KB Montana Blue - AQHA Courtesy of KB Farms

Roan is a color pattern caused by white hairs mixing with colored hairs. There are no "Roan" hairs on a Roan horse.

Any color can be Roan, but the contrast is more easily seen on dark colors and the physical effect may be "masked" by other genes such as Grey or any Pinto or Appaloosa patterns or combination of patterns. There are many different terms used to describe the different shades of Roan. Some of these include Purple Roan, Lilac Roan and Honey Roan. While these are nice names to use for the beautiful shades Roan can cause, to minimize confusion it's best to stick to the terms that best describe the genes as well as the color, such as Black Roan, Chestnut Roan, Palomino Roan, Bucksin Roan etc. There are many different shades for each color, using flowery terms to describe each and every shade found in the Roan variants (or other color variants) only causes confusion to those not familiar with colors or how they're made.

This type of Roaning is called "true" or "classic" roan and is genetically separate from the roaning that can happen with the Leopard Complex (Appaloosa) patterns and the roaning that can occur with the Sabino and Rabicano patterns.

One trait found with the Roaning patterns is for the points on the front legs to come to a sharp point above the knee. This can occur with all Classic Roan variations.

Photos are needed of other Roan variations - please email or post on our forum.

Chestnut (Red) Roan Smokin Thunder King - AQHA Courtesy of Smokin Acres

Islands Hurricane - Miniature Horse Courtesy of Shady Acres Miniatures

Black Roan

Also called Blue Roan, this color is caused by the Roaning pattern on a Black base coat. The effect of the white hairs mingling with the black hairs often causes a grey, blue or even purple tint to the body.

The head, mane, tail and lower legs of a Black Roan will be Black. Classic Roans do not have white hairs on these parts of the body. This trait is what sets this pattern apart from other Roaning patterns.

McCall's Daphne Cody American Shetland Courtesy of Bellevue Farms

Bay Roan

Bay Roan is the result of the Roaning pattern on a Bay base coat. This may also be referred to as Red Roan but as Chestnut Roans are also called Red Roans this may lead to confusion when determining foal colors or describing the base color.

The head of a Bay Roan will be the normally seen red color of a Bay horse, without roaning. The legs, mane and tail will also lack any roaning and be the regular color of a Bay horse, or black.

Braunsen Friesian x Oldenburg Courtesy of Whispering Hills Stables

Fan Of Shine - AQHA Courtesy of Jacy Voigt

Chestnut Roan

This color is caused by the Roaning gene on a Chestnut base coat. This color is also called Red Roan or Strawberry Roan.

As with the Black and Bay variations, Chestnut Roans will have solid heads, legs, manes and tails.

Lucky Hunka Love - AQHA Courtesy of Bobbie Huffman

Prairie Sundowner Spanish Mustang Courtesy of Kyle F. Petri

As with all colors it's possible for a horse to have multiple genes. The horse to the left has the Classic Roan pattern as well as the Dun dilution on a Chestnut base coat. The Dun dilution can be seen in the horizontal stripes on his legs and the dorsal stripe down his back. The white hairs on the sides of the tail and mane are caused by Dun. This "frosting" is a common occurrence on horses with the Dun dilution.

Cruisen To Infinity - AQHA Courtesy of Kay Miller

• Roan is less common than Grey and the breeds that have Classic Roan are much more limited than Grey.
  
  
• Roan is not progressive - a horse will be born Roan (although it is usually not visible until the foal is a few months old) and will be Roan until it dies.
  
  
• On Roan horses the head, legs, mane & tail will be a solid color with maybe only a few white hairs present, any white markings on the head or legs may have roan edges but this is due to the white marking, not the Roan.
  
  
• Roans will change from season to season, but no matter how light the body gets, the head, legs, mane & tail will always stay colored.
  
  

• Myryha - BLM Mustang Courtesy of Leah Patton

  Some Roans get darker with age, a Grey will always get lighter.
  
  
• Roans don't dapple as much as Greys, but when they do it's due to changes in the hair length and color due to the seasons. The dappling also occurs in reverse - dark in the middle, light on the edges. The most is caused by the dark winter coat shedding off to the light spring coat. (see photo right)
  
  
• Roan horses are born Roan. The Roan pattern is sometimes only seen on the rump of the foal and maybe confused with one of the Leopard Complex (Appaloosa) patterns. On most Roan foals the Roan pattern is unmistakable and consistent after the foal coat is shed
  
  
• When a Roan horse is injured the hair over the scars usually grows back the base color instead of white as seen with most other colors. (see photos below)
  
  
• Roan horses can vary from very light body color to very dark with only a faint showing of white hairs in the base coat.

The Roan pattern is caused by a dominant gene, so a horse must have a Roan parent to be a Roan. Some Roans are very subtle but generally there is no mistaking the horse is Roan. This type of roaning should not be confused with the roaning that occurs with the Leopard Complex (Appaloosa), Rabicano or Sabino patterns. Those types of roaning are genetically separate from this pattern of Roaning and have very different physical characteristics.

Theory is that Roan in homozygous form is lethal. This type of lethal foal aborts early in the pregnancy so the true reason behind the loss of pregnancy may go unnoticed or attributed to something else. Some believe this and some don't. Scientific evidence thus far has not proven one way or the other.