Strawberry Roan Horse: Colors, Genetics, and Breeds

Don’t you get attracted to the unusual color or patterns? What if I say there is a horse breed that is famous for roan and pinkish color? Commonly known as a strawberry roan horse.

Strawberry roan horse belongs to the category of roan horses that are famous for white pattern and unusual base colors. Between bay, blue, and red roan horses strawberry roan horses are not only more famous but common as well. The other ones are either misjudged for their color or get ignored for several reasons as strawberry and chestnut roan horses are stealing the show with their unique appearance.

This least appreciated category of horses deserves to be known and for this very reason, I have decided to discuss this rare breed from all possible angles.

Roan horses are rare some of you may are reading about this generation of horses for the first time. As mentioned-above Strawberry and bay roans are a little more common than the blue and grey roans but still not as popular as to some well-known breeds.

What exactly is the color of a strawberry roan horse?

Just because they get called strawberry roan horses does not mean they look exactly like the horses you grew up watching in your favorite cartoon shows. Their base color is somewhere between chestnut and pinkish color but white hair dominance makes it appear lighter. Knees, tail, and mane have a reddish tint but not as red as the strawberries.

How do you recognize a strawberry roan horse?

It’s not to recognize a roan horse as its appearance speaks for itself. You can recognize it from the mixed Chesnut-white coat, darker mane, or tail. Not all strawberry roan horses are of the same shade some of them would be giving more pinkish silvery vibes while the others may appear a little darker. 

Strawberry roan horses are considered true roan horses

The term roan is used recklessly for all intermixed color hoses, the true roan horses are not fortunate enough to be recognized as only true roan horses by the breed societies in the UK. There are many other roan horses as well but for their prominent roan-y coat they got the title of “true roan horses” and this has got them so famous that you would probably hear more about strawberry roan horses than any other roan horse.

Red roan and strawberry roan horses Difference

It’s very common in the UK to call bay or red roan horses strawberry horses but in reality, the strawberry roan horses and bay roan horses are two different types of roan horses. Bay roans are a little darker than the strawberry roan horses. Even if the strawberry roan horse got the darker shade by inheritance it would still not be darker enough to give them a reddish tone.

They will be roan-ed from the birth

They are born with this color blend sometimes it gets hard to spot the roans at the time of their birth but as they keep growing this unusual silvery-white hair starts dominating the Chesnut pink color. 

The Chestnut pink shade gets darker with age

You may have never seen a horse changing the shades of its color in any stage of its life but roan horses do and the strawberry roan horse is no exception. They are born lighter but as they age their coat gets darker, making it appear more Chesnut-pink horse.

Most of them have white eyebrows

This fact about the strawberry roan horse may surprise you as you hardly see an animal with white eyebrows. Since strawberry horses appear lighter so their eyebrow area usually contains more white hair so it would not be wrong to say that they have white eyebrows. Don’t you agree?

Strawberry Roan Horse names

Breeds with Strawberry roan Color

There are few breeds that come with strawberry roan color.Red roan and straberry appear in same color tones.Here are some common breeds.

Mustang

Mustangs are wild horses with warm-blooded characteristics. They are developed to bear harsh conditions in wild conditions. Mustang has different coat colors, chestnut, gray, black, and palomino are some common colors. Some mustangs come in different shades of roan like blue roan, red roan, or strawberry roan.

Quarter Horse

American Quarter or Quarter horse is the most popular breed in America today. They are famous for running, barrel racing, and calf roping. They come in different colors like black, brown, gray, dun, grullo, and every shade of roan color.

Arabian Horse

Arabian horses are famous for their temprament and beauty.Arabian horse comes in different color shades like gray, bay ,chestnut and roan.Some times they have white marks on their face and legs.

Strawberry Roan Horse Names

If you have red or strawberry roan horse, these names are perfect for them.

  • Silver Dust
  • Blizzard
  • Golnar – Golnar is a red flower with a flame color center. This name is perfect for your strawberry roan horse.
  • Keegan – Born of fire or red color horse
  • Niran – Perfect name if you have an Arabian horse in roan color tone. Niran is a bisexual name.
  • Kurumi – Chestnut in Japanese

Pick more strawberry roan horse names from our chestnut horse names or collection of horse names.

Strawberry Roan Horse color

Facts about strawberry roan horse

Horses get injured all the time but when they get well there are usually no signs of injury at all. This case is different, as they get injured their coat grows back darker with no white hair blend in that area. So, that’s their scare of injury and it stays this way throughout their life.

As you have reached here, you know all the facts about strawberry roan horses let’s highlight the areas that need your undivided attention.

Appearance

Roan-y coat and soiled colored legs make people turn their heads. The word “roan” is a reference to a horse coat that has a mixture of white and colored hair. Their coats keep switching shades from darker to lighter and lighter to darker in summer and winter.

Mane, tail, and lower legs are usually solid colored. Some roan horses have fewer scattered white hair on their mane, tail, and lower legs but still these parts are showing the base color prominently.

Body structure, height, and weight

They are neither skinny nor fleshy but strong enough to fulfill their duties (quite similar to other horse breeds). Besides roans, they are just like ordinary horses having a height between 1.4 to 1.8 m and weight somewhere between 380 to 1000 kg.

Upkeep cost

Their appearance, the intermixed coat does not come in their way of maintenance and upkeep cost. Like all other horses, their upkeep cost would move between $300 to$3000 a year, depending on the overall living and medical condition.

Feed

They can live on grass and hay alone but would be grateful to have some fruits and vegetables as a treat sometime. Aren’t they just a “low maintenance” horses?

Use

Their uses are no different from ordinary horses. Usually kept for riding, carrying things, and plowing farmer’s field. Because of their unique appearance and name, they are kept in circuses as well in some parts of the world (But this practice is not common).

Conclusion

Strawberry roans or strawberry roan horses are known for their Chesnut and silvery-white blended coats. They are among the very few roan horses that are considered “true roan horses”.The most surprising facts about these horses are that they get darker with their age and in case of an injury or cut their coat grows on only a darker shade back.

Underneath the pinkish-white coat, there lives an ordinary horse that does not demand anything extra than other horse breeds.

Related Breeds

Hi, I am Waqar and active in the horse world since 2012. I have MSc (Hons) in Agriculture from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad. I love to solve equine health care issues and note down in the form of research papers. I have written hundreds of equine health care, accessories, names, and history-related blogs. My equine related work is watering a lot of horse-related magazines and blogs.

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