Least favorite horse colors...

[Mythology]

And what colors do you really dislike???

[Pirateer]

Grey, Pinto, Anything dilute

[Mythology]

Mine are Brown, Grey, Pinto, Appy, and anything with too much white.
As someone who posts here once said
"You don't know how much you hate pintos until you've had one with a white butt!":lol::lol:
And I've heard that same sentiment from so many people :winkgrin:

[didgery]

Grey. Wouldn't go out of my way to get one after my bad experience with melanomas.

Aesthetically, a nice seal brown or a shiny buckskin will make me swoon. Flea bitten grey or palomino would have to be on my LEAST liked list. Love a tobiano UNLESS it's got a predominantly white face . . . . then I generally won't like it!

[pintopiaffe]

I'm fickle.

I loff me a good copper chetty, or one with flaxen, but 'plain' chestnuts do little for me. Liver, OTOH, is a dream.

I'm rather fond of 'different' eyes, so the double dilutes and champagnes and such really do strike me... Again--I'm fickle though, I rarely like bald or apron faces--or even wide blazes-- but am smitten with blue eys. :p

I adore a good dark, dapple grey, but it is the death knell to a dreaded 'colour' breeder. :lol: When we figure out the genetics behind the greys who stay dark, I will be first in line for one. "Porcelain" pintos--grey, roan or dilute--are a particular love of mine.

My absolute least favorite is brown with pangere. I just don't like the light nose.

[slc2]

I love it. I think it makes them look like a wild ravening BEAST, and I love it.

I like all colors, but avoid very light colors (for practical reasons) and grey (for medical reasons). I think sometimes double dilutes can look sort of washed out or dull, but many look quite nice.

[Mythology]

WOW- out of 56 people no one dislikes Liver chestnut. Strange I would have put my money on everyone loving black. This is why I don't gamble :lol:

[Carol Ames]

Leopard Apps;:eek: They remind me of when I was a teenager and had terrible acne:lol:

[Maddie]

I don't think I dislike any colour.... I love white socks and what not, but I very much dislike cleaning them! Does that count???

[Daydream Believer]

I loff my perlinos...they are stunning when they shine..just blind you. I also love the blue eyes. Appies make my mouth water too! I have the most lovely black blanket colt now.

The only color I won't have is a gray. I like them when they are dappled but hate it when they turn white or get fleabitten. I also hate melanoma. I'm not partial to regular chestnuts either but don't mind owning one if it pops out. There is not a lot of red in our breed so a chestnut is a bit of a novelty.

[nightsong]

When I was growing up, pinto markings were a sign of impure or poor breeding (and they sure looked it, too) or scraggly ponies. Still pretty much feel this way.

[Bats79]

Bred and owned 100's of greys in the past 35 years. Not one suffered from melanoma - may have had them but never suffered from them.

Haven't you people ever heard "no good horse is a bad colour"?

[Cancara]

I wouldn't turn any horse down based on colour, but if all else was equal prefer dark to anything very light like grey, cream, mostly white pie or skewbald horses. Just for the keeping them clean and presenting with a good shine to the coat thing. There are few things more beautiful than an immaculately clean 'white' grey horse. Unfortunately there are also few things more shortlived! :lol:

[Thomas_1]

No good horse is a bad colour.

Having said that I really can't get over :eek::no: when I see "cremello" ones with pale eyes and poor pigment. To date though I've never seen a good horse that colour either.

[stolensilver]

I think some appys can look pretty ugly, usually those with lots of roaning and pink rimmed eyes with freckled skin. Not my favourite colour but I do like leopard spots and blankets are OK as long as the head is dark.

My least favourite "ordinary" colour is bay. Boring, boring, boring! But since athleticism and temperament are far more important than colour I currently own two. :lol:

From a practical standpoint I don't like horses with lots of white on them as scrubbing poo stains in the middle of winter is deeply unpleasant. But I do like the look of greys and tobianos and overos, just don't like keeping them clean.

