The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Liver chestnut or regular chestnut?

53K views 46 replies 33 participants last post by  smrobs 
#1 ·
This is something I have discussed with multiple people and I have gotten different answers. My horse's previous owner called him a liver chestnut but others tell me he is a regular chestnut and I am having trouble deciding which one he is. He has the mane and tail of a more liver chestnut horse but his coat isn't as dark. His tail has a lighter tone of chestnut down at the bottom. Also, he has a few (maybe 3) small random splotches of darker chestnut on his coat, if that helps.

 
See less See more
2
#8 ·
Photos can be a poor indicator concerning colors that are very close due to camera differences but I don't see how anyone sees Bay. There are no black points aside from mane and tail. What I see is Brown, pure and simple.

Bay (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
#13 ·
I agree that he is beautiful regardless of what you decide to call him. Definitely not a bay as he has no black points (legs and ears). I would call him a dark chesnut. When I think liver chesnut, I picture a horse like kassierae posted. One that is almost black and the color of actual liver is what I call a liver chesnut.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I am fairly certain he is not bay because his tail and mane are not black. Perhaps more pictures might help?
This is a close up of his tail, you can see at the bottom it gets lighter. It would have more obvious highlights at the bottom if his tail was not dock clipped.


Coat color in bright sunlight
 
#18 ·
his mane and tail are black, so he can't be a chestnut, coz they have the same colour mane and tail! But he also doesn't have any other black points, i.e ears and legs, so I'd say he was a brown? :D hes cute!
 
#19 ·
No, chestnut does not always have the same color mane and tail. I think you should all go to the www.equine-color.info website and read about it. A chestnut can have the same color mane and tail, or they can have a lighter or darker mane and tail. The horse in question does not in fact have a black mane and tail, they are just dark. He is a dark chestnut by description.

I'm a color freak. Can ya tell?
 
#20 ·
I agree 100% with this. Your horse is definitely gorgeous, but he's most certainly not bay. I think I read somewhere that his shade of chestnut would be referred as tostado chestnut, which is chestnut with the darker mane and tail. I have a mare the same color as your guy and in certain light, her mane and tail can look almost black (but they are really just a very dark brown). My girl also has the darker spots throughout her coat. :)

Here's a picture of my mare--you can't see her tail very well in this pic, but it's quite dark. You can, however, see her dark mane and those dark spots on her coat.
 
#21 ·
Dark chestnut. I have a gelding who is a very similar colour; a nice rich red body with a very dark mane & tail. Even has similar smutt marks on the rump.

The term liver chestnut is generally applied to chestnuts who are darker all over. Although really, there is no known genetic difference between the different shades of chestnut. They all carry the ee genotype. He's definitely not a bay as he doesn't have the black points, and even the lightest shade 'wild bay' has minimal black points up to the pasterns. Bays carry the Agouti gene which can only be expressed on a black phenotype (Ee or EE) and is masked when present in the chestnut (ee) phenotype.

My chestnut boy for comparison
 
#22 ·
It baffles me how people are saying bay...definitely NOT.

I have to agree with him being a dark chestnut. He's not liver, clearly not a bay...his mane and tail are DARK, but not black. And forgive me for possibly sounding stupid - but is brown a recognized color?!
 
#23 ·
^^ Yes, I think it is but I understand that "brown" is more of a blackish looking horse with lighter shading around the muzzle, flanks, and underside like this horse. Often called a seal brown horse.


Or this one, he is a better example of what I consider "brown".
 
#24 ·
Dark chestnut. He has no black points anywhere so definitely not a bay. Chestnuts can have darker manes and tails, just a darker shade of chestnut hairs in the tail and mane.

I wouldn't call him liver chestnut tho.....I'd say a dark chestnut.
 
#25 ·
I'm shocked that people are saying bay...


Anyway, that is one unusual color. I definitely wouldn't call him a "regular" chestnut because his mane and tail would have to be the same reddish color his body is. I've seen liver chestnuts with coats that are lighter than their manes and tails, but I've never seen one with a coat that red. Liver chestnuts are just kind of missing the red that the other shades of chestnuts have so much of.

I honestly have no idea what I would call him.

I found a couple pictures of horses that look similar. They're listed under "liver chestnut."



 
#26 ·
I did a little bit of homework and I think your horse's color would be refered to as a wild bay. Click on this link: http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/colors/bay.html
It states: "black on the legs is restricted and is only visible around the coronet and on the fetlocks." Your horse's Mane and tail are definitly black and if you look closly at his knees and hocks you can see a little bit of black on them. Do me a favor and take alook at those areas and see if there are any black hairs mixed in with or underneath the brown hairs. That might be a clue. Whatever his color though, he is definitly a hansme boy!
 
#28 ·
I appreciate all the different answers here, yet I am around this horse every day and I am quite certain that he has no black points. His mane and tail are a very dark chestnutish color, and I believe that is visible in the pictures. They are definitely not black. Thank you for all the different replies everyone!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top