# Am i the only one?



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

No, you're not the only one. I've never been a fan of perlino, cremello, or any of the pale colors. 

Plus, blue eyes in horses give me the creeps, and anything that has red rimmed eyes always looks as if they're in pain or have an eye infection.


----------



## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

Unlike Speed Racer, I adore blue eyes in any animal. But I too find cremellos a bit creepy, although I did meet the most adorable cremello filly recently.


----------



## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

I'm not a huge fan either.
Everytime I see one all I can think about is sunburn. :shock:
I'm sure not all of them have that problem, but having worked with lots of traditional white horses that did and other white livestock with sunburn issues..... they make me shudder a little, and remember the blistering sunburns I got as a fair skinned kid. 
(Back before parent believed in sunblock!)

Blue eyes I do find interesting though.
My horse has one blue and amber eye and one green and pale amber eye so I had better be a fan of weird eyes.


----------



## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

Eck, that's a good point Lockwood. I've met a few horses with bad sunburn on their noses simply from broad blazes, and I imagine it could easily happen to cremellos and the like, what with the pink skin.

Your horses' eyes sound awesome, too.


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I'm not a fan either. For me it's the pink skin/red rimmed eyes. I don't mind blue eyes when there is a dark color/skin around them. I have one with a blue eye that I love but he is a very dark bay, if it were white around it I wouldn't like him nearly as much.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Britt (Apr 15, 2008)

I'm not a huge fan of the cremello, perlino, etc... though some of them I think are prettier than others. I am a fan of the stallion Guaranteed Gold and I really like my friend TheNinja's filly Farrah.

So, for me, I think it just depends on the horse in general.


----------



## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Lockwood said:


> I'm not a huge fan either.
> Everytime I see one all I can think about is sunburn. :shock:
> I'm sure not all of them have that problem, but having worked with lots of traditional white horses that did and other white livestock with sunburn issues..... they make me shudder a little, and remember the blistering sunburns I got as a fair skinned kid.
> (Back before parent believed in sunblock!)


Cremellos don't sunburn like traditional white horses. The skin under the white parts of a pinto horse are unpigmented and definitely burn, but the pink skin of a cremello is still lightly pigmented and so has some natural sun protection.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I am not a big fan, either. It is hard to admith that , since they are so popular. Here's another confession that is likely to haunt me here: I am not a fan of Fresians for dressage, either. I dont' care for the neck that is so straight up that his ears are practically under your chin. I know everyone thinks they are the Cat's Pajamas, but I think they are TOO stylized. Ok, now kick me.


----------



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I think Friesians are pretty but they were bred to pull carriages, not perform much under saddle. 

Besides, all that hair gives me eye twitches! :lol:


----------



## 4everiding (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm not a huge fan of cremellos either, but I have seen a few very pretty ones. But, I also love the coloring of Appies and Knabstruppers, but I have seen hideous ones of both breeds.

It's okay Tiny, I feel the same way about Fresians in Dressage. Too showy and animated for me...though they are stunning looking horses.


----------



## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

I have seen some cremellos that look nice, but a lot of them do look strange---BUT-the colors they throw are pretty awesome. That being said-I myself have had a LOT of bays,so am not a color first type of person.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I've always spouted 'you don't ride the colour' and 'a good horse is never a bad colour' but when my husband and I went to look at a cremello mare that was for sale, I was going to pass because of the colour (she's got blue eyes or is it green (the blue has flecks of brown in them)). Fortunately, my husband convinced me otherwise and she's now part of the family. Her personality and disposition are exceptional and I can't believe I was stupid enough to have been influenced by her colour.


----------



## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

verona1016 said:


> Cremellos don't sunburn like traditional white horses. The skin under the white parts of a pinto horse are unpigmented and definitely burn, but the pink skin of a cremello is still lightly pigmented and so has some natural sun protection.


My bad. I understood that they are more vulnerable to sunburn, especially in the sensitive areas just like many pink skinned animals.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Not a big fan, those red rimmed eyes gives me the heebies!

As for Friesians in Dressage, Tiny I can't believe you risked your life bringing that up  I'm not a fan either, they are cart horses. Their backs don't swing, they are so rigid and mechanical, the extensions just go up higher than actually lengthening the pace and the hind legs don't go anywhere. 
Not a fan at all. They lok really flashy in harness and as trick/stunt/show horses, but not Dressage. 
I understand that there are breeders trying to turn them into a more 'Sport Horse' type - why not just buy a big hairy black warmblood that is built for the job rather than try to change a breed that has been bred for a very specific role for generations?