[broughton_sporthorses]

My least favourite would be appaloosa, especially when they are all spotty around their eyes. Also I find plain brown a bit boring.
But I wouldn't turn down a horse just because of it's colours. The colour doesn't effect how good or bad the horse is :)

[rcloisonne]

Dislike loud markings, especially on the head. Dislike washed out palominos and most buckskins. Double dilutes are awful (but I understand their value for breeding true golden palominos which I love). Bay is boring but some of the best horses I've known are bay.

My absolute favorites are black with a "tasteful" :winkgrin: amount of white, a snow white grey with big black eyes or a deep rich chestnut with flaxen mane and tail.

[VirginiaBred]

There is no "bad" color. It may not be pleasing to the eye to someone, but I'll bet it can have redeeming qualities.

People that make purchases according to color (or say an animal is good or bad) don't do much for me.


(By the way, liver chestnut is my all time favorite color)

[Nes]

I have to say there are no particular colours I don't like, there are certainly specific horses in colours I don't like, such as a very-orange chestnut gelding I can think of, but I've never been able to say "I don't like X" because inevitably I will find one of that colour I do like.

[okggo]

I voted DD, but you had all pintos lumped together. I love a minimally marked tobiano - I can't stand the overo pattern or loudly white tobianos.

[Mythology]

Sorry about the grouping- I could only post 10 options. And had to make everything fit :D

I'm sure everyone here agrees that a good horse is never a bad color, however with all other things being equal we all have a preference!\

Thanks for all the posts on both favorite and least favorite polls. This is actually quite interesting...

[billiebob]

I rarely find Appy colors attractive. I wouldn't discount a horse because of it, though. And I don't like blue eyes--looks creepy to me!

My least favorite solid color is dark bay without any white. And what color is my horse? Dark bay with a wimpy white patch on the inside of his left front heel. I'm hoping that he'll bleach evenly for the summer and maybe look like a lighter bay......so far, not much luck there! :lol::lol::lol:

[Blacktree]

I don't think I will ever care for the look of double dilutes. I'm not an appy pattern fan, either (except for leopards, they are pretty cool). Pintos patterns can be nice, but I'm pretty picky about them...

[aurum]

How about this one, I think its a real nice pattern, will be leopard in about 3 years: http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99316

and the Wind Dancer Pinto filly out of my Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99317

and the colt from Rapptaenzer also out of a Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=95621

I think all three have great patterns! Spots and Tobiano are not colors, they are patterns.

[canwong]

How about this one, I think its a real nice pattern, will be leopard in about 3 years: http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99316

and the Wind Dancer Pinto filly out of my Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99317

and the colt from Rapptaenzer also out of a Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=95621

I think all three have great patterns! Spots and Tobiano are not colors, they are patterns.

I agree. They all look very nice, with great patterns.

[Blacktree]

How about this one, I think its a real nice pattern, will be leopard in about 3 years: http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99316

and the Wind Dancer Pinto filly out of my Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=99317

and the colt from Rapptaenzer also out of a Sempatico mare:
http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=95621

I think all three have great patterns! Spots and Tobiano are not colors, they are patterns.

I really like the last one, I think because there is less white to the pattern. I like that both of the last 2 babies (w/ pinto patterns) have all dark heads. :)

So can a leopard appy pattern change as they get older?

[aurum]

They can be born with just a spotted blanket and over the years come to a near leopard. My mare Fatima is such a horse. She was born blanket and the dark parts "roaned out" more and more and the spots came up to be seen and now she is a near leopard spotted to the ears! Same will happen to that filly, she will be a near leopard, has the same big spots as had Apollon.

[Blacktree]

They can be born with just a spotted blanket and over the years come to a near leopard. My mare Fatima is such a horse. She was born blanket and the dark parts "roaned out" more and more and the spots came up to be seen and now she is a near leopard spotted to the ears! Same will happen to that filly, she will be a near leopard, has the same big spots as had Apollon.

