Last Chance Farm

“Genetics and Horse Breeding” by William E. Jones was first published in 1971. It has sections on coat colors but lacks any real data on double dilutes, but does admit that no true albino horses exist. A very outdated book.

“Genetics of the Horse” Second Edition, by William E. Jones, Ph.D. & Ralph Bogart, Ph.D. published in 1973. It is just a revised edition of the above book and is also very outdated on color genetics.

“The Color of Horses”, by Dr. Ben K. Green was originally published in 1974. It is a study of how the hair shaft appears and is affected by each base color and the modifying changes through the years.

“Genetic Principles in Horse Breeding”, by John F. Lasley was first published in 1971 and the second edition in 1976. It discusses coat color but doesn’t get into color breeding.

“Horse Markings and Coloration”, by Jean F. DeMouthe Smith published in 1977. It is primarily a guide for color markings and patterns. The illustrations are a mix of color, black and white and drawings. A very basic but helpful guide on markings and spotted patterns.

"Equine Genetics and Selection Procedures" written by the staff of Equine Research
Publications in 1978. It is a total equine genetics with chapters on color and color breeding.

"Horse Color", by Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg and Bonnie Beaver was first published in 1983. The photographs are lovely, and actually better than in the second book, but this book is very outdated.

“Colours and Markings” by Jane Holderness-Roddam published in 1987. Published in Great Britain and uses accepted European terms for some colors but the illustrations of colors and markings are great.

“Breeding for Color”, The Dictionary of Equine Coat Color Crosses, by Ed North published in the early 1990s. It gives all the possible foal colors that could result from most color crosses but you have to exclude those colors that could not be possible based on the genetic makeup of the actual individual being bred. It is a useful tool for predicting color.

“The Basis of Linebreeding”, A Practical Guide with illustrations, by J. H. Lents published in 1991. It is a treasure of information using layman terminology that makes this book understandable to any livestock breeder. Using the successes and failures of those that went before them, a breeder can avoid those pitfalls themselves whether breeding for color or conformation characteristics.

"Equine Color Genetics", by Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg was published in 1996. This is much better, and I use it as a reference, but it does have some outdated material. Champagne was "new" at this point, and that section is not really complete.

"Horse Genetics", by Ann Bowling was rushed to print to coincide with Dr. Sponenberg's book in 1996. It covers more than just color genetics. The tobiano section, for the markers and such, is outstanding. However, I re-read the whole book last year, and I found the information on horse color to be inaccurate and appalling when it comes to the pinto patterns. If you want to understand tobiano markers, this is a good place to go. There is one tiny section about champagne, and it is not accurate, as it only addresses the classic color.

“The Genetics of the Horse”, edited by A.T. Bowling & A. Ruvinsky was published in 2000 shortly after the tragic death of Dr. Ann Bowling. The book is a complete book of the horse and all aspects of its genetic makeup. It includes chapters on coat colors and variations.

“Horse and Pony Coat Colors”, by Carole Knowles-Pfeiffer was first published in 2000. It is a pamphlet of equine colors illustrated beautifully and is an in-depth study of how the basic colors are like building blocks to be modified by various modifiers such as gray, roan and cream genes.

"Horse Color Explained", by Jeanette Gower, published in 2000, is fascinating..... If you can get over the fact that she uses the English/Australian term "taffy" for silver dapple, and smoky blacks are "black buckskins," then you should be okay. She has a much better grasp of the pinto patterns than any of the other authors. She even realizes sabino vs. normal white markings, but she has two chapters on sabino that completely oppose one another. (Editing problem, I believe.) She has some champagnes in the palomino section, and a cremello posing as a sabino white, but most of the photos match the descriptions. Jeanette is NOT a PhD, and her writing is simpler to understand, and she leaves out some of the science by focusing just on the colors.

“The Natural Colours of the Iceland Horse”, by Sigurdur A. Magnusson & Fridpjofur Porkelsson was published in 2001. It written in Icelandic but does include the colours in English. There are 52 documented colors in the breed. No attempts have been made to breed for or exclude any colour from the breed.

“Equine Color Genetics”, Second Edition, by Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg was published in 2003. I do not have a lot of confidence in Dr. Sponenberg's analysis of the pinto patterns, as he has shown over and over that he does not understand minimal patterning. He does have an excellent grasp on the genetics of coat color.

Official Guide To Color and Markings for Identification of the Tennessee Walking Horse.

“The Appaloosa, A Guide to Identifying and Registering” by the Appaloosa Horse Club was published in 1995

Pamplets published by the American Paint Horse Association:

 “Color Genetics, The Genetic Equation” by Dr. D. P. Sponenberg was published in 1994.

 “Predicting Color”, by Kim Guenther was published in 1995

 “The Mystery of Tovero”, by Frank Holmes was published in December 1997.

 “Sabino Paints”, One of the breed’s most overlooked assets? by Frank Holmes was 
published in December 1998.

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