Black horse question??

I have been reading these colour threads and have learnt a lot but I'm still confused about some things.

There is a horse at work that is black but can a black horse have brown on it? He is in a stable almost 24/7 with a rug on all the time and it's winter. The other day he broke his rug and I saw him without a rug and he looked a bit browner on his flanks and belly. From what I have seen though his face is pitch black no brown.

I'll put the only pictures I have up of his face just so you can see. The first horse is (scar) the black horse I am talking about and then a brown colt (Battery) what I am comparing him too. Sorry about the bad lighting. Thanks for any help.

Well here it is summer and I have a black gelding. He looks like a brown horse right now, minus his face and legs. But his flanks and back are brown. I have *heard* that this is because the sun can bleach them out. Almost every black horse I have ever met turns a brownish color when exposed to sunlight. They are dark dark black when they are shedding or growing a new coat, but when they are sun bleached they turn brownish. I think that's normal.

Yes that makes sense. I was just questioning it because the only direct sun he gets is if he being ridden, has the back door of his stable open to a little pen or he is out in a day paddock. Even then except when being ridden he would always have a rug on. So the areas that go brownish would be covered.

The second pic makes me say brown. You can see the mealy on the muzzle if you look closely, and also around his eye.

Black horses that sunfade usually don't fade in the 'soft' parts of the body first - if the horse is black but has faded in the muzzle, around the eye, at the elbow and flank, and at the base of the butt, it isn't a black at all, but a brown

sorry if I didn't make it clear they are two different horses. I was saying was confused because the second horse is definitely brown. It was like for comparison. The first horse is black except on his flanks and belly which you can't see. On his face though its completely black which is what confused me. Any brown you may see on the first horse is just dirt.

Lol well that explains why the second horse is brown lol.

I can't tell from the first pic to be honest.

Yeah I didn't think anyone would I just thought I would add them in case.

From what I can see he looks black, but I really can't tell

Dark bay horses can commonly be mistaken for black horses. If he isn't exposed to sunlight a lot and has brown near his flanks, it sounds like he isn't a true black horse but is rather a dark bay.

Bay has black points... mane, tail, below knees & hocks. Some bays can be incredibly dark but there is almost always a difference in color of mane and tail to body.

Copper deficiencies are the main reason for black horses fading without having cause for sun burned hair - and its considerably more common than most think.