I didn't know that - thanks! :)

[dressagetraks]

I would vote for part of the pintos category. I dislike the overo ones, but I like big blocky tobiano. Similarly, I dislike blanket appys but like leopard/Knabstrupper. All of the above are based on nothing more than my personal aesthetics and love of symmetry/balance. Anything unbalanced or irregular in pattern looking, I don't like as much. Nice overall pattern that looks like a pattern and not like paint thrown on a wall, I like that.

I love grays but agree with the cleaning comments. My love for grays is sentimental. My favorite school horse when I was a kid was gray, and I have a lot of treasured memories of him.

Chestnut with no trim is pretty blah, but in terms of trim, I like symmetrical trim (even stockings, etc.), which is harder to find. And my favorite marking of all is the perfectly symmetrical central blaze.

Love blacks above all, although I have discovered how hard they are to groom, not too far behind grays. Love blood bays (in summer). And buckskins.

All of the above, of course, are just personal preference bonus points. If my otherwise dream horse showed up in chestnut overo, I'd take him/her in a heartbeat, no regrets. And I learned many valuable if difficult lessons years ago from a horse I bought BECAUSE he was black (and cheap, what a combination, right?). Uh uh. Never again. Color is the cherry on top, nothing more.

[WBLover]

My absolute favorite is black. Next would be black bay, or brown, or seal brown, or dark bay whatever you want to call it. But I love the lighter brown nose on them, I call it "dipped in cinnamon". But either of those colors have to have some chrome, the more the better! :)

I do love chestnuts with white stockings and big white blazes, but a plain chestnut, my least favorite.

And as far as greys, I like them when they are dark dapple grey, but unfortunately most turn just about white as they get older. And I can't stand fleabitten grey, just looks like a really dirty horse to me.

But I don't discriminate on a good horse because of their color.

[hitchinmygetalong]

Cremello.

And I really dislike those pink-rimmed funky-looking eyes. Blech.

[bort84]

I have always been a solid color kind of gal, even as a tiny tot. I was never into pintos and didn't see a need for a palomino or buckskin and really HATED appys... I love love a blood bay with striking black points and love a dark bay that's really dappled. I'm just so so on most chestnuts, but I really do love a deep liver with some chrome. A dappled grey is a lovely thing, but I really hate cleaning them up once the dark fades away. Black is okay, but I've never really lusted after a black horse.

So what color horse do I have now? Well, after owning a few chestnuts and bays, and loving several greys, I ended up with an appy... Haha, a leopard no less!!! It's really starting to grow on me though, to where I might almost be a convert (I quite like a well defined blanket or leopard these days). My guy has lovely roaning on his legs and his face is very tame compared to the rest of his body - the mottled spots on his face almost give him a blaze look from the front = ) On his points, he's just regular colored, and then he has the best black spots.

So, a solid lover can be converted. I think it's all in what you get used to. Though I'm still not partial to pintos... I suppose it could happen some day. Hey, if a snooty saddlebred show gal can fall in love with a 15 hand appy and change her discipline of choice to suit him, anything's possible. I had to see through his color at first, and now I love it = )

[Ladybug Hill]

Despite liking palominos very much would NEVER allow a double dilute in my barn EVER. It is hideous to me for some reason. My father always wanted me to breed in hopes of a double dilute but I absolutely refused.

Not big on spots either.

Didn't like buckskin either until I had a really sweet one. Now they are ok if they are dark enough.

LOVE liver!

[Carol Ames]

in my learner judges program, I found certain patterns more difficult to judge:sadsmile:; in particular leopard apps and uneven, asymmetrical white markings on:yes: legs, even a vdry narrow stripe on the head can look from the side BTV!probably one reason te eutropeans dislike white:yes: unless it is symmetrical.:confused:

[DMK]

see the poll results and let no one doubt that color bias exists! :lol:

True enough, a good horse isn't a bad color, but that is a different question from what color do you like least and it looks like the colors most people like the least are the non-traditional colors (for our disciplines). It's true for me, I used to show appys and had a couple dearly loved pinto ponies in my life, but ask me my favorite, and I'll tell you I'm a plain bay kind of person.

