Black (horse coat colour)
A horse coat where all hair, skin and eyes are dark, with no reddish or brownish areas
No single value: Black (horse coat colour) is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, black.
Black is a horse coat colour where the entire hair coat is black, along with black skin and dark brown eyes. Some breeds, like the Friesian and Menorquín, are almost always or only black. Sun exposure can lighten the coat, making it look brownish, but true black can be checked by looking at the fine hairs around the eyes and muzzle.
- Black horses have black skin and dark brown eyes
- Some breeds, like the Menorquín, can only be black
- Sun bleaching can make black coats look brownish
- DNA tests can confirm true black coat genetics
What colour is Black (horse coat colour)?
Black in horses is a coat colour where the entire hair, skin, and eyes are dark. There are no permanent reddish or brownish areas in the coat. Even if the horse has white markings, the underlying skin remains black except under the white hair, which may be pink. Black horses can be confused with very dark bays or chestnuts, but true black horses do not show any red or tan in their coats. Sun bleaching can make the coat appear rusty or brownish, especially in the mane and tail, but the fine hairs around the eyes and muzzle remain black.
Where does Black (horse coat colour) come from?
The colour black in horses is considered one of the two base coat colours in equine genetics, along with red. The black coat is controlled by the extension gene, which enables the production of black pigment, and the agouti gene, which can restrict black pigment to certain areas. Some breeds, such as the Friesian, Murgese, and Menorquín, are known for being almost exclusively black.
How is Black (horse coat colour) made?
A black horse has at least one dominant extension gene and two recessive agouti genes, allowing black pigment to cover the whole coat. DNA tests can confirm the presence of these genes. Black foals are usually born a mousey grey and darken as they mature. Sun exposure can lighten the coat, but the underlying genetic colour remains black.
Where Black (horse coat colour) is used
Black is seen in several horse breeds, with some like the Menorquín only allowed to be black. It is a valued colour in breeds such as the Friesian, Murgese, and Ariegeois. Black horses are sometimes mistaken for other dark colours, but careful examination and genetic testing can confirm true black coats.
Black around the world
What the black family means from country to country.
The black eagle gives the country its own name for itself: Shqiperia is commonly read as the land of the eagles.
Politics and protestPrideSource: AlbaniaBlack and yellow were the colours of the Habsburg monarchy. They come from the black double-headed eagle on a gold ground used by the Holy Roman Emperors.
Royalty and powerSource: Flag of the Habsburg monarchyThe black upper half of the Aboriginal flag stands for the Aboriginal people of Australia.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Australian Aboriginal flagOn 21 February, Language Martyrs' Day, people wear black badges and black and white clothes and walk barefoot to the Shaheed Minar to honour those killed in 1952.
Mourning and deathPolitics and protestGriefSource: Bengali language movementThe black, yellow and red of the flag come from the arms of the Duchy of Brabant: a gold lion with red claws and tongue on black. They were raised in the 1830 revolution.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of BelgiumTwo diagonal stripes cross the yellow of the flag, one white and one black. They stand for the Sultan's two chief ministers.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of BruneiShades and relatives of Black (horse coat colour)
There are two main types of black in horses: fading and non-fading. Fading blacks lighten with sun and sweat, while non-fading blacks stay dark year-round. Black horses can be confused with dark bays, seal browns, liver chestnuts, or smoky blacks, but these have genetic differences and may show red or tan hairs in certain areas. DNA testing helps distinguish between these colours.
Questions people ask about Black (horse coat colour)
What colour is a black horse?
A black horse has a coat that is entirely black, with black skin and dark brown eyes. There are no permanent reddish or brownish areas in the hair.
How can you tell if a horse is truly black?
True black horses have no red or tan hairs in their coat, even if sun bleaching makes them look brownish. The fine hairs around the eyes and muzzle stay black, and DNA tests can confirm the genetics.
Where does the name 'black' come from in horses?
The name refers to the horse's solid black hair coat, which is a base colour in equine genetics. It is controlled by specific genes that allow black pigment to cover the entire coat.
Are there horse breeds that are always black?
Yes, some breeds like the Menorquín can only be black, and others such as the Friesian and Murgese are almost always black.
Good reading and sources
- Black horse on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Black horse", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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