Chestnut Horses

Chestnut horses, or “red” horses vary in shade from almost honey gold, to orangey red, to copper, chocolate and almost black. The color is due to various forms and densities of the red pigment phaeomelanin. The darkest shades of chestnut are called liver chestnut.

In some breeds, especially Western breeds such as the American Quarter Horse, the term sorrel is used for light chestnut horses (see the first photo of a sorrel miniature horse on the left). Sometimes I've even seen the term sorrel used interchangeably with chestnut, with people describing darker chestnut horses as sorrel. In some countries, such as the UK, many horsey people may not even have heard of the term sorrel in connection with horses. Some chestnut horses are so light that, if they also have a flaxen mane and tail, they may look palomino. Haflinger ponies, for example, are well known for being a beautiful light chestnut with light manes and tails. It is likely that sorrel is genetically distinct from chestnut, at least in some breeds.

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