Palomino Horses

It was not until recently that I became aware of the various breeds of horses. For me, horses have always been those beautiful and gorgeous animals that can gallop as fast as lightening. Palomino horses have always remained to be popular amongst most horse enthusiasts. If you have no clue what I am referring to when I mention Palomino horses, this is the right place to know all about these beautiful creatures!

Why are they named as Palomino Horses?
Palomino is a term that is used to refer to a color or even a wide range of colors. When you mention about Palomino horses today, you would be referring to a horse that has a golden coat, which has a mane and a tail of a light or a white color. The word Palomino is actually a Latin word, which refers to a pale shade. The shades of the Palomino horses can vary from light cream to a shade of blonde. Sometimes the color can range to a shade of copper as well. But the one thing I would like you to note down here is that to get your horse to belong to the category of the Palomino horse, it would have to meet a certain standard or the specific shade, as is followed for authentic Palomino horses all over.

Factors that would define genuine Palomino Horses:
Generally, the Palomino coat consists of a gold coat with a white mane and tail as mentioned earlier. Today, what defines a true Palomino horse is the coat of the horse. Now, we have the Equine Coat Color Genetics that help to determine the color of the coat. Here, horses are classified as per the combined pairs of alleles and the resulting shade that happens due to the combination of the same. The term allele simply refers to one of the pairs of different genes. Today, there are certain rules regarding the accurate shade of the Palomino horses and there are also certain registries that do consider an off white coat or a dark brown color as a true Palomino.

Do the Palomino Horses constitute as a breed as such?
The Palomino horse can be referred to as a ‘color breed.’ These are distinguishable only because of their colors; therefore any kind of a breed that can meet the standards of the color-coding can be labeled as a Palomino horse. One cannot call Palomino horses a true breed. You might wonder at this point, why is it, that a Palomino horse cannot be labeled as a true breed! The answer simply remains in the fact that when you cross a Palomino with another Palomino, the result may not always be a true Palomino horse and can have variations in color. Now, if you wondering, why this happens, well, it is because the Palomino color is an incomplete dominant gene. It is not always that it can breed true. Therefore, horses that belong to any specific breed can fall under the category of a Palomino horse if they meet the required color code. For example, the Haflinger can belong to the group of Palomino horses although they may lack the correct set of DNA. Genetically speaking, these horses are chestnuts. Horses that have the correct golden shade with white markings on the legs can also be called Palomino horses. But if these markings extend beyond their knees, most registries would not permit the same. White markings on the face are also allowed but if such markings extend beyond the eyes, then these horses cannot be known as Palomino horses.

Stories from the past associated with the Palomino Horses:
These golden horses have been noticed especially in ancient artifacts and tapestries of Asia and Europe. The figures of the Palomino horses were popular in Japanese and Chinese art as well. It is believed that beautiful golden horses were most preferred by Emperors and Kings in the olden days.

Beautiful golden Palomino horses have always attracted people to them since the ancient days. The very strong personality and the majestic aura of the Palomino horses are really incomparable even today!