Perlino is a color in horses created by a dilution gene, also known as the creme gene acting on an underlying Bay coat color.
When such a horse is homozygous for the dilution gene, it will be perlino. Perlino horses have a light creme-colored coat and blue eyes. A Perlino horse will have a mane, tail, and "points" (lower legs, sometimes ear tips, etc.) that are a bit darker than their body hair coat, usually no darker than chestnut (rusty orange) colored. Perlinos differs from red duns because duns usually have dark eyes, and perlinos do not have a dorsal stripe, leg striping or other "dun markings." When the horse is heterozygous for the dilution gene, it will be a buckskin. Buckskins have a gold body coat with a black mane, tail and legs. They usually have dark skin and eyes. The same dilution gene acting on a horse with an underlying chestnut coat will produce a cremello or a palomino. Though these horses are very light-colored, perlinos are not true white horses. White horses usually have one copy of the dominant (W) gene, not a dilution gene. (A few "fully-expressed" pinto horses may also appear pure white.)
References
Bowling, Ann T. "Coat Color Genetics: Positive Horse Identification" from Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. Web Site accessed February 9, 2007
See also
- Equine coat color genetics
- Equine coat color
- Cremello
- dilution gene
- creme gene
- White (horse)
- Buckskin
