Exotic and Breathtaking Horse Coats
Horses are without a doubt one of the most majestic creatures you’ll ever see. Associated with freedom, power, and royalty, these beautiful animals are admired around the world. As with all animal breeds, horses come in a variety of colors and shades. Some genetic mixes within the species can result in breathtaking coat and mane colors, you’d think they stepped right out of a fantasy book! From pure white to speckled to ombré to leopard, these horses are born with an amazing variety in their coats. We’ve gathered some of the most stunning photos for you to enjoy.
Whether you’re a big fan of horses or just a casual admirer you’re sure to find these horses’ breeds magnificent.
A Gorgeous Mix Of Colors
This horse might be one of the most exotic looking ones on this list. In this photo, you can see that the magnificent looking horse has a silver coat with a stunning dark chocolate mane. The reason is that this horse is a mix between a silver dapple and a chocolate roan. Now let’s talk about these two types of horses, shall we?
The silver dapple gene dilutes a black mane, making it look silvery or flaxen. Roan is a horse coat pattern that contains an even mixture of both white and colored hairs, while its mane, tail, and legs stay solid colored. By combining both the silver dapple gene and the roan pattern, you basically get the coolest looking horse ever!
A Horse With Socks
Look at this adorable horse! With a tanned body and a distinct black mane, tail, and legs, the Buckskin horse is pretty exotic. The one shown here is actually a Silver Buckskin. This horse has a silver gene mutation which dilutes the pigment of the horse coat. That’s why this coat is lighter than most other Buckskin horse coats.
Silver Buckskin coats have light gray hairs mixed into the point where these horses can be mistaken for a different horse with a solid gray coat. What’s super cool about buckskins is not so much their coat but the markings on their legs. Their legs usually have darker markings which make it look like the horses are wearing socks! Cute.
Horse Gone Punk Rock
The Fjord horse is known to be one of the oldest horse breeds in the world. These horses are small but very strong and originate from the mountains of Western Norway. Despite being small, fjord horses are capable of carrying humans and pulling heavy loads. These horses come in quite a few colors, like tan or gold, while their mane and tail can be darker (like dark brown or black).
What’s super special about the Fjord horses is that their mane can look two-toned. That’s because they grow lighter colored hair along the outside edges of their mane, while growing a darker shade in the middle. This pattern can create a look similar to a punk rock hairstyle. Cool!
The Whitest Horse You’ll Ever See
This striking white beauty is known as a Perlino colored horse. These horses have cream colored coats with pink skin and gorgeous blue eyes. They can either be extremely pale white (like the one here), or more of a pale coffee color. This silky pale white horse is posing so perfectly with its stunning yellow mane and tail to match.
People often confuse Perlino colored horses with Cremello colored horses. Because Cremellos are also cream colored, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two. One way to differentiate between them is that the Perlino horses will have slightly darker colored manes and tails, while the Cremello horses will have a white mane and tail that matches their coat.
Strawberry Shortcake With Cream On Top
There are many different types of roan horses. A roan patterned horse is one that has a color mixed with white hairs on its body, while the mane, tail, and legs are solid colored. Roan horses come in different colors such as blue, red, and brown, like the gorgeous brown roan we saw earlier on the list.
This stunner is a red roan, but some would call it a strawberry roan due to its pinkish color. The white splashes throughout the horse’s body make him stand out from the rest, and his pattern almost looks like the strawberry shortcake you can buy at the supermarket! Red is already a unique horse color, and the pink shade makes him even more exotic.
Different Shades Of Brown
This exotic horse is made up of a number of genes and is known as the Silver Dapple Sooty Buckskin. As explained earlier, dapples are dark ring patterns that form spots throughout the horse’s dark coat. The silver gene tends to lighten the black pigments, causing this type of horse to have a lighter brown color on some of its body.
The sooty gene is also contributing to the mix of colors on this horse’s coat. The sooty genetic modification causes the coat hairs to get darker. Because this horse has both silver and sooty genes, its coat is lighter and darker on different parts of its body. In addition, the buckskin coat gives this horse a darker mane and legs.
A Majestic Look
The beauty that’s softly trotting in the grass is called a Grullo Dun horse. These horses have either gray or mouse colored hairs on their body. Each individual hair is mouse colored as opposed to some other horse coats that have mixes of lighter and darker hairs. In this photo, most of the horse’s body is gray/mouse colored which almost makes it look almost purple.
When it comes to Grullo Dun horses, while most of their bodies are gray, their legs and ears tend to be much darker. That’s because these horses have a “dun” gene, which is a dilution gene. This gene causes horses to have lighter coats, while their manes, tails, and legs stay dark. Who knew?
