Buckskins are a beautiful and unique color of horse. Buckskins are typically golden, cream or tan with black manes, tails and lower legs. Buckskins got their name from the buckskin clothing that was popular among early American settlers and Native Americans. Here are 21 interesting facts about buckskin horses, including their genetics, history, markings and some of the famous buckskins you may already know.
Photo: Famous Buckskin Stallion Zapphire
1) Buckskin is an ancient horse color
Cream dilution has existed in horse populations for centuries, and golden-colored horses appear throughout European and Asian equine history.
Photo: Pinterest
2) Buckskin occurs in many different horse breeds
Buckskin can occur in many different horse breeds, including Welsh Ponies and Cobs, Tennessee Walking Horses, Peruvian Pasos, Morgans, Spanish Mustangs, Lusitanos, Andalusians, Warmbloods and American Quarter Horses.
Photo: Famous Buckskin Stallion Zapphire
3) Unique pattern
The classic buckskin color is created when a bay horse inherits one copy of the cream dilution gene. The cream gene lightens the horse's bay body color to gold, cream or tan while leaving the black points largely unaffected. This creates the distinctive combination of a lighter body with a black mane, tail and lower legs that makes buckskin horses so recognizable.
Photo: Famous Buckskin Stallion Zapphire
4) The IBHA (International Buckskin Horse Association) was founded back in 1971.
It is a registry for buckskin horses as well as grulla and dun horses. However, stock-type horses tend to form a considerable portion of the registry.
5) Buckskins come in many different shades
Buckskin coats can range from very pale cream and gold to deep tan. Some horses are commonly described as buttermilk buckskins, while others may have darker or sooty shading. Despite the variation in body color, the classic buckskin retains its dark mane, tail and lower legs.
6) Buckskin requires only one copy of the cream gene
A classic buckskin is genetically a bay horse with one copy of the cream dilution gene. Two copies of cream on a bay base produce a perlino.
7) A dorsal stripe does not make a horse a buckskin
True primitive markings, including a dorsal stripe and leg barring, are associated with the dun gene rather than the cream gene that creates buckskin. Some buckskins can show countershading that resembles a dorsal stripe, which is one reason buckskin and dun horses are sometimes confused.
8) Hollywood History
Buckskin Horses have appeared in a lot of movies and TV shows. Some famous examples include:
- Gunsmoke – Marshall Matt Dillion used a large buckskin horse in the show. Although several different horses were used during the lifespan of the show, the actor's favorite was a Buckskin horse aptly named "Buck."
- This same horse was later used by Ben Cartwright, who also loved riding it. In fact, he grew so fond of Buck that he ended up buying the animal from the studio to keep in his personal stable.
Photo: Buckskin Colt Zapphire
9) Buckskin is not necessarily a rare color
Buckskin is relatively common in some breeds, particularly breeds such as the American Quarter Horse. However, it can be extremely uncommon in other populations. Buckskin Warmbloods, for example, are much less common than traditional colors such as bay, chestnut, black and grey.
10) Buckskin is a color, not a breed
A buckskin horse can belong to many different breeds. The term “buckskin” describes the horse's coat color and genetics rather than its breed.
11) Buckskin horses can be almost any size
Because buckskin is a color rather than a breed, buckskin horses can vary dramatically in size. The color can occur in small ponies as well as much larger horses.
Photo: buckskin pony
12) Buckskin is unusual in European Warmblood breeding
Traditional Warmblood breeding has historically been dominated by bay, chestnut, black and grey horses, making buckskin Warmbloods much less common. One modern example is Zapphire Boy, a buckskin Swedish Warmblood stallion who gained widespread attention online after videos showcasing his unusual coat color went viral.
Photo: Buckskin Horse Zapphire
13) Versatile horses
Today, buckskins are used for a variety of purposes, including pleasure riding, show jumping, dressage, racing, and even working cattle. They are also popular as parade horses and trail riding horses.
Photo: Ehorses
14) Buckskin and palomino are created by the same dilution gene
Both buckskin and palomino horses carry one copy of the cream gene. The difference is their base color. Cream acting on a bay base produces buckskin, while cream acting on a chestnut base produces palomino.
15) Buckskin vs Dun
Buckskin and dun horses are often confused because both can have golden or tan coats with darker points. However, they are caused by completely different genes. A buckskin horse is a bay horse with one copy of the cream gene, which lightens the body while leaving the mane, tail and lower legs black. A dun horse carries the dun gene, which lightens the body and typically produces primitive markings such as a dorsal stripe, leg barring and sometimes shoulder markings. A true buckskin does not need to have a dorsal stripe. If a horse carries both the cream and dun genes, it may be called a dunskin.
16) Two buckskin parents don't always produce a buckskin foal
Breeding two buckskin horses does not guarantee a buckskin foal. Because coat color inheritance depends on the genes each parent passes on, the resulting foal may inherit different combinations of base color and cream dilution.
Photo: Pinterest
17) Buckskin horses can pass the cream gene to their foals
A classic buckskin with one copy of the cream gene has a 50% chance of passing that cream gene to each foal. Whether the foal itself will be buckskin depends on the other color genes it inherits from both parents.
Photo: western buckskins
18) Buttermilk, Dale Evans' horse, was actually a buckskin.
The American quarter horse gelding lived until the age of 30 and even appeared in The Roy Rogers Show.
19) Buckskin horses usually have dark eyes
Classic buckskin horses typically have brown eyes. The single cream gene that creates buckskin does not normally dilute the eyes to blue, although other genes or markings can influence eye color.
20) Spirit is a buckskin
Spirit, the title character in the animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, is depicted as a buckskin horse with a golden body and dark mane, tail and legs.
21) Western TV
Television Westerns have portrayed buckskin horses for a long time, such as the Trampas' horse shown on the Virginian and Ben Cartwright's horse, which appeared in Bonanza. Other films to feature buckskin horses include The Man from Snowy River and Dances with the Wolves.
That’s the top 21 facts about this beautiful horse. If you are a horse lover and love the color buckskin, please let us know in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you!