What Is a Liver Chestnut Horse?

Horses come in a wide variety of coat colors. Everything from black to white; pinto patterns to sabino; red to grey. The most common coat color is chestnut, also known as sorrel. This color is, essentially, red. But although red is the base color, the varieties of red can be complex. Liver chestnut is one of these shades.

  1. Identification

    • The chestnut coat color is the most recessive gene carried by the equine species. It is signified in genetics by the "ee" allele. When it is paired with the black gene, it is shown as "Ee" - with the capital "E" being the black gene. When a horse carries the "ee" gene, it can be any shade of chestnut, liver chestnut being one of them.

    Types

    • Chestnut horses can be everything from a light golden with a white mane and tail, to a "black" chestnut which looks black but casts red highlights. Sorrel, or golden with flaxen, is the most common chestnut coat color. Liver chestnut is one shade above the black chestnut. A liver chestnut will have an obviously red hue, but it will be nearly black in its intensity. The mane can be the same color as the coat or it can be lighter. It cannot be black, as that would make the horse a bay.

    Misconceptions

    • Some breeders who are trying to breed for a coat color may mistakenly believe that the liver chestnut has its own genetic specification. This is not correct. According to science, any horse that is any color of chestnut, from the blackest to the lightest, carries the "ee" gene, which is the base color red. Only in dilute genetics do you get a differentiation in the genes that make a horse a palomino versus a chestnut.

    Considerations

    • When trying to determine if the horse is a liver chestnut, there are several factors to consider. Look carefully at the mane, tail and legs. They cannot be black or the horse is not a true chestnut. If the horse is in its winter coat, it may likely appear lighter than it actually is. If the horse has dapples, that is acceptable, as long as they are in the same range as the coat color, so nearly black dapples are acceptable. If the horse has both a scattering of golden and dark hairs, it is not a liver chestnut, as liver chestnuts are all dark, with roaning possible but rare.

    Effects

    • The effects of the liver chestnut coat coloring can be quite startling and attractive. In some rare cases, the horse can be a dark liver chestnut with a nearly white mane and tail. This provides for an eye catching mount that can excel at drawing attention, whether in the show ring or on the trail.