[ThirdCharm]

I put Appy even though I LOVE a nicely marked blanket, frosted, etc. app -in fact I would say that is my favorite!--I don't particularly care for an app with a spotty white head and pink-rimmed eyes (especially on the clunkier-headed apps), or those "varnish" apps that are kind of mottly roan all over and look like moth-eaten rugs. And they are EVERYWHERE around here. Of course, if it can jump and do dressage, I'll overlook it.... :-)

One of my students had a blanket app who greyed out, he was white with just a few black spots remaining, and dark eyes... he was pretty.

Also don't like pintos that are mostly white (too much maintenance!) or with white faces unless the eyes have dark edges (had a friend who had to deal with cancer on hers). But I love a flashy minimally marked Tobiano or Splash Overo. Oh well!

Jennifer

[kookicat]

No good horse is a bad colour.

Having said that I really can't get over :eek::no: when I see "cremello" ones with pale eyes and poor pigment. To date though I've never seen a good horse that colour either.

I'm not a fan of the double dilutes either. Their eyes creep me out! :lol:

[ILuvmyButtercups]

Bred and owned 100's of greys in the past 35 years. Not one suffered from melanoma - may have had them but never suffered from them.

Haven't you people ever heard "no good horse is a bad colour"?

:winkgrin: Have to comment ~ Actually I pretty much dislike greys, mainly because they are so hard to keep clean, but of the four I had/have over the years, they ALL did better than any other colored horse I owned.

One TB mare - always sound, terrific brood mare, never ill or lame, still truckin' at advanced age.

One appendix (raced) QH gelding. Lame as hell, had the nodes in his sheath and under the tail, he's STILL going as a PO, lite ride, at 36 years old!!!!! Outlived by 17 years a big brown TB of excellent health. Oh, and he's a Cushing's darling as well, but indestructable.

Rose grey TB filly, looked like a warmblood, just stunning in every way. Didn't fade with age. Always healthy, never a problem in any way.

Aged Arab ~ former endurance horse. Now a trail/hunt packer. Best all around riding horse I ever had. No health issues at all. He'll live forever I'm sure. :yes:

[Meshach]

I dislike the pumpkin colored chestnuts.

[CrossWinds81]

Colors if we are strictly talking color and not talent of horse...

I love, love, LOVE dappled out greys with white manes and tails and coppery chestnut with flaxen mane and tail those are at the very top then probably a dark seal minimal white (ie just a star), dappled out liver chestnut, rich mahogony bay, or blood bay with four small white socks and a star and snip or thin strip, I like some palaminos, then plain bay...plain chestnut is at the bottom, just not a big fan of plain old chestnut, but certainly not running from it

Colors I don't love...
I won't have a double dilute...I'm sorry, I hope not to offend, I just really think they look 'un-natural' and do not like the pink skin of cremellos. To breed a horse that would knowingly have a harder time being out in the sun grazing for hours on end without body armour, I couldn't do it...sunburn is a terrible thing for them. I like my horses to be horses when they can...and that color limits them.

I really am not much of a fan of the loudly colored pintos esp if they have more white than color...I think that some are truly beautiful and would love to have in my barn especially those with dark faces and big, soft, liquid doe eyes. I do like the 'porcelain' pintos (again, if dark from head down neck) I really dislike the overo patterning. If we're talking about a big belly spot...I kinda like that actually...it reminds me of Furioso!

Apps...I'm not a big fan of blanket apps I do like the leopard/knabstrupper apps with the big ginormous spots especially if they have a dark head without the mottled skin around the eyes and mouth...there is a 3 month old colt at the barn that has this coloring and he is just cute as a button.