Glittering In Gold
At first glance, this horse doesn’t even look real. Also known as Golden Horses, the Akhal-Teke horse is a horse breed from Turkmenistan and is known for its striking metallic coat. These horses can withstand severe weather conditions, are very fast, and are one of the oldest existing horse breeds. Because they are athletic, they are usually used for dressage, show jumping, and racing competitions.
Unlike the gold horse coat, there are many Akhal-Teke coats that come in other pretty colors. Some are black, bay, chestnut, and gray. In addition, these horses have incredible stamina and can even ride for 3 days without water! They are also known to be very intelligent. Definitely sounds like the perfect horse to us!
An Absolute Dream
We’re not sure if it’s the horses paired with the gorgeous backdrop, but this photo is out of this world. The stunning horses pictured in this scenic photo are Friesian-Gypsy Vanner crossbreeds. They originate from Ireland and were bred by gypsies starting from the 1850s in order to create the perfect horse to pull their caravans.
These horses are known for their beauty. These breeds feature feathering, which are long hairs that grow on the sides of their legs, and has a very high trot. Because of these special qualities, Friesian-Gypsy Vanner crossbreeds are typically used for many TV shows and movies, particularly for period and fantasy dramas. Honestly, we would all love to ride this majestic and exotic horse one day.
A Cream Colored Goddess
Okay, this picture is seriously blowing our minds. Did you know that there’s a horse with a matching cream colored coat, mane, and tail? We certainly didn’t. This stunning horse is the Cremello Lusitano Stallion, and has a cream gene that lightens up every part of the horse, from the skin to its eyes.
Some people confuse Cremello horses with albino horses, but it’s important to note that Cremello is not white but rather a cream color. If you ask us though, this beauty looks more platinum than anything else. If you had a choice between your significant other proposing to you with a platinum ring or by whisking you away on this platinum colored horse, which one would you pick?
An Arabian Prince
The Arabian horse is a horse breed that originated in the Arabian Peninsula by Bedouin people over 4,500 years ago. These horses were developed in very harsh climates in the desert. Bedouin people looked for specific traits when they started to breed these horses. They wanted to create a horse breed that cooperated well with humans.
Today, Arabian horses are in the top ten most popular horse breeds in the world! The coats of these horses come in many different colors like bay, gray, black, roan, and chestnut (like the one seen here). The Arabian horse is used in a number of horse competitions like western riding and show jumping, as well as parades, movies, and circuses. How cool is that?
Look At Those Ears
This exotic Marwari horse is a rare horse breed originating from Marwar in northwest India. This specific horse is famous for its unusual inward turning of its ears. As you can see in this photo, this horse has its ears pointed upwards and its tips are touching each other. A Marwari horse’s ear can actually rotate 180 degrees!
These beautiful horses tend to have a long back and slender neck. The Marwari’s coat comes in many colors. This specific one is brown, but they can also be gray or chestnut. In addition, some of these horses can have a distinct color pattern on their coats. Today, Marwari horses are used in horse competitions such as dressage or Polo. We’ll be on the lookout for them the next time we go traveling!
Black With Gold
Let’s see if you can guess this one again. We’ll give you a hint— you’ve actually seen it two times now in two different colors. That’s right, it’s the Akhal-Teke horse again! (We promise it’s the last). With its unmatched beauty, we just couldn’t help but add this one to the list as well. While the last two Akhal-Teke horses were gold and Perlino (cream color), this horse coat looks mostly black with some gold.
The color is breathtaking and these horses are known for both their various striking colors and their metallic sheen. This breed is most famous for its speed and resilience in harsh desert climates. With its black and gold coat and white color at its legs, we can’t help but marvel at this horse’s beauty.
What A Show-off
The gorgeous black horse is called the Peruvian Paso stallion. This horse is known to be one of the smoothest riding horses in the world. They are also famous for being very energetic and showy. The Peruvian Paso comes in many different colors and they tend to be very striking.
Their coat colors can include chestnut, brown, bay, roan, and black (like the one featured in this picture). Solid color coats are the most desirable when it comes to The Peruvian Paso. The Peruvian Paso is originally from Peru and there are specific competitions held there just for these horses. Looking at this horse with its stunning appearance makes you want to take it for a ride am I right?
Ombre Is In
The ombre look is definitely back in and this Haflinger horse is looking good! The Haflinger horse is a small horse breed that originated in Austria and Italy. Their coats are usually some sort of chestnut shade ranging from light gold to a deeper chestnut color, similar to the one we see here.
In addition, their manes and tails tend to be a light flaxen color. Even though they were developed in the late 19th century, their ancestors can be traced back to the Middle Ages! The Haflinger was used for wars particularly during World War I. Today, these horses are used for both carriage driving and competition events, such as dressage, show jumping, and vaulting. What an absolute beauty!
