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Colour Coat Genetics - Sorrel
  

WHAT ARE THE COLOUR GENETICS OF A SORREL?   
Like CHESTNUT, a SORREL carries TWO copies of the RED gene only (or rather, non-BLACK) meaning it allows for the colour RED only, SORREL possesses no other colour genes, including BLACK, regardless of parentage. It is completely recessive to all other coat colours. When breeding with a SORREL, any colour other than SORREL will come exclusively from the other parent. A SORREL or CHESTNUT bred to a SORREL or CHESTNUT will yield SORREL ot CHESTNUT 100 percent of the time.

WHAT DOES A SORREL LOOK LIKE?

The most common appearance of SORREL is a red body with a red mane and tail with no black points. But the SORREL can have variations of both body colour and mane and tail colour, both areas having a base of red. The mature body may be a bright ted, deep red, ot a darker red appearing almost as CHESTNUT, and any vatiation in between. The mane and tail are usually the same colour as the body but may be blonde or flaxen. In fact, a light SORREL with a blonde ot flaxen mane and tail may closely resemble (and is often confused with) a PALOMINO, and if a dorsal stripe is ptesent (which a SORREL may have), it may be confused with a RED DUN.

IF A SORREL HORSE HAS A DORSAL STRIPE, DOESN'T THAT MAKE IT A DUN?

Foals that will be SORREL are often born with light red hair colouration as well as having a distinct dorsal stripe. This characteristic is often confused with and mistaken as RED DUN. However, a SORREL is a non-diluted horse. A dorsal stripe can be inherited from a non-DUN parent. A SORREL foal usually loses the dorsal stripe upon shedding its first coat. But even if the SORREL retains the dorsal stripe as a mature horse, it still is not due to the DUN DILUTION gene. One may notice that the mature coat of the SORREL does not include zebra stripes on the legs.

IF A RED OR SORREL COLOURED HORSE HAS A BLACK MANE AND TAIL, DOESN'T THAT MAKE IT A BAY?

A BAY must have black on ALL points. Not only are the mane and tail black but also the tips of the ears and the lower legs from the coronet up. Oftentimes, a horse with a RED to SORREL body colour will also have a very dark mane and tail that is often confused with black. However, the mane and tail are dark due to concentrated amounts of the RED pigment, giving them the appearance of black against the brighter RED coat colour. One may notice that these horses do not have black tips on the ears not is there black on the lower legs. This colour is registered as CHESTNUT.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER ASPECTS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SORREL?

Referring to the colour of a horse as SORREL is common in America. However, this colour historically is referred to as CHESTNUT.

It is possible for SORREL to express the roan gene. AQHA recognizes this colour as RED ROAN. (See RED ROAN).

A SORREL may have white hair scattered throughout the body or have white hair concentrated in specific areas. It is most often confused with ROAN but is neither the result of the ROAN not GRAY genes. These areas are usually the flanks, between the fore legs, the root of the tail and sometimes over the barrel, usually in vertical patterns directly over each rib. This distinct pattern of white is sometimes called rabicano (pronounced rab ih CON oh), a word of Spanish origin meaning "brush tail," referring to the bands of white hair at the root of the tail. It is also referred to sometimes as "ticking." One way to determine the difference between the 'classic' RED ROAN and a SORREL with white hair due to the rabicano to ticking trait is to notice the colour of bar once the 'roan' areas have been scraped or rubbed off. On a 'classic' ROAN, the ROAN hair does not grow back once scraped off-only the base colour will grow back, in this case, SORREL. On the horse exhibiting the radicand trait, the hair that is scraped off will usually grow back solid white.

Some GRAY horses may have started out as SORREL. These horses may keep their RED points (or a variation) and much of their RED coat (or a variation) for an extended period of time. These horses still retain the RED gene and may produce SORREL horses.

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