Black (horse)
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Black is a relatively uncommon coat color in horses, though not so unusual as to be considered rare. For a horse to be considered black, it must be completely black except for white markings. A visible difference between a true black and a dark chestnut or bay is seen in the fine hairs around the eyes and muzzle; on a true black these hairs are black, even if the horse is sun-bleached, on other colors, they will be lighter.
Black is one of the two base colors in horses, the other being the chestnut or "red" gene. In equine coat color genetics, the black hair color is created by the extension (E) gene. This gene is dominant over red and suppresses the base red (e) gene to create an entirely black horse. Other genes may act on top of the E gene to create coat colors such as bay, buckskin, dun and gray.
There are two types of black, fading black and non-fading black. Most black horses will fade to a brownish color if the horse is exposed to sunlight on a regular basis. Non-fading black is a blue-black shade that does not fade in the sun. Genetically, the two cannot yet be differentiated, and some claim the difference occurs due to management rather than genetics, though this claim is hotly disputed.
Most black foals are usually born a mousy grey or dun color. As their foal coat begins to shed out, their black color will show through. While in some breeds, black foals are born jet black, in many cases, a foal born black is either actually a very dark bay or, if it has one gray parent, is apt to turn gray as it matures. A sun-bleached black horse is still black, even though it may appear to be a dark bay or brown.
