COLOR
|
EXPLANATION
|
COLOR
|
| |
CHAMPAGNE COAT COLOR
The body, leg, mane and tail hair of a champagne horse
will be "diluted" colors. Dilution is what milk does to
the color of coffee -- it lightens it. Champagne horses often have
darker coats in winter than in summer. However, if the horse also
has a cream gene, it will usually be lighter in winter, like most cream
dilutes. For foal coat colors, see the foal section at the bottom of this
page.
|
Champagne
|
Coat Color
|
Other
|
Amber Champagne
|
Left: an amber champagne, the result of
Champagne on a bay base. If you click on it to see it full size, you
can easily see that the points are coffee-colored, not black.
Right: a buckskin, the result of CREAM, not Champagne, on a bay base. In
the same way, you can see that her points are black.
|
|
|
|
Shine is not taken into account, because many
non-champagne horses' coats are extremely shiny or iridescent, and many
champagne horses' coats do not show any unusual shine.
Left: a famous gold Champagne, the result
of the gene acting on a red (chestnut) base.
Right: a famous chestnut
Arabian.
|
bright chestnut
|
Classic Champagne
Gold Champagne
Classic Champagne
|
Reverse dappling is often found in Champagne
colored horses, depending on the time of year, etc. (Reverse dappling
is the effect of dark spots with light surrounding "lacing".)
However, it also may be found in dun, and other colors.
Left: champagne colors with reverse dappling.
Right: dun with reverse dappling.
|
|
Amber Champagne
|
When coat colors are mysterious, one must look further to
determine the genetics of the horse. For example, compare these
two horses:
Left: an amber champagne mare
Right:
this Palomino
turned
this color
in later years.
He has dark skin, and
DNA tests
prove he is a palomino.
|
"sooty" palomino
|
Dark Gold
|
Another mysterious color:
Left: there are some Gold
champagnes with the unusual
"Dark
gold" coloration.
Right: red duns may look
a little
similar, but duns have
dark skin, and stripes.
|
red dun
|
Champagne
|
SKIN - general
|
Others
|
Please click these pictures to see them properly
(all champagne horses)
|
The pink skin of a Champagne horse is "pigmented
pink" -- not the pigment-free paler color found under all white markings
of all horses. It is able to tan.
It has MANY, DARK freckles. Not mottles, splotches,
specks or blotches. Champagne skin is this color EVERYWHERE.
It's easiest to identify, however, in these places:
around the eyes, on the muzzle, and
ON AND around the
private parts.
Left: champagne skin; facial and under-tail
Right: Palomino skin - around eye,
udder, chest, and under
tail.
Also Right: a perlino dun Morgan
Horse
stallion,
with green eyes.
Also Right: Appaloosa skin
Bottom right: pink dots on
the skin of an aging chestnut
with minimal sabino
markings
(he used to shed parts of his
winter coat suddenly, apparently
due to Cushing's syndrome,
and is now on medication for it
and sheds normally)
|
Please click these pictures to see them better
 
(all palominos)
perlino dun
appaloosa skin
chestnut skin
(minimal sabino)
|
More detailed comparisons, below.
|
| |
CHAMPAGNE
|
SKIN
AROUND eyes
|
OTHER
|
|
The skin touching, and near, the eye of a champagne horse will be pigmented-pink
with numerous dark freckles. Though a few other genetic combinations
can produce pink, freckled skin, they're usually different in quality or
quantity (see below.)
MOST horses have very dark (black or
charcoal gray) skin around their eyes, except for under white
pinto/paint/Appaloosa markings.
Left: typical champagne eye; amber champagne.
Right: dark eye skin
typical of most non-champagnes
|
palomino
|
 |
The skin around the eyes of a double cream dilute, like cremello or
perlino, will be a slightly different shade of pink, and have just a few
black "specks" rather then typical champagne "freckling". Compare
these pics to get a very good idea of the difference.
Left: champagne plus cream
Right:
young double cream dilute.
|
both cremellos
|
 |
Often, horses with one cream gene will be born with pink skin.
It usually darkens to black within weeks. Compare this dark
champagne horse's "eye skin", left, with that of this smoky black, right.
Left: Classic champagne
Right: a smoky black
mare's eye with pinkish
skin and some "freckles"
|
|
 |
Left, champagne eye skin
<=================
|
|
 |
Left: gray on champagne
Right:
non-champagne
gray depigmentation
|
|
 |
Left: Appaloosa PLUS champagne
Right:
non-champagne
Appaloosa eye skin
|
|
CHAMPAGNE
|
MUZZLE SKIN
|
OTHER
|
 |
Left: typical champagne muzzle skin
Right: "pink-skinned Palomino" muzzle
|
|
 |
Left: Amber champagne
Right: buckskin
|
|
 |
Left: gold cream muzzle at 4.5
months
Right: adult cremello muzzle
|
cremello
|
|
|
Left: Amber champagne
Right: Appaloosa
|
Appaloosa
|
 |
Left: classic champagne muzzle in WINTER. Freckled skin is much harder to
see through heavier winter coats.
