Chestnut or Bay: Which is Better?
- Posted by Robin Foster, PhD, Cert. Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), Cert. Horse Behavior Consultant (CHBC)
Is there any proof than chestnuts are more hot-blooded than horses of different colors? An equine behaviorist weighs in.
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While some coat colors are clearly linked to behavior, the evidence that chestnut horses are sensitive and hot-blooded is weak, if it exists at all. | Photo: iStock
Q.I’ve been looking for a new horse and have fallen for a chestnut mare. My past horses have all been easy-going bays, and I was curious if chestnut mares are as hot-blooded as people claim.
—Via e-mail
A.Some coat colors are thought to reflect a horse’s temperament, including the belief that chestnut horses are sensitive and hot-blooded. This stereotype may be true, but the research is limited
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Written by:
Robin Foster, PhD, Cert. Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), Cert. Horse Behavior Consultant (CHBC)
Robin Foster, PhD, CAAB, IAABC-Certified Horse Behavior Consultant, is a research professor at the University of Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington, and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington. She holds a doctorate in animal behavior and has taught courses in animal learning and behavior for more than 20 years. Her research looks at temperament, stress, and burn-out as they relate to the selection, retention, and welfare of therapy horses. She also provides private behavior consultations and training services in the Seattle area.
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One Response
My dad was fond of saying “If the horse is good, the color is good.” Pretty much he used that for just about everything. Cars, trucks, bicycles . . .
And, I guess that is entirely true. I developed a fondness with for gray horses. But only had one, a pretty iron gray Welsh pony. After him there was a buckskin, red roan, several bays of varying hues, my favorite being a mahogany bay Welsh pony, and a chestnut, ah, and a palomino, and a palomino pinto pony.
Dad had a red dun Quarter horse at the time and a deep bay Morab.
One of my sisters owned a blue roan and white Tobiano mare name Tobianna, who foaled a red and white filly called Summer Breeze or Bree for short.
Wish I still had them all!