Does unusual colour ATTRACT you or back you off?

[QUOTE=TrueColours;7298005]
Dressage_Diva - here you go - some examples for you

I LOVE this stallion - Artic Blue. He is a Dominant White with a black base coat colour and will reproduce exactly as a black stallion would with the added bonus (if you want that) of some neat markings as well …

http://stonehousemeadows.com/stallions.html

:)[/QUOTE]

This stallion that you love, is by a stallion that stands at your farm isn’t it?

I am no fan of the all white ones either, but I also like Arctic Blue. Otherwise my favorites are the single and double dilutes and the Champagne and Dun colours. I do have a GG son that is a Smoky Cream and we have three mares in foal to him. An all White (DW) TB mare where is hope his black base coat may finally not bring us an all white foal again. A Dun Warmblood mare and a Palomino Trakehner mare. I am very interested to see what will come out with these foals.

As a horse buyer, I’m mostly indifferent to color, so long as it is in the more common range. NOT at all a fan of “pale” colors including palomino, champagne, cremello, etc. Would consider a pinto or paint if the white was limited.
I did own an Abdullah mare, who was as white as a gray horse can be, and loved her. I would buy a gray again if the performance capability was there.

As much as I love it, I prefer less white due to melanoma risk because all our horses spend a lot of time in the sun by choice, and I would hate to have to confine one to keep it shaded.

I think this is one of those “Old Wives Tales” that needs to go away … :slight_smile: I have a whack of Double Dilute (totally pink skinned horses) here as well as ones with an abundance of white all over their bodies with usually bald faces or a lot of white on the face of their heads. Our summers can go well into the 90’s or higher here for long stretches and they are out all day. I have never encountered nor have I worried about melanoma’s with any of them. Ever …

This stallion that you love, is by a stallion that stands at your farm isn’t it?

Artic Blue is by Panoramic - a stallion I USED to own. He was sold back in 2012 to Libya and is residing there now. I have “0” interest or ties to him now other than getting email updates from his owner and the occassional pictures. I will probably get more pictures and more emails in 2014 once his foals start to hit the ground. So - no ties to Panoramic and no ties to Blue either other than he is a stallion who I like a lot and will probably be using in our breeding program with a couple of mares …

None of my perlinos or my mini cremellos burn. They all live out 24/7 with no issues.

I do like colour, but since it took me 6 years to find my stallion prospect, I can safely say I am picky.

Not a fan of the DW and as much as I like my doubles, I’m not a fan of the blue eyes.

My chosen breed is FULL of grey, so I went the opposite direction.

I am fascinated by the Silver gene. The thought of that color on a well moving, well built sport type just makes me smile at the very thought! My least favorite color is chestnut, but don’t tell that to the 75% red heads I own. They may never forgive me LOL. So while I obviously have my color preference, it would not hinder my purchase/breeding to an animal that did tick all the other boxes.

I do really dislike the really dilute colors, perlino, creamello, etc, they just look dirty and just unappealing to me. Even the really light palominos and buckskins or dominantly white Apps and pintos leave me pretty cold. I have owned and shown registered Paints and Pintos in the past but they were largely 50/50 spotted.

And yes, I had one black gelding with four perfect white stockings and a lovely narrow white blaze. I received many offers on him and I’m sure it was largely because of his coloring. I am also attracted to a good red dun color.

chicamuxen

[QUOTE=chicamux;7298887]
I do really dislike the really dilute colors, perlino, creamello, etc, they just look dirty and just unappealing to me. Even the really light palominos and buckskins or dominantly white Apps and pintos leave me pretty cold. I have owned and shown registered Paints and Pintos in the past but they were largely 50/50 spotted.

And yes, I had one black gelding with four perfect white stockings and a lovely narrow white blaze. I received many offers on him and I’m sure it was largely because of his coloring. I am also attracted to a good red dun color.

chicamuxen[/QUOTE]

I don’t care for those colors either, reminds me of a cow horse. That said, if I were looking I wouldn’t not look at one of those colored horses but I definitely wouldn’t pay extra for it.

If you’re buying a horse for competition then why would you get one with unusual coloring unless you’re a VERY good rider and the horse is a star? I’ve seen horses in the dressage ring with such odd colors that they almost seemed lame - talk about optical illusions influencing your score… :frowning: And to top things off - the judges will remember you! :slight_smile:

I do really dislike the really dilute colors, perlino, creamello, etc, they just look dirty and just unappealing to me.

