Colonial Spanish Horses come in a full range of solid colors including black, bay, brown, chestnut, sorrel, grullo, zebra and red dun, buckskin, palomino, and cream. Other solid colors such as the lilac dun colors, and even silver dapple, occur rarely. In many horses these base colors are combined with white hairs or patches to result in gray, roan, paint (tobiano, overo, and calico types), pure white, and the leopard complex of blankets, roans, and dark spots usually associated with the Appaloosa breed. Geronimo Fusco - dark bay roan or "purple corn" (photo courtesy - Karma Farms) The frame overo pattern is especially interesting, since it is almost limited to North American Colonial Spanish horses or their descendants. From that origin the color pattern has spread to other regions and breeds, but all evidence points to it being a Spanish pattern originally. Medicine Hat Stallion (photo courtesy - Many Ponies Ranch) The Medicine Hat Paint is characterized by a primarily white coat with a dark cap at the poll and a large, dark "shield" marking over the chest. The distinct markings of the Medicine Hat paint were thought, by Native American Indians, to provide a horse with spiritual protection in war.
		Variety of Colors Text by Dr. Phillip Sponenberg, DMV, Ph.D. From "North American Colonial Spanish Horse—History & Type" Colors of the Colonial Spanish Horse vary widely, and it is through the Spanish influence that many other North American horse breeds gain some of their distinctive colors. Colonial Spanish Horses come in a full range of solid colors, including black, bay, brown, chestnut, sorrel, grullo, zebra and red dun, buckskin, palomino, and cream. Other solid colors such as the lilac dun colors, and even silver dapple, occur rarely. In many horses these base colors are combined with white hairs or patches to result in gray, roan, paint (tobiano, overo, and calico types), pure white, and the leopard complex of blankets, roans, and dark spots usually associated with the Appaloosa breed. The frame overo pattern is especially interesting, since it is almost limited to North American Colonial Spanish horses or their descendants. From that origin the color pattern has spread to other regions and breeds, but all evidence points to it being a Spanish pattern originally. Different breeders select for variants of these colors and patterns, but all can be shown to have been present in the Spanish horses at the time of the conquest. A few examples of color range: (below photos courtesy - Wild Side Ranch, Cayuse Ranch, Karma Farms, Many Ponies Ranch, Rockin B Ranch, NW Painted Ponies and IRAM)   Solid Black Bay Chestnut Dun Buckskin Grullo Dark Bay Roan or "Purple Corn" Red Roan Blue Roan Red Roan Appaloosa Leopard Bay Appaloosa Speckled Appaloosa Bay Sabino Paint Black Sabino Paint Champagne Overo Paint Sorrel Overo Paint Black Overo Paint Brown Overo Paint Bay Frame Overo Paint Bay Tobiano Paint   Colonial Spanish Horses are of great historic importance in the New World. They descend from horses introduced from Spain during the age of the conquest of the New World. They are a direct remnant of the horses of the Golden Age of Spain and that type is mostly or wholly extinct now in Spain. Our Colonial Spanish horses are therefore a treasure chest of genetic wealth from a time long gone. Dr. Phillip Sponenberg, Ph.D. teaches at Virginia Tech Veterinary College and is the author of Equine Color Genetics, the 170-page authoritative volume on equine color genetics.

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