----------



## Jake and Dai (Aug 15, 2008)

Add me to the "not a fan of red rimmed eyes" club. But I love blue eyes surrounded by a darker color. Or even the eyeliner variety where the blue eyes pop. I think those are stunning.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

I don't mind blue eyes if the horse has a sweet face. But I agist with a paint x qh mare with one half blue eye, and she is a rotten old biddy with a hidden agenda to wipe out the human race. When she gives you the stink eye with that crystal blue eye, you'd better get out of her way!


----------



## ParaIndy (Sep 10, 2012)

I don't like cremellos either. My Morgan colt (the one in my avatar) has dark blue eyes which I find very handsome. I just wouldn't prefer the really light blue eyes, they look kind of weird.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Thank you Kayty for understanding the peril I put myself in by coming out of the closet with my dislike of Fresians in dressage. There is a fresian at our barn. He is the biggest , dullest tub of lard you have ever seen. I'd rather ride a peppy little Icelandic than that beastie.


----------



## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

I like the perlinos if they have a really dark red mane and tail... course I like anything with a darker mane, tail and legs, cremellos no thank you! Buckskins, duns, bay roans and roans ... all favorite colors of mine!


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> Thank you Kayty for understanding the peril I put myself in by coming out of the closet with my dislike of Fresians in dressage. There is a fresian at our barn. He is the biggest , dullest tub of lard you have ever seen. I'd rather ride a peppy little Icelandic than that beastie.


I have the same feeling about the young one that I agist with. A little older than Billy, and I have yet to see him play like a young horse. Billy's leaping around and having a ball, this guy just stands there looking like a dumbstruck hairy black rock. Ask him to move, and he stands there with a blank expression on his face. He just does not react!!!! 
There's a pretty nice friesian stallion getting around now that a friend of mine is riding, recently imported from Holland, and is the first one I've seen in the flesh that actually has a lengthen in it. Still can't move it's back and I do have to wonder if there is any lateral flexibility in those necks.


----------



## Diegosmom (Jul 12, 2009)

Kayty said:


> I have the same feeling about the young one that I agist with. A little older than Billy, and I have yet to see him play like a young horse. Billy's leaping around and having a ball, this guy just stands there looking like a dumbstruck hairy black rock. Ask him to move, and he stands there with a blank expression on his face. He just does not react!!!!
> There's a pretty nice friesian stallion getting around now that a friend of mine is riding, recently imported from Holland, and is the first one I've seen in the flesh that actually has a lengthen in it. Still can't move it's back and I do have to wonder if there is any lateral flexibility in those necks.


sounds like the valley girls of the horse world..all looks and no brains..I have never had the pleasure to see one in person but thanks for making that a little easier to cope with..lol


----------



## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Chevaux said:


> I've always spouted 'you don't ride the colour' and 'a good horse is never a bad colour' but when my husband and I went to look at a cremello mare that was for sale, I was going to pass because of the colour (she's got blue eyes or is it green (the blue has flecks of brown in them)). Fortunately, my husband convinced me otherwise and she's now part of the family. Her personality and disposition are exceptional and I can't believe I was stupid enough to have been influenced by her colour.


That was pretty much my experience :lol: I never really had a strong opinion on cremellos before; I don't think I had ever seen a cremello in person, much less considered buying one, until I went to go see the horse that I ended up buying. It was definitely his temperament that won me over, and his color has grown on me since then. My biggest concern was keeping him clean, and he does manage to stay surprisingly clean for the most part!


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I just took my cremello fellow to a show this last weekend and I got a HUGE compliment from someone who has never liked cremellos. She said that if people would take the trouble to search out the good ones, not just for color, and would then train and show them people wouldn't hate cremellos so much. She fell in love with Skip. Skip does have pink flesh around his eyes but not red and has an overall nice demeanor and is very gentle. He also is a very quick learner and impressed a bunch of folks with the fact that he has less than 90 days under saddle and was winning in W/T pleasure classes. He probably would have been fine in a 3 gait WP class but I haven't loped him here at home yet, so opted to stick with W/T. He's going to make some very pretty buckskins & palominos, so I'm glad he got a really good reception at the show.

I do put sunscreen on his face and keep a fly sheet on him to protect him from the sun but he never seems to get burnt even without the sheet and lotion. I've had pintos who were much higher maintenance than he is.


----------



## Faceman (Nov 29, 2007)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I just took my cremello fellow to a show this last weekend and I got a HUGE compliment from someone who has never liked cremellos. She said that if people would take the trouble to search out the good ones, not just for color, and would then train and show them people wouldn't hate cremellos so much. She fell in love with Skip. Skip does have pink flesh around his eyes but not red and has an overall nice demeanor and is very gentle. He also is a very quick learner and impressed a bunch of folks with the fact that he has less than 90 days under saddle and was winning in W/T pleasure classes. He probably would have been fine in a 3 gait WP class but I haven't loped him here at home yet, so opted to stick with W/T. He's going to make some very pretty buckskins & palominos, so I'm glad he got a really good reception at the show.


