Horse Breeding Color Chart: How to Predict Foal Coat Color (Plus a Calculator)
- Horse Education Online
- Jan 22
- 9 min read
This page helps you predict likely foal coat colors from the sire and dam’s visible traits. Use the chart for a quick estimate, then confirm possibilities with our horse color calculator.
You do not need a long genetics lesson to get value from this. You just need a fast way to shortlist what is most likely, and what is possible if a parent is carrying a hidden gene.
Quick answer
Breeding color charts are best for quick shortlists, not guarantees. They show what is most likely based on what you can see, and what is possible if a parent is carrying hidden genetics.
Hidden genes are real. A bay can carry chestnut. A black can carry Agouti. A palomino always has cream, but the other parent may also carry cream. That is why a chart can point you in the right direction, but a calculator helps you test the “what if” combinations.
If you need confirmation for a higher stakes breeding decision, DNA testing is the way to know genotype instead of guessing from phenotype.
Want the full genetics explanation behind the chart? Read Horse Coat Colors and Genetics: A Complete Guide with Charts and Calculator.
How to use this breeding color chart (3 steps)
Step 1: Identify each parent’s base color first
Start with the base coat, because everything else stacks on top of it. Most horses begin as bay, black, or chestnut.
If you are unsure, use these quick visual cues:
Chestnut has no true black points. Mane and tail are the same red family as the body, even if they look darker.
Bay has black points (mane, tail, lower legs) with a brown body. Look for lighter areas around the muzzle, flanks, and inside the legs.
Black is dark across the body and points. Many blacks fade in sun, so check photos from different seasons.
If you are stuck between dark bay and black, treat the horse as “bay or black” for the chart, then confirm with the calculator. That keeps you from missing realistic outcomes.
Step 2: Add obvious modifiers you can actually see
Now layer on the traits that most strongly change the foal’s possible colors. Focus on modifiers that are visible on the parent, not what someone heard from a friend.
The common modifiers most people should check for are:
Cream (palomino, buckskin, cremello, perlino, smoky cream)
Dun (dorsal stripe and primitive markings, often leg barring)
Gray (progressive lightening over time, can hide the base color later)
Roan (white hairs mixed through the body, darker head and legs)
Tobiano (white pattern that usually crosses the topline)
A practical rule: if a parent is gray, still figure out the likely base color underneath. Gray changes what the horse looks like later, but the foal still inherits a base color plus gray.
Step 3: Use the chart to shortlist outcomes, then confirm with the calculator
Use the chart to create two buckets: what is most likely and what is possible if carried. That wording matters because charts cannot see hidden genes.
Once you have your shortlist, run the same cross in the calculator to test “what if” scenarios, especially when you are unsure about base color or cream.
Run the cross instantly with our horse coat color calculator.
Build your horse breeding color chart (downloadable)
Choose the sire and dam traits to generate a shareable chart image.
Start here: base coat color chart (most common outcomes)
Base colors explained in one minute
Think of base color as the “starting paint” before patterns and dilutions are added.
Chestnut is red pigment only. These horses do not make black pigment in the coat, so they can be anything from light sorrel to dark liver chestnut, but they are still chestnut at the base.
Black is black pigment expressed across the body. Some blacks fade in sun and can look brownish, but the base is still black.
Bay is black pigment with a bay pattern on the body, meaning the mane, tail, and lower legs stay dark while the body shows brown tones. This pattern is controlled by Agouti, which shifts black pigment toward the points.
Base color pairing chart (most likely outcomes)
Use this chart to shortlist outcomes. “Possible” results depend on what each parent may be carrying, even if you cannot see it.
Sire base × Dam base | Most likely foal base colors | Possible if a parent is carrying hidden genes |
Bay × Bay | Bay range | Black, Chestnut |
Bay × Black | Bay, Black | Chestnut |
Bay × Chestnut | Bay or Chestnut | Black (less common, depends on what is carried) |
Black × Black | Black | Chestnut |
Black × Chestnut | Black or Chestnut | Bay (if Agouti is carried) |
Chestnut × Chestnut | Chestnut | Other bases do not occur without a color mis-ID, but modifiers can still apply |
If you want the fastest confirmation for “what could this cross produce,” run the pairing in our horse color calculator and compare results to the chart.
Modifier charts (the part people actually search for)
Cream dilution chart (palomino, buckskin, cremello, perlino, smoky cream)
Cream is one of the fastest ways a breeding outcome changes, because it can turn a base color into a completely different looking foal.
With one cream gene, you usually see:
Chestnut → Palomino
Bay → Buckskin
Black → Smoky black (often subtle and easy to misidentify)
With two cream genes, you usually see the very light double dilutes:
Chestnut → Cremello
Bay → Perlino
Black → Smoky cream
A simple example: Palomino × Bay can produce chestnut, bay, palomino, or buckskin type outcomes depending on what the bay carries. If you want the quickest way to see the likely options, run it in the coat color calculator.
Dun chart (dun, red dun, grullo)
Dun does not just “lighten” the horse. It typically adds primitive markings and a specific look: a clear dorsal stripe, leg barring, and shoulder shading are common signs.
Dun on different base colors usually shows up as:
Bay + dun → Dun
Chestnut + dun → Red dun
Black + dun → Grullo (also called blue dun)
If you are unsure whether a horse is dun or just sun-faded, focus on the dorsal stripe. A true dun stripe is usually crisp and consistent, not a random dark line that disappears with shedding.
Gray chart (why foals change later)
Gray is the #1 reason owners feel like a chart was “wrong,” even when it was not.