The Double Dilutes definately are not the horse of every person’s dreams! :slight_smile: And Ive never come across a person yet that covets one as their next hunter or Derby horse either! :smiley: Most people find them “weird” looking. Im surrounded by them (cremello, perlino and smoky cream) and my “normal” looking horses with dark eyes are the odd men out around here …

Where they do have their highest value is in the breeding shed. Mitril (cremello WB) just got approved in the 70 Day test and I love the pictures Ive seen of him - I think he will have a very nice and successful breeding career going forward for those who want the athletic ability AND the guarantee of dilute colour as well

The cremello’s - when sparkling clean - are snow white with a pink tone to them. The perlino’s, being bay based, have a definate darker coat colour and a definate red tinge to their manes and tail. The smoky creams, being black based, have a definate charcoal / metallic tone to them. None of them should appear “dirty” unless theyve just rolled in the mud … :wink:

Color doesn’t really matter to me. I will look at a dilute horse, but it’s not on my check list of must-haves. In fact, there is a pinto stallion that I have chosen for my mare based on his temperament, performance and bloodlines–his color was irrelevant. I think he has thrown a few solid foals which I think is cool. I will admit that it must be fun though breeding your mare and wondering what the color outcome would be. :slight_smile:

It’s always interesting to hear about everyone’s preference in horse colors. Myself, besides a perfect palomino, I love the cremellos. There is just something about them that really makes me smile when I see one. I love all the dilutes, just wish the quality matched the color.

I think the only color I don’t really like is a solid chestnut without a drop of white. It would have to be a spectacular horse for me to buy it, I just find the color an incredible turn-off. Now, take that same chestnut color and put a few white socks on it and I love it. Go figure.

Not a huge fan of greys only because of prior experience with a grey and melanomas. However, if it was the right individual, I’d probably go ahead and buy it.

I would not buy a horse of unusual color unless it was as fancy as ______ (insert name of any horse which has been successful at the top level of competition). Colored horses are not bred for athleticism as THE primary trait. Color is the defining determination when breeding one horse to another. An incredible horse may result from such a mating, but the odds are against it.

Colored horses are like women 20 years ago: They must be 120% as good as a man and be willing to work for 80% of what a man would earn.

In my world, a horse who has topped out at training level eventing or dressage, or the 3’3" in hunters are not worth breeding to. I want a horse who has excelled at the top level and is ammie friendly. The odds are against you getting a quality horse unless you “breed the best to the best and hope for the best”.

Since there are no colored horses which fit that criteria, im my world, there are no horses of color I would breed to. And, like many others, I suspect a horse of color unless he is better than the horses he competes against.

Interestingly enough one pinto won best young horse at Devon. But that horse was a pinto on one side and a solid color in the other. I do not know for certain of course, but I suspect that the solid side allowed the judges to see the quality of the horse, and that overcame the color on the other side.

I think color is used instead of a show record for a lot of breeders. See how unique this horse’s color is? See how high it can jump at home? Don’t worry about the lack of show record, breed to it anyway so you can have a colorful “show” horse.

I love pintos! And palominos and buckskins! And silver dapple, and some of the other single dilutes. And have seen some high quality horses and have owned some of them. Having said that - my favorite riding horse is a plain bay - no white at all, how the heck did that happen?:lol:

Many riders want a horse that is fun - and color adds to that fun-ness. I’ve bred solids, dilutes, and pintos - and have to say, the colored horses are easier to sell. As one clinician put it - they are exotic, it is fun to stand out on a nice horse. And as my trainer noted - she finally got noticed by the “big guns” when she rode the “spotted wonder”.

There are quality colored horses out there - and yes, some of us are attracted to color. If I was gunning for an Olympic ride (:lol::lol::lol:, like that is even remotely likely), I’d look for bay, because I do think in the international ring it is probably best to avoid anything too exotic… But for the national show ring, which is where most of us are, why shouldn’t a rider want a little icing on the cake?

As for the comment that a judge gives credit because a horse has “a solid parent on one side” - that is silly, the judge doesn’t know that! They are pinning what they see in front of them. Most pintos are solid on one side - there just aren’t that many pinto mares AND pinto stallions out there. Many dilutes (pally and buckskin) are dilute (or double dilute) on one side, and plain ol’ bay or chestnut on the other side - again, there just aren’t that many dilute breeding stock out there.