I think there is a lot of truth in that...a good horse is a good horse regardless of color.

I think a lot of the problem with double dilutes is that they are often purposely bred for and often done so using less than excellent breeding stock - thus the proliferation of mediocre double dilutes. Any time inferior breeding stock is used consistently the results are poor. If you peruse ads for double dilute breeding stock, some of them are totally unfit for breeding, but are being bred just for color...


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Faceman said:


> I think there is a lot of truth in that...a good horse is a good horse regardless of color.
> 
> I think a lot of the problem with double dilutes is that they are often purposely bred for and often done so using less than excellent breeding stock - thus the proliferation of mediocre double dilutes. Any time inferior breeding stock is used consistently the results are poor. If you peruse ads for double dilute breeding stock, some of them are totally unfit for breeding, but are being bred just for color...


I know Faceman, and that's why when I went looking for a cremello filly, I ended up with a stallion. I saw a few fillies but they didn't make it in the conformation department or they failed the temperament test. His breeder is well known for his Skipper W halter horses and doesn't deliberately breed for color, but does have buckskins and palomino breeding stock so does get the occasional cremello or perlino. He's breeding for conformation first and sometimes also gets color, my way of breeding as well. Skip was also N/N for HYPP and other lethals, which made him not a candidate for this breeder's halter program and that was fine with me, I wasn't looking for a halter horse. Back in the day, the Skipper W brand was used for cow horses and that's what I'm looking to bring back, but with some fun colors thrown in. I'll soon be going to a sale from another well known breeder, but this one is famous for the athleticism of the horses. I'll be looking for well conformed, athletic mares, any color, to be future girlfriends to Mr. Skip.


----------



## Strawberry4Me (Sep 13, 2012)

I have a pretty neutral opinion on light colored horses. some i like, some i dont. 

As for the Fresians and Dressage.. I never really was a fan either. There is now a 4 year old Fresian that is at our barn for boarding/ training. And he's really an exception. He's super pain in the butt because he's 4, but he really doesn't fit the typical fresian and dressage steriotype. He's pretty cool. Keeps his head low, and he's a pretty nice mover.


----------



## deserthorsewoman (Sep 13, 2011)

Ill go with Strawberry on the cremello's
The only Friesian I met up close and personal was a just imported 3 year old. The sweetest thing ever. Playful, loooooved people, would sleep at noon all stretched out in the middle of his paddock, with tons if people passing him going to the restaurant behind him. They started him under saddle, between crazy jumpers (that was in Italy, lots of crazy jumpers there) and all kinds if tractors and other heavy equipment, an occasional trotter with sulky thrown in, and he didn't flinch. He was the more modern type, gait wise.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

A good horse IS a good horse regardless of color.

The fact is many of the people so caught up with breeding for color forget about what is under the skin and end up with some less than stellar horses in the end. And that is my reason for not going all gaga for color.

Plus I really like dirt colored horses for the fact I don't have to groom them as much. If you'll notice all my horses are or have been dirt colored, and that is not a coincidence!!


----------



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Plus I really like dirt colored horses for the fact I don't have to groom them as much. If you'll notice all my horses are or have been dirt colored, and that is not a coincidence!!


Ah, then you really_ do_ buy for color! :wink:


----------



## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

I just hate when animals are kept as breeding stock just for colour alone. To me, colour is the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, a lot of horses are kept intact or bred because of their colour - if they had been a "boring" colour, nobody would look at them, much less want to breed them. I *hate* stallions whose only claim to fame is their coat colour. (Stallions especially because they can produce hundreds or thousands of offspring, mares are at least limited...)

Erm. To the original question - I don't particularly like Dilute coloured horses.. Part of that may be my personal bias against a lot of (but certainly not all!) Cremello horse owners.. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Speed Racer said:


> Ah, then you really_ do_ buy for color! :wink:


:-o
You've found out my terrible secret - I'm a krazy kolor person!!

I did have a pinto once.. so really only about 50% of the horse to worry about keeping clean... Lucky for me the other 50% was pretty well dirt colored  I do avoid greys like the plague...

ETA also socks are something I loathe... if I just never had to bath a horse I'd be pretty well happy.


