Sorrel or Chestnut?

Against black, sorrel/chestnut is recessive.

Okay I'm here to clarify lol:

Base Horse Coat Colors – Chestnut




Image from Benchmark Training Center
Basic Chestnut

There are two basic coat colors in the equine animal, either black base or chestnut base.
All horse colors are built on a black or a chestnut base and different colors are achieved by dilution genes and color modifiers to provide the wide variety of colors and patterns in existence today.
A Few Chestnut Facts

• Chestnut horses have no black hairs, they have a red coat and red points
• Chestnut and sorrel are interchangable terms and the same genetically
• Colors range from dark reddish brown, to deep red to light red
• Mane and tail can achieve a sunstreaked look making it lighter than the body hairs
• Mane and tail can be almost black all the way to blonde and flaxen

Different Chestnut Shades

Liver or Black Chestnut

Image from French Stallions

• Darkest red color
• Can be very dark, however hair will retain a red color
• Common in the morgan breed
• Can be confused with silver dapple

Chestnut / Red Chestnut / Sorrel

Image from Travelers Farm

• Lighter red hairs
• Mane and tail can be very light in color
• Most common shade of chestnut

Light Blonde / Sandy Chestnut

Image from Imoan Arabians

• Very pale red
• Mane and tail can be very light in color

Chestnut Dilutions

A chestnut base can produce the following colors when diluted
Red Dun

Chestnut base with a dun dilution gene.
Image from Engage Farms
Palomino

Chestnut base with a cream dilution gene.
Image from Stallions at Stud
Creamello

Chestnut base with a double dose of the cream dilution gene.
Image from Color Thyme Stud
Red Champagne

Chestnut base with a champagne dilution gene.
Image from Evening Shade Farm
Chestnut Modifications

A chestnut base can produce the following colors when modified.
Mealy / Pangare

Chestnut base with a mealy / pangare gene.
Image from White Horse Productions
Sooty / Smutty

Chestnut base with a sooty / smutty gene.
Image from jwakanmorgans
Flaxen

Chestnut base with a flaxen gene.
Image from Sunset Farms
White Patterns

Chestnut horses can display the following white patterns.
Appaloosa

Chestnut base with an appaloosa white pattern gene
Image from evelynbelgium
Skewbald Pinto / Paint

Chestnut base with a pinto / paint white pattern gene
Image from Wagon Wheel Farm
Strawberry Roan

Chestnut base with a roan white pattern.

Very nice post! I do however have to question this one as being chestnut based champagne--

I am 90% sure he is black based, called classic champagne (the farm site says he sires the most champagne foals from chestnut mares but I can't find where it calls him chestnut based.)

The International Champagne Horse Registry shows these as examples of champagne on a chestnut base (gold champagne) which are varying shades of gold, coppery gold, pale gold, etc--










This is what they show for classic champagne (champagne on black) which is what your example most resembles to me--

I just call all reddish horses chestnut. There's light chestnut, darker chestnut, flaxen chestnut, I call them all chestnut. It's easier.