I’m trying to get ready for the show season. I will be showing my twh flatshod in the western pleasure class(es). The problem is trying to find what colors will go well with my tri-colored horse. She is sorrel and white with a black mane/tail. My show saddle is black. What colors do you guys recommend? Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
Look at Hobby Horse they have a color wheel to help with it. https://hobbyhorseinc.com/winning-colors/
Looks like tan, rust, brown, greens would all look pretty.
Try this color chart:
https://hobbyhorseinc.com/winning-colors/
That will give you a start.
I thought a black mane and tail on red coat color was a bay?
If so, your paint may be called a bay paint.
What colors would fit, I think it would depend how much white and where it is located may affect if you need to match the bay or white colors more.
Try googling for “images of show paint horses” and see what colors those riders are using on which color horses and then which combinations you like best?
(I just realized your post was about Western Pleasure --ignore first part of this post) As the seamstress for a showmanship fashionista (my granddaughter), we spend many hours discussing colors for showmanship. I have a couple of questions for you --are you usually in the top 5 in your class? --what do you consider your best asset? (hands? smile? legs?) --do you have a weakness that you wish the judge wouldn’t notice so much? (poor posture? elbows sticking out? cooked wrists?) --we discuss these things then select a color and design showmanship outfit to either stand out or blend in with the class, accent good parts, minimize or distract from flaws.
For example, my granddaughter is almost always in the top 5, and most commonly places 2nd or 3rd. That means, to us, that there is very little difference between her and the first-second place horse --judge is being really picky --so we try to “make” the judge look at her, and her best features.
First, unlike your horse who seems to have a beautiful, unique color, her horse is a small, unmarked dun. He is hard to notice in a big class --so we do our best with her outfit color to attract the judge’s eye (using unusual colors -like an entirely white outfit one year, or bright, red another, or bright jewel tones.
As to accenting her best showmanship features: Granddaughter has a great smile and excellent eye contact --so we always put her in a jacket with a white collar or light, contrasting collar that says “Hey, judge! look here!” (This year it’s a silver sequin collar on a solid black jacket --no bling --and FYI I am against black because EVERYONE wears it, but she’s 17 now and has a mind of her own). For the same reason we put her in a white hat, or this year, a black hat with a sequin band (Judge! look up! See my face?).
Her next asset is her excellent hands (now remember all top 5 kids probably did a perfect pattern and their horses are perfectly groomed, so it’s all on little stuff the judge sees in the 3-5 min he looks at her) --we do everything except a flashing neon arrow to say “Judge! see my perfect hands?.” Cuffs are white or contrasting and ALL design applique “points” to her shoulder nearest the horse --nothing pulls the eyes away from those hands --no below the bust design, nothing hugely distracting on the ‘off’ sleeve. We think of the applique and crystals as arrows to point to her hands.
Granddaughter has long legs, her horse has short legs. Since we want the horse to look smooth and not choppy, we try to minimize the length of her leg by avoiding an outside seam, having pants that fit perfectly (not too tight in the butt --not a good look on anyone), no pockets, no front zipper --only side zipper on her right side --everything designed to look s m o o t h as possible. Boots are colored to match her pants (Angelus leather paint --awesome stuff).
WESTERN PLEASURE --again, what are your good points? Quiet leg? Quiet hands? Accent them with contrasting cuffs and light colored chaps and boots --will show up well against your black saddle. If you have a leg that moves a lot, go with black against black --including boots. That will minimize the appearance of movement. We use longer (6" fringe) since it “hangs heavy” and shows little movement. If your hands move a lot, make sure your cuffs match whatever color is your horse’s neck. If you are a quiet rider (granddaughter is), then use a bright, eye grabbing shirt (pattern or color), so the judge notices YOU. If you tend to bounce in the saddle, go to the neutral/ solids so your body motion isn’t as noticeable.
Foxglove
Is she a tricolor (bay) pinto, or a sabino/roan? Sorrels don’t have black manes and tails, by definition, BTW. :). If she is a tricolor pinto, she is bay and white. If she is more “chestnut” red she is a strawberry/chestnut roan or maybe a sabino? Sorrel/chestnut shades of red with roaning and can have black mane and tail. “Redheads” look good in all the colors a red-haired human looks good in; bays look great in more primary colors, or “pure” colors – navy, royal blue, hunter green, bright red, pink if you’re brave enough to carry it off ;). Sorrels/chestnuts and strawberry-roan sabino shades look good in blues, too, including the blue blends – blue-greens like turquoise and teal, golds, yellow-golds, yellow-greens, beiges.
Everyone looks good in black!
What color is your hair? And most important of all – are you female or male?
