Buckskin Horse Information

Buckskin is a sought-after, if rare, horse color. Ranging from a milky color to a dark golden color, with black legs, mane and tail - buckskin is more common in the western stock type horses than in other breeds.

  1. Features

    • A buckskin horse is most commonly a golden, almost honey color, with black points (mane, tail, legs, nose). It is often mistaken for a dun, and the two are very similar. The difference, visually, is that a dun has "primitive" markings - tiger stripes on the legs and a dorsal stripe down the back to the tail's dock. Buckskins can come in a wide variety of this coloring, from a dark, dark brownish-gold to a milky-yellow cream color.

    Identification

    • The only 100 percent accurate way of identifying a buckskin horse is to have him genetically tested. This involves sending a hair sample to a laboratory where technicians will determine the genetic markers for his color. Without a genetic test, you cannot be completely certain if you have a buckskin, dun, or bay horse.

    Base Color

    • The base coat color in a buckskin must be bay. This is signified by the genetic marker, or allele, known as "ee." The "e" stands for the black gene, and when it is carried in the "e" form, it represents as bay. A capital "E" in the genetic marker would signify a predominant black. "Ee" would show as a black horse, whereas "ee" is bay.

    Creme Gene

    • Genetically speaking, the albino gene in horses is called the "creme" gene. It is signified by the "c" marker in the genetic coding. When a horse has two copies of the gene, or "cc," it has two copies of the albino gene and will be an albino. When it has the only one copy of the "c" gene, it will be a dilute color, such as buckskin, palomino or smoky black. In the case of a buckskin, the horse is a base coat bay that received one copy of the creme gene from one parent--making it a buckskin.

    Considerations

    • Before buying a buckskin, it is always wise to ask for the lab papers that show his genetic testing has been run, and that his color is a true buckskin as opposed to dun. If you intend to show in buckskin shows, you will need these papers. The same holds true for breeding; if you intend to breed buckskins, insist on genetic testing to prove the horse has a copy of the creme gene.