This Silvery Gray Stunner
Let’s first start off by saying that this horse is an absolute showstopper. Not only is its horse coat impressive, but its silvery mane is also a popular hair color trend these days. The reason for this horse’s silver coat and mane is due to its silver dapple gene. As mentioned earlier on this list, the dapple gene is a dilution gene.
This gene dilutes the horse’s black pigment and lightens it, giving the horse a silvery coat, mane, and tail. Silver dapples are not very common, which makes this horse even more unique. In addition, the pattern on this horse is really gorgeous. Maybe it’s a little weird but we could definitely stare at this horse photo for hours!
A Horse Or A Cow?
First off, we’re going to point out the obvious— these horses have very similar patterns to cows! We actually had to make sure for a minute that this photo belonged on this list. The black and white patterned horse that you see here is an American Paint horse. This horse breed needs to have specific “paint” markings in order for it to be considered a paint horse.
Paint horse coats commonly have a white spots coupled with a different solid color. Some colors include bay (reddish-brown), brown, black, or sorrel (a type of red). What’s also cool about these horses is that they have distinct color patterns that can be grouped into four major categories—overo, tobiano, tovero, and solid. Amazing!
A Red Quarter
This exotic red beauty is known as a Quarter horse. Quarter horses typically have small refined heads with a strong body. The Quarter horse is an American breed that’s most famously known for sprinting short distances. They compete in events such as rodeos, show jumping, and dressage. Although Quarter horses come in many colors, the most popular color is the one shown here.
The name of this red shade is called sorrel. Sorrel is special in that horse coats with this color do not have any black hairs. What’s interesting about Quarter horses is that they are separated into two types— stock and racing. Stock type horses are built for working with livestock, while racing type horses are built for sprinting.
The Washed Out Look
While we previously mentioned the categories of horse coat patterns a number of times, we didn’t go into their specific characteristics. This horse is a classic example of a tobiano pattern and is better known as a Blue Roan Tobiano. Let’s tackle this one at a time, first with the coat pattern and then the color.
The distinct tobiano pattern is most commonly seen with American Paint horses. The tobiano gene produces white spots and these white hairs can be paired with a variety of colors such as black, brown, sorrel, chestnut, and roan. The horse shown here is actually a blue roan. This is when the horse’s coat is black, but the white hairs cause the black pigment to appear blue.
The American Racer
This stunning Standardbred horse breed was created in North America and is best known for its harness racing capabilities. This breed’s bloodlines can be traced all the way back to 18th century England. They are strong well built horses and quite easy to train. In addition to harness racing, Standardbred horses are used for leisure riding and show riding.
These horses also come in a few colors. Some colors include black, brown, gray, roan, and chestnut. While some people like to compare Standardbred horses to Thoroughbred horses, there are a number of differences in the way they are built and in their personalities. Standardbred horses are typically people-oriented and are more muscular. Who wouldn’t want to ride this pretty brown Standardbred horse?
Dipped In Ink
Starting off on this list is the American Paint Horse. This horse is one of the largest horse breeds in North America. The horse that’s featured here, is unique in the way that most of its body is white with a distinct black color lined at the top. However, not all of these horses have a black color.
Most Paint Horses have a combination of white with a different color. It’s actually more common for these horses to have white spots with brown, black, chestnut, and sorrel (a red coat color). Paint Horses are known to be used in a number of competitions such as reining and show jumping. I don’t know about you, but this horse looks so fabulous.
Is It Leopard Or Dalmatian?
If you ever wanted a dalmatian puppy or a leopard, this horse might be a good substitute. These horses are Leopard Appaloosas and they are part of the Appaloosa family. Appaloosa horses are American horse breeds that are famous for their spotted coats. All of these horses are similar in that they have the “leopard complex mutation.”
This mutation is what causes their spots and some vision defects. What even more special about the Leopard Appaloosas is that their spotting pattern is extremely unique. Their spots overlay darker skin and are surrounded by what’s called a “halo.” This is when the skin that’s near the spot is also dark, but the skin that lies over it is white. Pretty cool huh?
A Chestnut Beauty
Let’s talk about chestnut horses for a minute. The horse pictured here is downright stunning. Its unique color is called “chestnut”, a specific hair coat color on horses that is typically reddish-brown. The mane and the tail can either be the same color or slightly lighter than its coat. Although most are a red/brown color, chestnuts can also come in a number of shades, like sorrel, liver, and flaxen.
It’s important to note that chestnut coats do not have any black hairs, no matter how dark they are. This gorgeous horse is actually a liver chestnut. These horses have a very dark red-brown mane, and their tails and mane are typically lighter than their coats. Absolutely beautiful am I right?
