# Chocolate Palomino



## Sammyj97 (Jul 5, 2016)

Can a chocolate palomino coloring be in quarter horses or warm bloods that are not gaited


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Chocolate palomino is a term used to describe a very dark palomino as well as a horse with the silver gene. I assume you mean the latter. Silver will give you a bunch of different colors depending on the base color the silver gene is acting on.

So, to answer your question- Chocolate Palomino can be found in any breed of horse that carries the silver gene.

Yes, a smarty pants answer but it's true! It's more common in gaited breeds (RMH), it is also relatively common in pony breeds. I do not believe it exists in WBs, but think it has been found in QHs. It's not common (aside from certain breeds) so just because the breed does have it you may see it only in certain bloodlines for example.

Oh- ETA silver is dominant but doesn't show on chestnut, the darker the hair the greater the effect, so it can "skip" generations if the horse is chestnut. Also, due to that a silver horse and palomino are pretty much opposite colors that just happen to look similar at times.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Silver does happen rarely in warmbloods! I have a friend with a stunning reg Canadian warmblood (GOV approved tho) mare who's a tested silver. I believe there is a qh crossed in 5-6 generations back.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Yogiwick said:


> Oh- ETA silver is dominant but doesn't show on chestnut, the darker the hair the greater the effect, so it can "skip" generations if the horse is chestnut. Also, due to that a silver horse and palomino are pretty much opposite colors that just happen to look similar at times.


Based on this statement, I'd say the chocolate would come from just being the dark shade of palomino, since palomino is red based so the silver shouldn't show up, right? I haven't studied the silver gene since none of mine have it, so just basing my thoughts on this answer alone.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Will post my little warning here: silver gene is associated with eye anomalies up to and including blindness. You won't find much of anything about that indisputable fact in the literature of those breeds in which it is a sought-after color. Caveat emptor.

As is so often the case with 'special' colors, there is an evolutionary downside.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

For RMHs in particular, chocolate palomino is silver


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

A chocolate palomino might be a palomino with a sooty gene, making it appear darker. It could also be just a dark palomino. 

A silver horse would carry the silver gene "z" and could have a base coat of bay or black. Silver does not show up on red based horses. 

Yes, chocolate palomino could be in any breed carrying palomino, and maybe palomino and sooty, including quarter horses and warm bloods. 

I personally wouldn't use the term chocolate palomino to refer to a horse with a silver gene. Here, I would call it silver dapple in a generic sense, but the terminology changes regionally. It could also be a taffy, or just chocolate (no palomino). 

If I knew the base coat I would call a silver carrier: silver bay, silver black, or silver seal bay. 

A red based horse could have flaxen, which I guess some people call chocolate, but I wouldn't use that term there as it leads to this type of confusion.


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## Sammyj97 (Jul 5, 2016)

Thanks for the help! That’s a lot more information than I was expecting! I’m excited to learn more about genetics and coloring, so thanks for the help!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

No idea about genetics, came here to see pics of beautiful horses... only to be disappointed! :-(

So I'll add one I googled - this is the colour that I had in mind when you said 'chocolate palomino' - tho I don't think it is. What do you call this colour?

And now I've googled 'unusual horse colour' pics, I think I'll have to start a thread...


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

loosie said:


> No idea about genetics, came here to see pics of beautiful horses... only to be disappointed! :-(
> 
> So I'll add one I googled - this is the colour that I had in mind when you said 'chocolate palomino' - tho I don't think it is. What do you call this colour?
> 
> And now I've googled 'unusual horse colour' pics, I think I'll have to start a thread...


It appears that you can get a very dark horse with a light mane and tail at least three completely different ways, genetically.

The draft horse pic is a liver chestnut with flaxen (genetically "red" with a very dark expression and very light points). The second horse is labeled a silver dapple black (black with a silver gene). The third horse is a sooty palomino (red with a cream gene and a sooty gene). According to the internet anyway.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

We have a friend who helps on the ranch with a chocolate palomino. He is so pretty and a really nice horse. He’s just a quarter horse, but I’m not sure whether he is a papered horse or not. I think he is, but I don’t really remember.


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