Single Dilutes...it depends, I like when they have a really deep dilute color...(if that isn't an oxymoron I don't know what is!) I do like some palaminos, but not the washed out ones same goes with smoky black and buckskin...it all just depends

All that said, I am in the business of breeding for scope, ability, soundness, and temperament...not a specific color....so my goal is a bit different, I have preferences just as those who breed for color have preferences. If there is a truly spectacular overo paint, International/Olympic level grand prix jumper who is producing talented offspring, sign me up...otherwise I am sorry, I don't think color is the be all and end all. If you are breeding for top level sport + color...I don't think the cards are decked in your favor...I just don't see them at the very top levels of sport consistently. Perhaps that is because there are fewer of these special colored horses to begin with and breeding a top quality athlete is hard enough as it is, but I will stick to a plan that has had success time and again...though, I certainly won't exclude it if it pops up...it just isn't my end goal to produce a certain color. That isn't meant to put down at all, every person on this board has a certain breeding goal in mind. If you are intrigued by color, that is a huge field of knowledge in and of itself, and producing colors that have never been produced before is spectacualr and that is something to be commended. That's the beauty of this whole creation game, though...everyone has their own 'ideal' and that means there will be many different types of horses to choose from in the end.

[Daydream Believer]

I won't have a double dilute...I'm sorry, I hope not to offend, I just really think they look 'un-natural' and do not like the pink skin of cremellos. To breed a horse that would knowingly have a harder time being out in the sun grazing for hours on end without body armour, I couldn't do it...sunburn is a terrible thing for them. I like my horses to be horses when they can...and that color limits them.



I'm not offended but I want to clear up one thing that may be a misconception. My double dilutes...and I have two perlinos here...require no extra protection from the sun at all....they live outside and while they have shade, they rarely stand in it. They fare much better than my pink nosed horses with white markings who do burn and chap badly. I live in a hot nasty place too so I'd think for 90% of most horse owners, double dilutes do just fine in the sun. I'd much rather have a double dilute than a white faced paint any day.

Double dilutes do take some getting used to but I love their lovely light blue eyes. My first one was a surprise as I did not know the mare was a smokey black, but when you see them move as beautifully as they can move, you don't care what color they are. ;)

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/hau_kea/Rainbows%20End%20Farm/IMG_5558.jpg

http://www.barbaralivingston.com/albums/rbefarm/BDL_9491.jpg

As you can see in this pic...no sunburn. :)

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/hau_kea/Rainbows%20End%20Farm/IMG_5538.jpg

[Donella]

WOW- out of 56 people no one dislikes Liver chestnut. Strange I would have put my money on everyone loving black. This is why I don't gamble

Liver is my absolute favorite color too and it seems everyone I know agrees when color is brought up. Does ANYONE not love liver? Funny enough, our Sir Donnerhall filly was born chestnut this year and we just assumed she would grey (mom is grey, sisters from Londonderry are grey) but she has no grey hairs so far and is instead shedding LIVER. Thats a nice change.

The Quaterback colt who also has bling up past his knees and hocks also appears to be shedding liver. Who knows if this will stay ....

[Mythology]

[QUOTE=Daydream Believer;4205157]I'm not offended but I want to clear up one thing that may be a misconception. My double dilutes...and I have two perlinos here...require no extra protection from the sun at all....they live outside and while they have shade, they rarely stand in it. They fare much better than my pink nosed horses with white markings who do burn and chap badly. I live in a hot nasty place too so I'd think for 90% of most horse owners, double dilutes do just fine in the sun. I'd much rather have a double dilute than a white faced paint any day.

Double dilutes do take some getting used to but I love their lovely light blue eyes. My first one was a surprise as I did not know the mare was a smokey black, but when you see them move as beautifully as they can move, you don't care what color they are. ;)

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/hau_kea/Rainbows%20End%20Farm/IMG_5558.jpg

http://www.barbaralivingston.com/albums/rbefarm/BDL_9491.jpg

As you can see in this pic...no sunburn. :)

I have to agree. I have never had a double dilute that needed any different care than any other color- except more baths:lol:- and they have been hardier than some of my "normal color horses". I think that each horse is an individual and the "white skin/white hoof = more delicate/not as hardy" is just an old wives tale.

