Does colour affect temperament?

The saying goes that a good horse is never a bad colour.  But there have always been people or cultures who have believed otherwise. 

Coloured horses (Skewbalds, Piebalds, Pintos and Paints) were popular among Indian’s riding into battle.  They felt that these horses were courageous and passed their courage onto the braves riding them.  They decorated their horses in many patterns to show their strengths and having a coloured horse enhanced these decorations.  A white ring painted around the horse’s eye was believed to help the horse see further.  Arrows on the legs would give greater speed, and short, evenly spaced stripes on the shoulder or quarters would show how many enemies the horse and his brave had killed in battle.

For a time these coloured horses were considered the clowns of the horse world, and many thought of them only as gypsy’s cobs, but recently there has been a growing demand for well marked coloured horses and even some warmblood breeders are looking for more colour.

Dun horses were favoured among cowboys for cattle work as they were said to have more endurance for a long days work.  A golden dun, with its characteristic dorsal stripe and jet black mane and tail are popular in the show ring, where they can be brought up to an impressive gleam.

Strawberry, bay and blue roans are often reported as having forgiving, kind and quiet temperaments.  The only draw back to a roan is that it is no easy task to get a really good shine on their coat.

Bays and Browns are known to be sensible and reliable.  They are supposed to be the most level headed, kind and forgiving of the colours.  They can also be beautiful when well and polished; they can get a shine that other colours just don’t get.

Chestnuts are reputed to be the most difficult of the colours.  A chestnut mare is the hardest gender / colour combination to sell and can be tricky to handle especially when they are in season.  One theory is that the pigmentation of the skin produces a hormone when the sun shines on it and this causes the temperament issues they are known for.

Grey horses are thought of as being noble.  Napoleon only rode grey horses as he felt they were brave and dignified going into battle.  They are prone to melanoma and skin cancer but will generally die of old age before the melanomas would affect them.  People who keep grey horses curse the mud and grey horses always seem to find the dirtiest places to sleep.

Black horses have a slightly unfair reputation of being vicious.  Oddly, the breeds that are most commonly black – Friesians, Dales and Fell, are among the most level headed, easy going temperaments.  A true black horse – quite a rarity – can be one of the most impressive.

A good horse can never be a bad colour – if the horse fits the job in every other way, then allow him to get on with his job!