 WHAT DOES A PALOMINO LOOK LIKE?
The PALOMINO can appear very pale (almost white), yellow, golden, light tan, or a deep, nearly chestnut colour known as "chocolate." The mane and tail will appear almost white, flaxen, or blonde. The skin colour is dark gray. The eyes ate brown at black. Blue eyes are rare and may be the result of a DOUBLE CREAM DILUTION. (See CREMELLO and CREAM DILUTION).
|
WHAT ARE THE COLOUR GENETICS OF A PALOMINO? |
PALOMINO carries TWO copies of the RED gene and ONE copy of the CREAM DILUTION gene. A true PALOMINO does not carry the BLACK gene regardless of parentage. Except in the case where the ROAN gene may also be present, PALOMINO does not carry any other colour genes. |
|
WHAT IS THE CREAM DILUTION? |
The CREAM DILUTION gene is responsible for diluting the body colour from RED to the colour we call PALOMINO. In simple terms, the foal genetically starts out as a solid RED colour, SORREL or CHESTNUT. ONE parent has also passed on the CREAM DILUTION gene to this foal. The RED of the body colour is then diluted to any of the coat colours general to PALOMINO.
The CREAM DILUTION is passed on from one of the parents, usually a PALOMINO or BUCKSKIN, but there are exceptions. A parent may be a BROWN or BLACK but may also have the genetics to pass on the CREAM DILUTION depending on his or her parentage. (See BROWN and BLACK). |
|
HOW DO WE KNOW IT DOES NOT CARRY THE BLACK GENE? |
Horses that carry the black gene will either be solid black or have black points. The PALOMINO does not have black on the areas known as points. This is true even if the palomino has one or both parents that are either black or have black points. |
|
IF WE BREED TWO PALOMINOS, IS THERE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING A PALOMINO FOAL? |
Breeding two PALOMINOS will not increase the odds of the foal being a PALOMINO. Remember, a PALOMINO only carries ONE copy of the CREAM DILUTION gene. If each parent passes on one copy of the CREAM DILUTION gene, then the resulting foal would have two copies and would no longer be a PALOMINO. The resulting foal would be a CREMELLO. (See CREMELLO) |
|
IF A PALOMINO HORSE HAS A DORSAL STRIPE AND ZEBRA STRIPES ON THE LEGS, ISN'T IT STILL A PALOMINO? |
Sometimes a horse will be identical in colour to a PALOMINO-light or gold body colour and blonde, white, or flaxen mane and tail-but will also have striping on the legs (called zebra stripes or tiger stripes) and a dorsal stripe. Genetically, this horse carries both the DUN and CREAM DILUTION genes. However, since a PALOMINO never has zebra stripes on the legs and rarely has a dorsal stripe, this horse would be considered as a type of RED DUN. It is true that this type of RED DUN does not have a red coat, but these DUN characteristics are the result of the DUN gene, nevertheless. For registration purposes, the blonde, white, or flaxen mane and tail ate described under the markings area as well as the dorsal stripe and zebra stripes on legs as identifying characteristics which visibly emphasize the differences between the true PALOMINO and the RED DUN which resembles the PALOMINO. (See RED DUN) |
| |
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER ASPECTS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PALOMINOS? |
It is possible for a PALOMINO to express the ROAN gene. Generically, this is called a PALOMINO-ROAN. This may happen if one parent carries the roan gene (fat example, is BAY ROAN) and is bred to a patent that carries the CREAM DILUTION (for example, is PALOMINO). Since PALOMINOS ate already light in shade, the ROAN may not be immediately recognized. At present, AQHA does not have a separate colour choice of PALOMINO-ROAN. For registration purposes, the horse is registered as the base colour of PALOMINO. AQHA then indicates the ROAN characteristic under the markings area of the registration certificate with the phrase "CARRIES AND EXPRESSES ROAN GENE."
Some GRAY horses may have started out as PALOMINO. These horses still retain the colour genetic information to pass on the CREAM DILUTION gene and produce PALOMINO foals regardless of the colour of the other parent. Some PAWMINOS that are turning or have turned GRAY may not easily be recognized as such, since the coat is already light in shade. A PALOMINO, no matter how light, usually becomes dark in shade, starting at the lower legs, before showing evidence of turning GRAY. (See GRAY) |
| |
Click here to go back to Breed Information - Choose Your Colour overview page. |
|
|