And yes the blue eye/pink skin is different and some people like it, others don't. Just like being a redhead is different. Some people think redheads are very attractive others would rather date a blond instead- Just personal preference. So no, I don't take offense at all. I love the pink skin. To each their own! Differences make the world an interesting place.:winkgrin:

[CrossWinds81]

I stand corrected ;) I just assumed sunburn would be a pretty big issue because I had a horse who would look at the sun and her poor white nose would be red, sore and peeling and that was with sunscreen and a long nose fly mask. A friend of mine had an Azteca cremello stud that was sensitive to the sun, so much so, she never turned him out in the daytime unless he was covered head to hoof in body armour. But you know what they say about assumptions :winkgrin:

Completely unrelated question though, I am leasing a lovely broodmare with a blue eye (she has no white over her eye, just regular coat color, liver chestnut) how do you read their blue eyes? It's so much easier to read the dark eyes!

[*jumper*]

Not a fan of loud colored horses like appys or paints, although I've ridden a handful of good looking paints with jumper lines that I wouldn't mind owning. Chestnuts are too bland for me, as are dark bays. I love a blood bay with nice black legs or a dark grey (no fleabitten!)

[Ecks Marx The Spot]

This is not a straight forward poll! I personally LOVE, to the point of it being almost a fetish... leopard spotted Appys. Snowflakes, vanishes, few spots... not so much. ( though my first horse was a varnish bay appy... LOL)
I love loud colors, unique colors, different colors, wild colors and patterns.
I would have to say my least favorite is dark bay with no white. I also do not care for the white face/blue eyes.
Other then that, the crazier they come, the better :)

[FriesianX]

Ecks is right - for example, many people LOVE a minimally marked Tobiano, but show them an Overo with a big bald face and they say "yuck". Liver chestnut is great, but plain chestnut, not so loved - yet both are CHESTNUTS, so why separate them? Well, because everyone loves a liver:lol: But you can't breed for liver - the color is chestnut - then it is luck of the draw. Just like you can breed for tobiano - but minimally marked versus mostly white? Luck of the draw.

Varnish appy doesn't appeal to many, but leopard appy is much more popular. If you separated out single dilutes, I'm sure you'd see buckskins are quite popular, smokey blacks, not as much, palominos somewhere in between. Dark buckskin yes, light/buttermilk, not so much. Plain bay, maybe not as popular, but a bright red bay, and you've got a popular horse. Etc. What the poll does show is blacks are popular - I think everyone agrees with that ;) AND - people do care about color, no matter what they say;)

[Mythology]

I stand corrected ;) I just assumed sunburn would be a pretty big issue because I had a horse who would look at the sun and her poor white nose would be red, sore and peeling and that was with sunscreen and a long nose fly mask. A friend of mine had an Azteca cremello stud that was sensitive to the sun, so much so, she never turned him out in the daytime unless he was covered head to hoof in body armour. But you know what they say about assumptions :winkgrin:

Completely unrelated question though, I am leasing a lovely broodmare with a blue eye (she has no white over her eye, just regular coat color, liver chestnut) how do you read their blue eyes? It's so much easier to read the dark eyes!
Watch the muscles around the eye. It's easy to get distracted and stare right at the blue eye, but it's way easier to read them if you look at the eye and the muscles/movement around it. Watch the eyebrow in paticular.

[Mukluk]

I was surprised how many people dislike Chestnuts. I wonder why.

[Indy-lou]

I know you didn't have enough space for more categories, but I think there would be preference for one kind of grey over another. I myself love a charcoal age to silver or white type of grey with black rimmed eyes, but really don't care for the flea-bitten type grey. Big difference to me.
Overall, I really don't care what color a horse is. Well-groomed and braided, if the horse is basically attractive, I think all the colors look sharp in the ring. A tasteful bit of white on the face is always a plus.
I never will understand why folks don't like grey in general. I know there was a thread on here that had about a thousand posts about melanoma and all that, but compared to all the other ways a horse can croak, I wouldn't be afraid of a grey horse for that reason.

I wonder do the insurance companies have different rates for major medical on greys?