A Spotted Dalmatian
Here’s a really interesting looking coat. This horse is none other than the Knabstrupper Danish horse breed. The first thing you notice on these horses is their unusual and breathtaking coat pattern. Some of their horse coats are solid, but the ones we see here are leopard spotted. These horses actually look similar to the Appaloosa horse that we saw earlier on the list.
Both horses have the “leopard complex mutation”, which is a gene mutation that causes their coats to become spotted. It’s interesting that the Appaloosa and the Knabstrupper have similar spots even though they were developed independently. These beautiful horses do well in a number of competitions such as dressage, show riding. In addition, they are also used for carriage driving and the circus.
A Curly Coat
How cute is this spotted curly Bashkir horse? Who else wishes they could pet it? These small sized beauties originated in what was previously known as Bashkiria in Russia. This horse has a fluffy curly coat and is absolutely adorable. This coat allows these horses to withstand cold weather climates. The horse’s coat is also used to make woven cloth.
The Bashkir horse is used in many other ways as well. It’s used for riding and farm work, and believe it or not, these horses are most famously known for producing milk. Bashkir horses produce milk from April to August every year, and a lot of their milk is made into kumis (a fermented dairy product made from horse or donkey milk).
White Snowflake Patterned
We just want to say that the gray pattern on this horse is so cool! Dapple Gray horses have very unique coats when they are in the process of graying. Dapples are dark rings with lighter hairs on the inside. The graying of these horses can happen at different rates and are really pretty at any stage.
These dapple patterns kind of look like the pattern of snowflakes or even tie-dye. The gray color actually comes from its dominant gray gene, and as the horse ages, the gray color becomes diluted, so by age six, some of these horses turn white. Regardless of their color, these patterns are definitely a sight to see and are pretty amazing. We would love to ride a Dapple Gray horse someday!
Pretty In Platinum
Does this horse look a bit familiar to you? We’ll give you a hint— you saw the same type of horse earlier but with a gold metallic coat as opposed to a silver one. Did you guess it? That’s right, it’s another Akhal-Teke horse! What’s different about this one is that it produces a cream gene which creates a distinct Perlino color.
As mentioned earlier, the Akhal-Teke horses are one of the rarest and oldest horse breeds and are believed to be at least 3,000 years old. They originate from Turkmenistan and the horse is on its national emblem, coat of arms, bank notes, and stamps! This Akhal-Teke’s horse coat is so silky and undeniably unique. We would love to ride one someday.
You Can’t Spot Me
The Pinto horse pictured here is simply breathtaking. From its distinct patterned coat to the way its mane is swaying in the wind, we’re definitely obsessed. These horses are very common in America and have large patches of white that come in a variety of colors. In this case, the coat has patches of white paired with a light brown color.
What’s cool about these majestic horses is that not only do they come in a variety of colors, but their coat patterns are very distinct. Their patterns are grouped into four main categories— overo, tobiano, tovero, and solid. After seeing this stunning photo, we want to know where we can sign up for a ride on a Pinto horse!
A Golden Brown Beauty
Palomino horses are a sight to behold. This beautiful chestnut-colored horse has a gorgeous platinum mane with a matching silver tail, and we have to point out that it’s clearly enjoying itself trotting on the luscious grass. Palomino horses are unique in that they usually have a light colored gold or chestnut coat with silvery manes and tails.
These horses are used a lot in show ring competitions and were also quite popular in movies and TV during the 1940s and 1950s. Many people like palomino horses because their golden color stands out and glistens in the sun. And here’s something extra cool— back in the 1600s, Queen Isabella of Spain loved palomino horses so much that she owned 100 of them!
A Scottish Stunner
This brown beauty is a native Scottish breed called the Clydesdale Horse. This horse was originally a small breed, but today the horses are actually quite tall. Clydesdale horses were originally used for agricultural and farming purposes and are usually bay in color. (Bay is a reddish-brown horse coat with a black main and tail.)
What’s even more special about this type of horse is that they usually have white markings on its legs and face. Because their coats are dark, the contrast between the light and dark colors is pretty cool. Today, Clydesdale horses aren’t really used for agricultural means but are usually seen at summer riding competition events around Scotland. Now we have to go traveling to Scotland!
Knight In Shining Armor
This black horse is stunning and the photographer did a great job catching it beautifully in action. The shiny black breed is known as the Friesian horse. Originally from the Netherlands, these horses supposedly were used during the Middle Ages and were in very high demand by knights. Most Friesian horse coats are black, although some of them can be chestnut colored.
This breed nearly became extinct a number of times throughout the years, but today, its popularity is growing and we definitely understand why. Friesian horses are used both for harness and saddle for competitions like dressage. Because of their striking look, these horses are quite popular for TV and movies, especially when it comes to historic and fantasy dramas.