011)

This is the same horse btw:















And here is a picture where you can see the chestnut patch around his eye thats more clear









So he's definitely not photoshopped. And bay/buckskin etc pintos are not true "tri-colored" horses.


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