----------



## HorseLovinLady (Jul 18, 2011)

I think cremellos are beautiful but i'm biased lol. :smile:


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> :-o
> You've found out my terrible secret - I'm a krazy kolor person!!
> 
> I did have a pinto once.. so really only about 50% of the horse to worry about keeping clean... Lucky for me the other 50% was pretty well dirt colored  I do avoid greys like the plague...
> ...


Why do you think I bought Billy?
He's perfectly dirt coloured, with black legs :wink: 
Spigh on the other hand, two hind socks - I don't know how showies manage to keep them so clean. I can scrub the life out of them, and the next day they're yellow again. 
I will thoroughly enjoy Billy's black legs once he's competing!!!


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Kayty said:


> Why do you think I bought Billy?
> He's perfectly dirt coloured, with black legs :wink:
> Spigh on the other hand, two hind socks - I don't know how showies manage to keep them so clean. I can scrub the life out of them, and the next day they're yellow again.
> I will thoroughly enjoy Billy's black legs once he's competing!!!


Clip 'em close and cornstarch 'em. I also use White Minx hair rinse on my ultra whiteys.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

That sounds far too involved for a mere Dressage rider  
I always keen mine a really good scrub with a general shampoo to get the dirt out, then let them soak in a whitening shampoo, scrup it in with a toothbrush! 
I don't think I could ever be a showie though, I like my horses to be well presented but the exremes the go to is waaaaaaay above me! I'm usually too worried about my test and how my horse is working to care so much about how clean its socks are!


----------



## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

I never much payed attention to perlinos and cremellos....however I attended a reining show and there he was!!! It was a war horse! Or so it looked! It was a perlino, just dripping in sweat and you could see every bloodvessel under his skin, he truly did look fierce......I would love to own one, not the pretty type, the strong fierce looking type appeals more to me...he'd have to be near perfect though, no buying solely on color for me! 
Must have brains and good looks.....just like a man!


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I always thought the reason people liked cremellos is that they always PRODUCED color, not that people liked the creme color so much in itself. For instance, you sometimes see stallions advertised that will only produce dilutes, such as buckskins, palominos, etc because the stallion is a cremello. 

As for the color itself, I don't particularly like it. But I don't particularly dislike it either. I LOVE blue eyes but would prefer dark skin around the eyes.

I met a cremello mustang stud once and he was quite possibly the ugliest horse I have ever seen. But that was due a lot to his conformation. He was an ugly little horse. :lol:​


----------



## BarrelRacer23 (Aug 17, 2011)

I love cremellos and would like to own one. I'm guilty of trying to find one when looking for a new horse, but their hard to find with the breeding and conformation I want. Most of them unfortunately are just bred for color. But I've seen some beautiful ones with nice pedigrees, just not around here or priced to high lol.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Supermane (Sep 23, 2007)

Though, I *have* leased a cremello is the past. I'm not a huge fan of how he looked, but he was a great horse to learn on. A huge pain to clean and I have to admit, I found his eyes (and blues eyes in general) extremely creepy. I always thought people liked cremello as breeding stock because it guarantees passing a cream gene, rather than the color itself.

And I'm coming out of the closet, I'm a color elitist.
When I shop for horses I strategically only look at black, grey, and bay horses. Totally ignoring chestnuts and anything spotted or painted. I don't think there is anything wrong with shopping for color as long as it's not the *only* thing you're shopping for.


----------



## CdnCremello (Sep 8, 2012)

I have a cremello, and I don't think she's creepy! She doesn't look red around her eyes though :S and her eyelashes are so long, you can't really see the red anyway. Her eyes are also more green-blue than blue. She does have an unfortunate affinity for rolling in mud, however. And because she has palomino-coloured (but lighter even) paint markings, she does tend to look really dirty in those spots when she's dirty. But when she's cleaned up, she's really quite gorgeous! And I found it odd that she was in the feedlot, awaiting slaughter when I bought her, because I know that people tend to breed specifically for double-dilutes, or at least keep them for breeding stock.


----------



## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

I try to avoid any light coloring when looking for a horse. I cant say I would turn a good horse away, but it would have to dazzle me if it were a grey, had a lot of chrome on the back legs, or a white tail.


----------



## fkcb1988 (Aug 16, 2012)

Im with yall on not being a fan. I really dont care for anything with pink/red skin around the eyes and nose. They look gross to me. Always has reminded me of a white rat with the pink tail and red eyes. Ugh! I am deathly afraid of rodents!

When I was a little kid blue eyed on horses really freaked me out! I would actually get scared if they looked at me and would go to my mom for comfort. I will say though Ive had seen recently a few blue eyed horse I though were very beautiful.


----------



## ButternutSquash (Sep 10, 2012)

There's a breeder here in virginia that breeds for dilute thorughbreds and i think they look nice for thoroughbreds with some decent bone and some actual meat on them.

