The Color of Horses: The Scientific and Authoritative Identification of the Color of the Horse

by Ben K. Green

Book Overview

The Color of Horses describes various breeds and their characteristics, then addresses the two main color chategories: intense colors such as bay, brown, black, grey, and dun and self colors such as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873581318
• ISBN13: 9780873581318
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Northland Publishing
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 2.38 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A study of hair pigmentation not color genetics

I'm only writing this to clarify exactly what Ben K. Green studied, which was the pigmentation distribution in the hair shafts of various coat colors. I'm very surprised over the number of bad reviews expecting this to be about coat color genetics. Actually his study of the refractive pattern of hair shafts is far more advanced and right in line with today's genetics. Ben was a horseman of an era where horses worked and were utilized not as primped hobbies of today's pet owners. He was interested in the wear and tear of hide and hair. His experimentation occurred from 1942 to 1947. If anyone who knows anything about the evolutionary understanding of genetics, particularly horse genetics and coat color, or are seasoned horsemen, then they would know that this book would not be about coat color genetics but about coat colors period. I'm fortunate to be old enough to remember sage advice of the horsemen of Ben's era advising about the color of horses and their hides' ability to handle hard days under a saddle. It was important then, unlike today, to pick a horse whose hide and hair could endure the work. My suggestion is to treat this book exactly as intended, a very scientific exploration into hair pigmentation and how it relates to coat colors. Other works to consider are: "Hair Color in the Horse", 1977, Guerts; Willys K. Silvers "The Coat Colors of Mice", 1979; and Gremmel, in his 1939 article in the Journal of Heredity (30:437-445). Considering most of these works are unavailable to the average reader or lay person, I highly value my Ben K. Green copy.

It's all about color!

I have owned this book for many years and refer to it on occasion for information or just read it for fun. I like it for the entertaining way in which it was written and also for the information on horse color. Locally any brown horse is called sorrel around here so it is interesting to see what color a sorrel horse really is. Yes the horse paintings are really beautiful and well worth the price of the book. I find Dr Greens information valuable and admit I have bought most of my horses through the years remembering his advise about color even though I live in the midwest not in the south.

Should be a part of any horse owner's library

In Color Of Horses, Darol Dickinson's outstanding illustrations pairs R. Green's descriptions of various horse breeds and characteristics with detailed descriptions of color and over thirty reproductions of oil paintings by western artist Dickinson. The result is an excellent basic visual guide which should be a part of any horse owner's library.