A chestnut or sorrel horse has a coppery red or deep reddish brown coat color on the body and legs. The mane and tail will be the same color as the body or lighter. Make sure the horse has no black points to classify it as a chestnut or sorrel.  Flaxen chestnuts are a variety of chestnuts with much lighter tails and manes. The tails and manes should be a pale yellow color to classify a chestnut as a flaxen. A light chestnut, or sandy chestnut, is a variety of chestnut horse with a sand-colored body, legs, mane, and tail. The body color of palominos varies from light tan to darker golden shades. Their manes and tails will be pale flaxen or white, and sometimes have some black hairs mixed in. Palominos are differentiated by names like golden palomino, chocolate palomino, or yellow palomino to describe the different shades of their body color. Red dun horses are similar in color to chestnuts. Look for a dorsal stripe running down the middle of their back to distinguish a red dun horse. The coat of a red dun can be varying shades of red or reddish yellow. The mane and tail can be lighter or darker than the body color. Cream or cremello horses have a very light, almost white coat. The mane and tail are also almost or completely white. The skin of the horse is a pale pink color and the eyes are always blue. Perlino is a variation of the cremello color in which little amounts of a coffee or cream color are mixed in to the mane, tale, and lower legs of the horse. Smokey cream or smokey perlino are names used when there are higher concentrations of these colors in the horse.
Identify a chestnut or sorrel horse by its red color all over with no black hairs. Spot a palomino horse by its golden or yellow color and pale mane and tail. Recognize a red dun horse by a red-brown color all over and a dorsal stripe. Identify a cream or cremello horse by its ivory color, pink skin, and blue eyes.