As to the friesians and dressage... I think they arent usually taught to stretch down because heads straight up are just the breed "look" They fram up fairly easily but so do andalusians and ive read in a few places the with andalusians they need that sretching out and down. 

Also, Dressage isnt specifically for a certain type of horse, it was meant to show off the horse and for the horse to perform at the best of its ability. I dont see why friesians or warmbloods or quarterhorses shouldnt compete together. Warmbloods are the big thing right now and they do well in alot of things yes they are bretty and precise but i've seen those big hulking tubs of lard do the same thing with there big clunky hooves so its not just a breed sport or at least i dont think it should be.


----------



## ButternutSquash (Sep 10, 2012)

Oh and the cremello thoroughbreds name is admired by all

New Video Posted June 3rd, 2012


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

ButternutSquash said:


> There's a breeder here in virginia that breeds for dilute thorughbreds and i think they look nice for thoroughbreds with some decent bone and some actual meat on them.
> 
> As to the friesians and dressage... I think they arent usually taught to stretch down because heads straight up are just the breed "look" They fram up fairly easily but so do andalusians and ive read in a few places the with andalusians they need that sretching out and down.
> 
> Also, Dressage isnt specifically for a certain type of horse, it was meant to show off the horse and for the horse to perform at the best of its ability. I dont see why friesians or warmbloods or quarterhorses shouldnt compete together. Warmbloods are the big thing right now and they do well in alot of things yes they are bretty and precise but i've seen those big hulking tubs of lard do the same thing with there big clunky hooves so its not just a breed sport or at least i dont think it should be.


Yes, Dressage in general is intended to improve any horse's way of going. 
BUT competitive Dressage is a different ball park. The issue with friesian and a lot of other draft breeds, is that they do not swing over their back, and their hind legs struggle to carry and come under the horse's centre of gravity. So they might look flash, but the work is not correct - unless you have an exceptionally talented rider on an exceptionally talented draft, they just don't make the cut. 
Warmbloods are 'prety and precise'. Have you ridden many warmbloods? There's some VERY ugly ones around, and they're not 'precise', only a rider can make a 'precise' horse. Warmbloods are generally built for the job. They are bred to have a naturally swinging back, hind legs which can carry and engage, and an uphill conformation. This is why they dominate the sport. They CAN have a connection from hind legs to the rider's hand, they have got the ability to not only collect the gaits, but also to extend them.
Anyone who thinks warmbloods are push button, 'get on and look like an international Grand Prix rider' horses, are lacking enormously in experience riding these horses.


----------



## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I hate cremellos. I really, really do. Would never have one and won't look twice at any double dilute horse. (although dark smokey creams are kinda pretty)

HOWEVER... there is one cremello stallion that I am just completely in love with. He is a part-arab that stands 11.2hh and he is STUNNING. Despite his colour. He wears it well, but I would love him more if he was bay.

As for Friesians, I love them, but yeah... for dressage, not the old so-called "baroque" type. The more modern types are ok, but need more out and down than other breeds, and I have also noticed the lack of swing through the back. I have seen one stallion, not pure though, that I really like and would not hesitate to breed to for a dressage foal. He is 7/8 Friesian, no idea what the other 1/8 is, and I love the way his neck ties in to his chest and wither... lovely uphill build, nearly everything is just perfect for dressage.


----------



## LoveMyDrummerBoy (Nov 5, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> I am not a big fan, either. It is hard to admith that , since they are so popular. Here's another confession that is likely to haunt me here: I am not a fan of Fresians for dressage, either. I dont' care for the neck that is so straight up that his ears are practically under your chin. I know everyone thinks they are the Cat's Pajamas, but I think they are TOO stylized. Ok, now kick me.


I agree! It is so nice to find some one that thinks so too! I don't mind Fresians persay, but they are cart horses by nature, and I don't find their necks very attractive. But, like other breeds, they will also fade "out of style". 

I'll take the kicks from here :wink:


----------



## StarfireSparrow (Jan 19, 2009)

I do not like the double dilutes at all. I am even a bit leery of singles. There are far too many studies that prove that alteration of color genes affects more than JUST color in every animal that has been studied. We just don't know what other traits are linked to this yet. I may be alone in this, but I personally consider it a genetic defect.


----------



## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

So just plain blacks or chestnuts for you, eh? ;-)


----------



## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Exactly Verona - bay and brown are also "dilution" genes by virtue of restricting the black and "diluting" it into a bay or brown coat! Is bay/brown a defect too? I'm not really a fan of that blanket type of thinking.


----------

