CPEA Color Chart

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Color Chart

Click on a color to see examples of horses of that coloration.

A horse with the base color of:	With one cream gene becomes:	With two cream genes becomes:
A Red based horse with no black gene and no dilution gene.	A sorrel/chestnut horse that recieved one copy of the creme dilition gene from one of its parents, giving it a coat ranging in color from pale cream, to golden, to chocolate and has a white mane and tail.	A sorrel/chestnut horse that recieved one copy of the creme gene from both of its parents, and has pink skin, blue eyes, cream to nearly white hair coat, and a white mane and tail.
A Black based horse with the "bay" gene, which restricts the black to the mane, tail and legs (also called black "points") and no dilution gene.	A Bay horse that recieved one copy of the creme dilution gene from one of its parents, giving it a diluted hair coat (the color can range from very pale cream, to gold, to a dark "smutty" color,) and has black "points".	A Bay horse that recieved one copy of the creme gene from both of its parents, and has pink skin, blue eyes, a cream to white colored coat and a darker mane and tail (often orange or red tinted).
A Black based horse with no "bay" gene, and no dilution gene, ranging from "true" black to brown in appearance.	A Black horse that recieved one copy of the creme dilution gene from one of its parents, but probably looks no different than any other black or brown horse.	A Black horse that recieved one copy of the creme gene from both of its parents, possessing pink skin, blue eyes, and an orange or red cast to the entire hair coat.

Foal Color Possibilites

Find the color at the left that you want to know the outcome of a mating with the color at the top, and find the spot where they meet to get the results. This chart is strictly for the cream-related colors; if you have other genes modifying the colors, such as pinto, dun, Appaloosa, Champagne, roan, etc., you would need to take those into account as well. In colors where the black gene or the bay gene is present, the possibility of heterozygosity (mixed) is assumed. Percentages are not guarantees; they only show probability where applicable (except 100%). Clicking the underlined words will take you to a DIFFERENT PAGE, about that color. We're using "sorrel" to mean sorrel OR chestnut. The most probable outcomes are at the top of the list in bold, the rest are in no particular order.

Colors Mixed	Cremello	Perlino	Smoky Cream	Palomino	Buckskin	Smoky Black
Sorrel	100% Palomino	Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky Black	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino	50% Palomino 50% Sorrel	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black Sorrel, Bay, Black	Smoky Black, Buckskin, Palomino, Black, Sorrel, Bay
Bay	Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky black	Buckskin, Smoky Black, Palomino	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Sorrel, Bay, Black	Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino Sorrel, Bay, Black	Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino Sorrel, Bay, Black
Black	Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky black	Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino	Smoky black, Palomino	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Sorrel, Bay, Black	Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino Black, Bay, Sorrel	Smoky black, Palomino Black, Sorrel
Palomino	50% Palomino 50% Cremello	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Cremello, Perlino, Smoky cream	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	50% Palomino, 25% Sorrel, 25% Cremello	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Sorrel, Bay, Black, Cremello, Perlino, Smoky cream	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Black, Bay, Sorrel, Perlino, Smoky cream, Cremello
Buckskin	Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky black, Cremello, Perlino, Smoky cream	Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino, Perlino, Cremello, Smoky cream	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Sorrel, Bay, Black, Cremello, Perlino, Smoky cream	Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky Black, Bay, Sorrel, Black, Perlino, Cremello, Smoky cream	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Black, Bay, Sorrel, Perlino, Smoky cream, Cremello
Smoky Black	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Perlino, Smoky cream, Cremello	Smoky Black, Buckskin, Palomino, Pelino, Smoky cream, cremello	Smoky black, Palomino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Black, Bay, Sorrel, Perlino, Smoky cream, Cremello	Smoky black, Buckskin, Palomino, Black, Bay, Sorrel, Perlino, Smoky cream, Cremello	Smoky black, Palomino, Black, Sorrel, Smoky cream, Cremello
Cremello	Cremello	Cremello, Perlino, Smoky Cream	Cremello, Smoky Cream	Cremello, Palomino	Cremello, Perlino, Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black	Cremello, Palomino, Perlino, Buckskin, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black
Perlino	Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream	Perlino, Buckskin, Cremello, Palomino, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black	Perlino, Buckskin, Cremello, Palomino, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black	Perlino, Buckskin, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black, Cremello, Palomino
Smoky Cream	Smoky Cream	Perlino, Smoky Cream, Cremello	Smoky Cream, Cremello	Perlino, Buckskin, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black, Cremello, Palomino	Perlino, Buckskin, Smoky Cream, Smoky Black, Cremello, Palomino	Smoky Cream, Smoky Black, Cremello, Palomino

This site is not intended to give the visitor a complete education in the science of equine genetics, but merely to explain the cream gene in layman's terms, and thus help dispel some of the myths associated with it. If you have questions about these horses and their coloration, please visit the Cream Gene Facts page, or our Color Discussion Board.

The American Quarter Horse Association had a rule on its books, 227i (formerly known as 227j), that disallowed registration of purebred Quarter Horses with two cream genes. The organization that has gotten the AQHA Rule 227i eliminated has an email list you may join:

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