Gray is a progressive change over time. A gray foal is often born looking like a normal base color (bay, black, or chestnut), then lightens as it ages. That means the foal can inherit bay, black, or chestnut, plus gray, and you may not see the full “gray look” until later.
If one parent is gray, include “gray” in your shortlist, but still figure out the likely base color underneath. That is where the chart and the calculator work well together.
Why charts can be “wrong” (and how to fix it)
Charts usually are not wrong. The inputs are.
A horse breeding color chart is built on what you can see, but coat color genetics includes genes you cannot see. When the visible traits do not tell the full story, the chart can only give a shortlist, not a guarantee.
Hidden genes you cannot see
This is the biggest reason results surprise people.
A bay can carry chestnut. A black can carry Agouti. A palomino always has cream, but the other parent may also carry cream without showing it. When a parent is carrying something hidden, the chart may show the most likely outcome while the foal lands in the “possible if carried” category.
Fix: treat chart results as “most likely” plus “possible,” then confirm by running the cross in the horse coat color calculator.
Misidentified colors in real life
Color ID mistakes are common, even among experienced owners, because seasons, clipping, and lighting change what you think you are seeing.
The classic mix ups:
Dark bay vs black
Smoky black vs black
Sun-faded black vs “brown”
Roan vs heavy rabicano or seasonal coat changes
Early gray foals that do not look gray yet
Fix: check multiple photos in different seasons and in natural light. If you are still unsure, run both possibilities in the calculator (for example “bay” and “black”) and compare the outcome sets.
Foal coats change, especially with gray
Foals can look very different at birth than they will at one year old.
Gray is the big one. A foal can be born bay, black, or chestnut and still turn gray later if it inherited the gray gene. Roan can also look stronger or weaker depending on coat length and shedding.
Fix: separate “base color at birth” from “adult appearance.” If a parent is gray, include gray as a possibility, but still compute the base colors underneath.
Registry labels do not always match genetics
Some registries and communities use phenotype terms like “brown” or “seal brown” in different ways. That can create confusion when people compare charts to papers.
Fix: use visible traits and calculator outcomes, not labels alone. If you want the deeper explanation of common mislabels and how genetics works behind the scenes, read the full guide: Horse Coat Colors and Genetics: A Complete Guide with Charts and Calculator.
If you want an easy, science based explainer that goes a little deeper (without turning into a textbook), this is a solid reference: Mad Barn’s Horse Coat Color Genetics Guide.
Chart vs calculator vs DNA testing (when to use what)
Use the chart for a fast shortlist
The chart is best when you want a quick answer like “what are the realistic foal colors from these two horses?”
It is ideal for:
Quick planning and curiosity
Browsing likely outcomes without doing genetics homework
Shortlisting options before you run a deeper check
Use the calculator for probability style outcomes
The calculator is your next step when you want to go from “possible” to “more precise.”
It is best when:
You are unsure about a parent’s base color (run bay and black and compare)
You are working with cream, dun, gray, roan, or tobiano and want cleaner scenarios
You want to test multiple crosses quickly
You want percent style outcomes for the most likely results
Run your cross here: horse coat color calculator.
Use DNA testing when the decision is high stakes
DNA testing is for when guessing is not good enough.
Consider testing when:
You are making breeding decisions for high value foals
You need to confirm a hidden gene (Agouti, cream, etc.)
A horse’s color is hard to identify by eye
Registry paperwork, marketing, or buyer expectations depend on confirmed genotype
A practical way to think about it is: chart first, calculator second, DNA test when the outcome matters financially or genetically.
FAQs: Horse breeding color chart
How can I predict my foal’s coat color?
Start with the sire and dam’s base colors (bay, black, chestnut), then add obvious modifiers like cream, dun, gray, roan, and tobiano. Use the horse breeding color chart to shortlist outcomes, then confirm realistic possibilities with our horse color calculator.
Can two chestnut horses have a bay foal?
In standard coat color genetics, two true chestnuts produce chestnut based foals. If a foal appears bay from two “chestnut” parents, it usually comes down to a color misidentification, an unusual modifier effect, or a record issue. If it matters for breeding plans, confirm with the horse coat color calculator and consider DNA testing.
Does gray override other colors?
Gray changes what the horse looks like over time, but it does not erase genetics. A gray foal still has an underlying base color, plus any modifiers, and then gray progressively lightens the coat as the horse ages. This is why a foal can be born bay or black and still turn gray later.
What does “carrying” a gene mean?
It means the horse has a gene that may not show visibly, but can still be passed to a foal. For example, a bay can carry chestnut without looking chestnut, and a black can carry Agouti without showing bay.
What’s the difference between bay and brown?
“Bay” is a base color with black points and a brown body. “Brown” is sometimes used as a label for very dark bays or seal browns, and different registries use the term differently. If you are unsure, run both bay and black scenarios in the calculator and see which outcome sets match your breeding history.
Can a foal change color after birth?
Yes. Gray is the most common reason. Many gray horses are born looking like bay, black, or chestnut and lighten later. Roan and seasonal coat changes can also shift appearance as the foal sheds and grows.
Is a breeding chart accurate without DNA tests?
It is accurate as a shortlist tool, but not a guarantee. Charts cannot see hidden genes. If you want tighter answers based on what you know, use the foal color calculator. If you need confirmation for breeding decisions, DNA testing is the only way to confirm genotype.
Related tools and learning
If you want to go from “quick estimate” to a clearer answer, here are the best next steps.
Use the Horse Coat Color Calculator to run your cross instantly and compare outcomes.
If you want the full explanation behind base colors, modifiers, and common mislabels, read Horse Coat Colors and Genetics: A Complete Guide with Charts and Calculator.
If you want deeper learning and structured study, explore Membership or our Equine Certifications.
