> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://equinecolors.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Chestnut - URL: https://equinecolors.com/base-colors-chestnut/ - Published: 2025-10-30T11:34:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-10T09:31:19.000Z - Description: Chestnut is one of the base coat colours in horses, alongside black and bay. It is defined by a fully red coat in a wide range of shades. - Author: Hannelore Roodhooft - Tags: Colors, Base colors, #Import 2026-08-12 09:42 Chestnut horses are also sometimes called **red** or **sorrel**, depending on the region or coat shade. Since they are all genetically the same, we will use chestnut to refer to them in our posts. ## Appearance Chestnut horses have a completely red coat with red [points](https://equinecolors.com/dictionary/#:~:text=Horse%20Terms-,Points,-The%20mane%2C%20tail). White markings and KIT patterns tend to show more loudly on chestnut bases. | Foals | ![Chestnut foal](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/11/chestnutfoal-2.png) | Chestnuts are usually born a **lighter shade** (especially on the **legs/ [soft parts](https://equinecolors.com/dictionary/#:~:text=into%20their%20surroundings.-,Soft%20parts,-The%20soft%20parts)**) because of [foal camo](https://equinecolors.com/dictionary/#:~:text=a%20bay%20horse.-,Foal%20Camo,-Foals%20are%20often). The first foal shed is often very dark,and not related to their adult shade. | | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | The shade can range from **yellowish, red-brownto nearly "black"** (this is not actual black, butrather very concentrated red pigment). Mane and tail can be the same or a lighter shade than the body. | ![](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/11/chestnutfoal-1.png) | Adults | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ### Chestnut variations | SootyChestnut | ![Sooty chestnut](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/sootychestnut.png) | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | FlaxenChestnut | ![Flaxen chestnut](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/chestnutflaxen-2.png) | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ### Mimics Other colors can look similar to chestnut. Dark/ [sooty chestnuts](https://equinecolors.com/sooty-chestnut/) can look like (sun-faded) [black](https://equinecolors.com/black/) horses. ![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/Equinecolors_Icon_MagnifyingGlass.png) Look at the ****points** of the horse. Look at the ****coronet bands** (area right above the hooves). These should be reddish in color. ## Genetics Chestnut is a base color controlled by the **extension gene**. In horses that are [homozygous recessive](https://equinecolors.com/genetics-3-alleles/#:~:text=visibly%20expressing%20it.-,Writing%20down%20genes%20and%20alleles,-To%20write%20down) (e/e), black pigment can't be produced. The result is a fully red, or **chestnut horse**. There are two different recessive [alleles](https://equinecolors.com/dictionary/#:~:text=on%20a%20chromosome.-,Alleles,-Different%20versions%20of): **e and ea**. They have the same effect and can't be differentiated visually.. The ea ("alternate") allele is rare and has only been found in Black Forest, Knabstrupper, and Canadian horse breeds. It can currently only be tested at the UC Davis laboratory. ![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/Equinecolors_Icon_DNA1-5.png) ****Chestnut:** e/e e/ea ea/ea Since chestnut is caused by two recessive alleles, breeding two chestnut-based horses will always result in a chestnut-based foal. Two black or bay-based horses, however, could produce a chestnut foal if both are carrying an e-allele. This can lead to some surprises when a chestnut foal with a pedigree full of black or bay-based horses suddenly pops up! ## Presence in horses Although recessive, chestnut (based) horses are **very common and widespread**. Chestnuts can be found in most horse breeds; some, such as the Haflinger, are even exclusively chestnut in colour. It has been nearly eliminated in breeds like the Friesian Horse, known for its black color. However, since the e-ellele is recessive, it can stay hidden for many generations. This can result in surprise chestnut babies even in breeds like this. **Read more:** [Black](https://equinecolors.com/black/) | [Bay](https://equinecolors.com/bay/) | [Flaxen](https://equinecolors.com/flaxen/) | [Sooty chestnut](https://equinecolors.com/sooty-chestnut/) | [Chestnut pangaré](https://equinecolors.com/chestnut-pangare/) [Back to Base Colors](https://equinecolors.com/base-colors/) ## Articles 1. Marklund, L., Moller, M. J., Sandberg, K., & Andersson, L.; **A missense mutation in the gene for melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MCIR) is associated with the chestnut coat color in horses**, Mammalian Genome, 1996; [10.1007/s003359900264](http://doi.org/10.1007/s003359900264?ref=equinecolors.com) 2. Wagner, H-J., & Reissmann, M.; **New polymorphism detected in the horse MC1R gene**; Animal Genetics, 2000*;* [10.1046/j.1365-2052.2000.00655.x](http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2052.2000.00655.x?ref=equinecolors.com) --- [![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/10/Image-5.png)](https://www.horsereality.com/?ref=equinecolors.com) Learn while playing! Discover how genes shape colors and patterns in our realistic horse breeding game, Horse Reality [Play now ](https://www.horsereality.com/?ref=equinecolors.com)