Unusual colors aren’t for everyone - but there is a market for them, so why the huge controversy? And there are some that are successful in the show ring, and some that are not - just like chestnuts, bays, grays, etc.

My impression of colour is that it can benefit a horse that is proven, but hinder if it is not.

For example, there is a lovely homozygous pinto stallion, Pallido Blu, from Crestline Farm, who just finished well in the 70 day test. This is not the same as a high level show record, of course, but to finish in the top 5 at the 70 day test as a coloured horse suggests that he is not “just colour”. I watch this horse and look at his results and say, not only is he talented enough to be in the top 5 in both dressage and jumping, but he has colour, too! :smiley: If a stallion has some sort of impressive performance record and is coloured, I think the colour adds: it is an additional bonus on top of solid performance/gaits/jump, etc.

On the other hand, if the stallion has done little to nothing performance-wise and is coloured, I would shy away, perhaps even more than I would from something that was not coloured. I would look at this stallion and take his lack of performance record as a sign that he was just “bred for colour”.

The bottom line for me is that I love coloured stallions, but they have to perform because I am not going to breed solely for a pretty coat.

Not me! I actually really dislike grays, too cold looking for me, white is a stark color. Before they fade out I don’t like the mottling, the snakeskin thing.

Never a diluted breed. I am drawn to deep rich earth tone colors. I’m not really a fan of blacks either for the same reasons. I guess I need to stick with my bays.

I breed Hanoverians, so color really does not affect my breeding decisions at all. I love greys, bays, chestnuts…whatever. Of course we all have preferences but if it moves super and is good to ride then I am happy and at the end of the day, so are most people. That being said, I have never come across a colored stallion that is also an exceptional dressage horse and/or sire.

My mom has a Lusitano that is the most gorgeous, iridescent golden palomino. He is a really good looking horse to start with but the color just adds impact. I think because these colors are “acceptable” for this breed and there are some world class dilute stallions, you don’t have to sacrifice quality for color.

A few years ago in the PSI auction there was a buckskin Lusitano/warmblood cross. What a nice horse, world class gaits and this beautiful color. If I recall correctly he went for a couple hundred thousand euros.

To answer honestly - yes I avoid colours such as pinto and dilutes. Do I feel colour is important? Not at all. But horses are expensive both to buy and to keep, so I have no shame in wanting a colour I like when I shop for a horse. My preferences are grey, black and chestnut. I would consider a bay if I really liked everything else about it. I have seen a few horses that seemed to carry their flashy colours very well - for example there have been a few well built horses who were leopard spotted who I would have jumped at the chance of owning - but they were the exception rather than the rule.

I also like lots of chrome, but as a bonus, definitely not a deal breaker if they don’t have a lot of white markings.

I should add that although I am not a fan of dilutes I do go a bit gaga over silver dappled horses and ponies.

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;7298951]
Colored horses are not bred for athleticism as THE primary trait. Color is the defining determination when breeding one horse to another. An incredible horse may result from such a mating, but the odds are against it.[/QUOTE]

Not entirely true. Please explain the Swedish buckskin stallion, Bernstein, whose BLUP scores are still high many years after his death? His buckskin color came through his mother and 6 grey generations prior to that, originating from a fully approved and performance tested TB stallion. Bernstein was the result of many generations of selective performance tested breeding and was of a lineage that produced champions and Olympians, and not anything to do with color breeding.

I have warmbloods of the usual colors - black, chestnut, bay, used to have a grey, and I also have a buckskin. An imported Swedish daughter of the aforementioned Bernstein. When I go hunting for stallions to breed to my special mares, I breed for conformation, SPT results, show results, temperament, conformation and movement. I could care less about what shade of purple comes out. Which is why I got a chestnut from my black mare, a buckskin (who later died) from my buckskin mare, and more redheads from my redheaded mares.

When I’m shopping for mares, I don’t care about the color or even the markings. I’m looking at the mare herself - her body, her mind, her movement, whatever she might have for stats and scores, and her pedigree.

Please do NOT lump everyone who owns a buckskin, palomino or whatever, into the same pile of Play-Doh, because people like me breed for more important things than the color of their skin.