Tri-coloured (archaic: oddbald) refers to a horse with three different coat colours in a pinto spotting pattern of large white and dark patches, usually bay (a reddish colour with a black mane and tail) and white. This colouring is also commonly called skewbald (referring to a horse with a spotted coat that is white and any colour other than black). In modern usage in British English, skewbald and piebald (black and white) horses are collectively referred to as coloured, while in North American English, the term pinto is used to describe the colour pattern.
The colour of the horse's skin underneath its coat alternates between dark or pink, depending on the dark or white overlying hair colour. Some animals also exhibit colouration of the irises of the eye that match the surrounding skin (blue eyes for white skin, brown for dark). The underlying genetic cause is related to a condition known as leucism.
Genetically, a coloured horse begins with a solid base coat colour. Then the horse has an allele for one of three basic spotting patterns overlaying the base colour. The most common coloured spotting pattern is called tobiano, and is a dominant gene. Tobiano creates spots that are large and rounded, usually with a somewhat vertical orientation, with white that usually crosses the back of the horse, white on the legs, with the head mostly dark. Three less common spotting genes are the frame and splash overo genes, which create a mostly dark, jagged spotting with a horizontal orientation, white on the head, but dark or minimally marked legs. The sabino pattern can be very minor, usually adding white that runs up the legs onto the belly or flanks, with "lacy" or roaning at the edge of the white, plus white on the head that either extends past the eye, over the chin, or both. The genetics of overo and sabino are not yet fully understood, but and can appear in the offspring of two apparently solid-coloured parents, whereas a tobiano must always have at least one tobiano parent.
Tri-coloured (archaic: oddbald) refers to a horse with three different coat colours in a pinto spotting pattern of large white and dark patches, usually...
Skewbald horses which are bay and white (bay is a reddish-brown colour with black mane and tail) are sometimes called tricoloured. These horses usually...
color other than black (term more commonly used in the UK than the US). Tricoloured: A variation of Skewbald, specifically referring to pinto spotting over...
Sometimes "painted" is also used. Bay and white tobiano horses are also referred to as tricoloured. Tobiano traits generally include the following: White...
A gray horse (or grey horse) has a coat color characterized by progressive depigmentation of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black...
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and it is not uncommon to mistake...
Sabino describes a distinct pattern of white spotting in horses. In general, Sabino patterning is visually recognized by roaning or irregular edges of...
A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown...
Tricolored or tricoloured: A horse with three colors, usually bay (brown and black) and white. Usually considered a type of skewbald. While pinto horses in general...
horses are usually distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as...
1947. The Prancing Horse is generally presented in one of two ways: either as a shield, with the Italian tricolour above the horse and the initials SF...
Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow...
smutty horse coat color is characterized by black or darker hairs mixed into a horse's coat, typically concentrated along the topline of the horse and less...
a recessive dilution gene that affects red pigment in horses. On a chestnut base coat the horse is born a pale beige with sometimes a greyish or pinkish...
the Bay pinto, sometimes called ”tricoloured”. White markings may partially or completely mask point coloration in horses The dun gene leaves the points...
Grulla, also called black dun, gray dun or mouse dun, is a color of horses in the dun family, characterized by tan-gray or mouse-colored hairs on the body...
and qualities seen in several equine species, including horses, donkeys, and asses. In horses, they are associated with primitive breeds, though not limited...
dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse. The dun gene lightens most of the body while leaving the mane, tail, legs...
dominant allele responsible for a number of rare horse coat colors. The most distinctive traits of horses with the champagne gene are the hazel eyes and...
colorations in Pinto horses and American Paint Horses. The genetics of pinto coloration are not always fully understood, and some horses have a combination...
The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will...
Varnish roan describes a horse with coloration similar to roan, but with some changes in color over the years, though not to the extreme of a gray. This...
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