Buckskin - Definition and Overview

Buckskin is a color of horse; it also refers to other things that are the color of a buckskin horse, such as the color of some breeds of dogs. The horse has a tan/gold colored coat with black points (mane, tail, and lower legs). Buckin is a result of the dilution gene on a bay horse. Therefore, a buckskin has the "black base coat" gene, the agouti gene (see bay for more on the agouti gene), which restricts the black base coat to the points, and one copy of the cream gene, which lightens the red/brown color of the coat to a tan/gold.

Buckskins should not be confused with dun-colored horses, which have another type of dilution gene other than the creme gene, and always have primitive markings (shoulder blade stripes, dorsal stripe, zebra stripes on legs, webbing ). Unlike buckskins, who have the creme gene, dun horses have the dun gene.

See also

• Equine coat color genetics