stallion to be registered by the Jockey Club, although he was registered as chestnut because the Jockey Club didn‘t recognize palomino until 2004. Nearly all modern day dilute Thoroughbreds trace back to either Milkie or another palomino Thoroughbred stallion named Glitter Please (1982–2000) who also competed at FEI level dressage. Dilute Warmbloods don’t trace as clearly back to just one or two horses, and there are several currently standing at stud around the world.


COLOR BASICS Palomino, buckskin, and cremello are commonly referred to as “dilutes.” This coloring is connected to the cream dilution gene (represented in color genetics as Cr). Pinto is commonly referred to as “tobiano,” which is represented in


color genetics as TO. People sometimes confuse the terms ‘pinto’ and ‘Paint’. The term pinto refers only to the spotted tobiano coloring; it is not a breed. Paint on the other hand is recognized as a breed, developed from the Quarter Horse and is typically pinto colored. A horse may be pinto colored without having any Paint blood, and most pinto Warmbloods and Sport Horses will have little or no Paint blood because it is limited (or forbidden) by the majority of registries.


HETEROZYGOUS VS. HOMOZYGOUS Cream (Cr) and tobiano (TO) both modify a horse’s base color. A palomino is a chestnut horse which has inherited one cream dilution gene, and a buckskin is a bay horse which has inherited one cream dilution gene. A chestnut horse which inherits one tobiano gene will appear as a chestnut and white pinto, a black horse which inherits one tobiano gene will appear as a black and white pinto, etc. A horse can also have two copies of the same color gene (one


inherited from each parent). A horse with two copies of the same color gene is referred to as being homozygous for that color. A horse with two copies of the cream dilution gene will appear as a cremello, perlino, or smokey cream. A pinto with two copies of the tobiano gene will appear basically the same as a pinto with only one copy of the tobiano gene, so genetic testing must be done to determine if a pinto is homozygous or heterozygous. A pinto can only be homozygous if both parents were pintos. Homozygosity can be an important consideration for someone


breeding for a certain color preference, because it guarantees a foal will inherit at least one color gene. A homozygous pinto stallion will guarantee that all offspring will be pinto colored, whereas a heterozygous pinto stallion will only produce pinto offspring 50% of the time. A cremello stallion (homozygous for cream dilution) will guarantee the offspring will inherit the cream dilution gene, resulting in palomino, buckskin, or smoky black offspring (with smoky black being less common) when bred to a non-dilute mare. When bred to a dilute mare the offspring could be cremello, palomino, buckskin, perlino, smoky black, or smoky cream, depending on the base color of the parents. As black is becoming increasingly popular, more people are


also testing their black stallions and broodmares to see if they are homozygous or heterozygous black. A homozygous black horse cannot produce a chestnut foal, and is more likely to produce a black foal.


Warmbloods Today 55


HOMOZYGOUS PINTO WARMBLOOD STALLIONS (from top)


n SEMPATICO: 1999, imported black and white German Warmblood stallion, approved Oldenburg, RPSI, ZFDP


(photo by Lizard Graphics) www.silverwoodfarm.com


n PALLIDO BLU CF: 2006 black and white Warmblood stallion, RPSI approved (conditional) (photo courtesy Crestline Farm) www.crestlinefarm.com


n PRECIPITATION: 2004, black and white Warmblood stallion


www.sweettalkstables.com (photo by PIC Sweet Talk)


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