Right: muzzle of a smoky black
(one cream on black)
|
 |
Any champagne muzzle could be shown here!
|
Why it's so important to use pedigree as well as
appearance (and DNA testing where possible) to determine a horse's true genetic color identity.
Right: Barlink
dilute (Pearl dilution gene)
|
|
CHAMPAGNE
|
PRIVATE PARTS SKIN
|
OTHER
|
 |
Left: under-tail shots of typical champagne skin, mares
Right: under-tail shot of typical
double-cream skin, mare
|
cremello
|
 |
Left: under tail of champagne + Appaloosa
Right: private parts of
Appaloosa
|
 |
| |
Right: private parts
of a palomino stallion
|
 |
 |
When it comes to udders, some cream dilutes have pink, freckled, skin
there, but the nipple color is dark on a cream, and light on a champagne.
Left: the skin on the udder of a champagne mare
(very large photo)
Right: skin on the udder of
a smoky black mare
(one cream gene on black)
|
 |
|
|
CHAMPAGNE FOALS
|
|
CHAMPAGNE FOAL COATS
The first foal coat of a champagne is
sometimes darker than the adult
coat. Others are born the color they will remain; still others vary
from year to year. The following pictures show the colors during age
progression of a few horses of different champagne base colors. You
can see the various ways they can change from birth through adulthood.
They are shown here, in order, with the
youngest to the left.
Gold (champagne on chestnut/sorrel):
Zillertal Atom
Amber (champagne on bay): Pocos Blue
Champagne
Another Amber: Champagne Ambassador, aka
"Ricky"
Sable (champagne on seal brown): California
Champagne, aka "Fred"
Classic (champagne on black) pinto:
Champagne Leap of Faith
|
CHAMPAGNE FOAL SKIN & EYES
|
All champagne foals are born with bright pink skin and blue
eyes. As they mature, the skin stays a shade of pink and develops
freckles; the eyes turn "amber" (yellow-green to medium brown) over months
to years.
Some foals of other colors also start out
with pink skin and blue eyes.
Know what else to look for.
|
CHAMPAGNE
|
Explanation
|
OTHER
|
|
|
Chestnuts can be born
with pink skin and blue eyes, which turn dark in a few days to
weeks.
Left: champagne foal
Right: chestnut foal
|
My apologies to those who have sent me pics
for this space. I'll try to find them...
|
 
|
Single cream dilutes - Palominos, buckskins, brown buckskins, and
smoky blacks are frequently born with pink skin and blue eyes, which turn
dark in a few days to weeks.
Left: amber champagne dun foal
Right:
buckskin foal
Left: 3 day old champagne foal
Right: buckskin foal
|
 |
| |
Duns (a dilution which includes striping) can be born with coats much lighter than their
adult colors. Some duns are even born with pink skin and/or blue eyes, which darken in a
few days to weeks.
|
My apologies to those who have sent me
pics for this space. I'll try to find them...
|
DNA COLOR TESTING
|
Horses can now be tested for most color genes to find out
their
true genetic color identities. This is very useful for those who
wish to breed for certain colors (or to avoid certain colors.) Several labs currently offer
tests for black (black or bay) or red (chestnut) pigment, agouti (bay or
solid), and cream, in addition to the two paint gene tests available
(tobiano and frame/LWO). There is currently no test for champagne,
so that must be determined by appearance, pedigree, and the process of elimination.
Color test links:
|
SOME RARER, NON-CHAMPAGNE DILUTIONS
|
During the course of examining horses to be registered with the ICHR,
some horses were discovered whose colors could not be explained by any then-known
genetic color combination! They looked somewhat like champagne
colors, but several factors were not there.
When these unexplained colors were thoroughly researched, they turned out to have distinct genetic signatures,
different from any currently catalogued! There is now a test for
PEARL, which was one just developed in October of 2006.
The founders and friends of the ICHR
continue to research unusual and undocumented colors in horses. We
suggest you join the ICHR list as a launching point to learn more.
(See Yahoogroups button below to join.)
|
If you still find it impossible to tell what is a champagne, and what is
not, after studying this page, just
remember, it takes years of study and experience, including some
scientific training (usually), to become a color "expert". Don't
give up; join the Yahoogroups ICHR discussion list (see button,
below) ; learn from the experts!
|
