What Is the Difference Between a Sorrel & a Chestnut Colored Horse?

Horse coat colors can be very confusing. Telling the difference between a bay and a chestnut, a sorrel and a dun, a palomino and a chestnut with flaxen, all these can be very difficult to the horse novice. One of the most common coat colors is chestnut, and knowing what this means can be very helpful when trying to learn the basic base coat colors.

  1. Features

    • The coat color "red" is the most recessive of the color genes. It is signified as "ee" in the genetic coding, whereas the black color paired with red would be "Ee". When a horse's genetic color is identified through lab testing as "ee", this is the red gene. While this red color can be identified by many different names throughout the world with the differences in how it is displayed, it is still the "red" gene.

    Types

    • A red horse can come in a huge variety of shades--from a blackish color known as the black liver chestnut, to the lightest of gold with a white mane and tail, and every shade in between. Despite these huge differences in appearance, when tested, the genetics will show that the horse is base color "red"--otherwise known as chestnut.

    Chestnut

    • When a horse is called a chestnut, it is usually a darker red, like a red-headed person, or a cinnamon color, and the mane and tail are usually the same color as the coat, or else they are just a touch lighter or darker. Chestnut is also a term used much more commonly by English riders or people from other countries.

    Sorrel

    • The sorrel coat color can sometimes be mistaken for a palomino. It can range from a darkish golden red to a very light and pale gold. The mane and tail are almost always a lighter color than the coat, and can even be snow white. The difference between a sorrel and a palomino is that a palomino carries one copy of the dilute gene, whereas the sorrel is still base color red.

    Warning

    • Be aware that in some cases it is almost impossible to tell a true palomino from a sorrel with flaxen, and in even rarer cases, there are some palominos that are so dark that they look like chestnuts. When you are breeding for palomino coloring, the only way to be sure that the horse is not a sorrel/chestnut is to have them genetically tested. Do not base your decision on looks alone.