Cream is one of the dilutions present in horses.
The cream dilution can lighten the coat, skin and eye colour of horses. The colour cream creates depends on the underlying base coat colour and on whether the horse is heterozygous or homozygous. When other dilutions are present, the resulting colours also commonly receive unique names. It is not always possible to tell by appearance alone whether a horse is cream or not. Other dilutions can mimic some of the effects cream has, and horses may also carry multiple dilutions.
In the heterozygous state, cream dilutes red pigment to a yellow-golden colour; but black pigment is not or only very subtly diluted. The skin and eyes both remain dark. Heterozygous cream horses are also sometimes referred to as "single dilutes".
Heterozygous Cream - Pura Raza Española | |
Example | Information |
Palomino (chestnut + heterozygous cream)
A light palomino could be confused with gold champagne or even cremello, while the darker shades could be mistaken as flaxen chestnuts or silver bays. Champagne horses can however be recognised by their typical freckled, pink skin; while silver bay horses can be identified by looking at their dark points (ears, lower legs). |
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Buckskin (bay + heterozygous cream) When heterozygous cream is present on a bay base, the red pigment of the coat turns yellow or gold, but the points (mane, tail, lower legs and ear tips) remain dark. The shade of buckskin horses can look similar to that of bay horses diluted by dun. However, the dun dilution also causes primitive markings, which are not present on buckskin horses. |
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Brown buckskin (seal brown + heterozygous cream) Seal brown horses with one copy of cream are much darker in colour. The dilution can mainly be seen on the soft parts of the body (muzzle, eyes, flanks,…), where the red pigment is diluted to a yellow shade. This colour is also called brown buckskin and can be easily mistaken for a regular seal brown horse when the number of yellow hairs is only minimal. |
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Smoky black ( black + heterozygous cream) Since heterozygous cream has little effect on black pigment, smoky black can't be differentiated from black based on appearance alone. Phenotypes often overlap, a smoky black can look jet black while a black horse can be sun-faded. A genetic test would be needed to detect the presence of a cream allele. |
Horses with 2 copies of the cream allele are also sometimes called "double dilutes" or blue-eyed creams. Homozygous cream dilutes both red and black pigment to a creamy colour. It also causes blue eyes and pink skin; which is especially visible around the eyes, nose and underneath the tail. The eyes are paler than the unpigmented blue eyes that are caused by white markings. All homozygous cream dilutions have overlapping phenotypes and often can't be told apart just by their appearance, so genetic testing might necessary. However, their names do depend on the base colour.
Homozygous Cream - Pura Raza Española | |
Example | Information |
Cremello (chestnut + homozygous cream) When a chestnut base gets diluted by homozygous cream, both the short and the long hairs become a creamy white colour. |
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Perlino (bay + homozygous cream) When a bay-based coat is affected by homozygous cream, the resulting colour is called perlino. The mane and tail may be a little darker than the body, with a more reddish tint to them. There are, however, perlinos with such light long hairs that they are visually indistinguishable from cremellos. The different bay shades can't be differentiated from each anymore. |
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Smoky cream (black + homozygous cream) Two copies of the cream allele lighten the black base coat to a creamy white colour. The coat colour of smoky creams may be slightly darker and, just like perlinos, their mane and tail may have a reddish tint. However, smoky cream horses may also be entirely creamy white in colour. A typical characteristic of smoky cream is that foals may sometimes have darker patches in their coat, which disappear as they get older. |
The cream (CR) dilution is an allele of the MATP gene (also known as SLC45A2) on horse chromosome 21. The MATP locus codes for a protein involved in pigment production. Cream is an incomplete dominant dilution: horses that are homozygous are much lighter than horses that are heterozygous for cream. Below, the resulting phenotype of each genotype is listed:
The presence of the cream allele can be tested at the Laboratory.
Another allele that can be found on the same gene as cream, is the pearl (prl) dilution. Since they share a locus, horses can be homozygous for either cream or pearl separately, but not for both at the same time. They can, however, be heterozygous for both, and pass one of the two alleles on to a foal. Pearl is recessive, but also interacts with the CR-allele to create cream pearl "pseudo-double dilutes". Below, the resulting phenotype of each genotype is listed:
Cream is an old mutation that can be found in many different breeds. The following table lists all breeds that can currently have the cream (CR) allele in-game.
Breeds |
Akhal-Teke Horse |
Arabian Horse |
Brabant Horse |
Brumby Horse |
Camargue Horse |
Cleveland Bay |
Exmoor Horse |
Finnhorse |
Fjord Horse |
Friesian Horse |
Haflinger Horse |
Icelandic Horse |
Irish Cob Horse |
Kladruber Horse |
Knabstrupper |
Lipizzaner |
Lusitano |
Mongolian Horse |
Mustang Horse |
Namib Desert Horse |
Noriker Horse |
Norman Cob |
Oldenburg Horse |
Pantaneiro Horse |
Pura Raza Española |
Quarter Horse |
Shetland Pony |
Shire Horse |
Suffolk Punch |
Thoroughbred |
Trakehner Horse |
Welsh Pony |