21 Magnificent Chestnut Horses (Unique Colors)

Chestnut horses have gorgeous, auburn coats ranging from light, sandy red to dark burgundy.

The scarlet hues result from pheomelanin, a reddish-yellow pigment that also gives red-haired humans their distinctive tresses.

One key to distinguishing chestnut horses is that they shouldn’t have black hair.

Otherwise, they are classified as “bay,” a coat variation with a similar copper base color but black points on the legs, mane, and tail.

Now that you have some background on these exquisite creatures, we’ve corralled some examples of chestnut horses showing off their fiery coats.

Jump to:

• Flaxen Chestnut
• 1. Hitting the Trail
• 2. Blond Ambition
• 3. Flaxen Foal
• 4. The Mane Event
• Liver Chestnut
• 5. The Best “Neigh”-bor to Share a Fence With
• 6. Why the Long Face?
• 7. Shaggy-Coated Stallion
• 8. Just Horsin’ Around
• Red Chestnut
• 9. Graceful Grazing
• 10. Royal Steed
• 11. Racing Stripes
• 12. Freckle Face
• Sorrel Chestnut
• 13. Fetters in the Flowers
• 14. All Muscle
• 15. Powerful, Yet Poised
• Light Chestnut
• 16. A Sweet Little Lady
• 17. Born to Run
• 18. The Horsey Hoover
• Chestnut Pinto
• 19. Chestnut Tobiano
• 20. Chestnut Overo
• 21. Chestnut Tovero
• Final Thoughts

Flaxen Chestnut

Flaxen chestnut horses have lighter reddish-brown coats with golden manes and tails to match. They are less commonly referred to as blond chestnuts.

1. Hitting the Trail

Blaine, the Belgian Draft Horse, has a gorgeous auburn coat and a luxuriously long flaxen mane. This color is prevalent for the gentle giant, as breeders specifically mate stallions and mares to achieve this prized combination in their foals.

2. Blond Ambition

This Haflinger’s platinum mane and feathered feet perfectly complement her strawberry-blonde coat. Interestingly, all Haflingers are flaxen chestnut, but the base coat color can range from golden red to liver.

3. Flaxen Foal

While flaxen chestnut is rare in the Arabian horse breed, this stunning mare’s newborn colt has hints of creme in its mane and tail. By the time this barnyard baby is a yearling, he’ll shed his foal coat and grow out his adult colors.

4. The Mane Event

Maisie looks as shiny as a new penny with her chestnut coat, but her eye-catching flaxen accents steal the show. Even her forelock looks flawless with its charming center part.

Liver Chestnut

A liver chestnut horse has a dark brownish-red coloration, usually with a mane and tail to match. However, you may spot a steed sporting a flaxen variation that only enhances the contrast.

5. The Best “Neigh”-bor to Share a Fence With

Tina the Dutch Warmblood’s coat is so rich and dark it would be easy to mistake it for bay-colored at first glance. However, the glints of red along her withers and back prove she’s a stunning liver chestnut.

6. Why the Long Face?

Penelope is a captivating example of the Arabian breed with a unique, coppery mane to match her liver chestnut pelt. The distinctive curvature of her nose is characteristic of the Arabian horse, as is a high tail carriage and small stature.

7. Shaggy-Coated Stallion

This fuzzy-coated chestnut liver horse is Higgins. He is a Morgan horse, one of the first breeds developed in the United States for coach-pulling, calvary riding, and harness racing. Many horses grow shaggy winter coats to protect them from the winter chill.

8. Just Horsin’ Around

Well-built Beaumont's deep, dark liver chestnut coat fades to a lighter cherry chestnut at the feet, giving his coat a unique ombre appearance. His mane coordinates so well it almost blends with the hair on his neck.

Red Chestnut

The iconic red chestnut coat tends to have more copper blended throughout than brown, giving these gorgeous horses a particularly incandescent and fiery appearance.

9. Graceful Grazing

Clyde’s cherry-red tones are bright and glowy under a warm, late-afternoon sun. While his mane looks very dark, breed standards state that chestnut horses cannot have black manes or tails. Instead, it’s a rich burgundy.

10. Royal Steed

The appropriately-named Lady Marmalade, the Gypsy Vanner, looks like something straight out of a fairy tale, thanks to her wavy, copper-colored mane and regal poise. Her breed comes from Shire and Clydesdale stock, but this feather-footed beauty has a more petite build.

11. Racing Stripes

Did you notice the dramatic color variation in Cherry Pie’s chestnut coat? Many racehorse owners trim their mounts in the winter, when they tend to grow thicker, shaggier pelts. When horse trainers put ponies through their paces, a short clip helps them better regulate their body temperature.

12. Freckle Face

Owen the American Quarter Horse’s winter coat is richly pigmented with shades of auburn, orange, and dark brown. Even his blaze is speckled with color, giving him faux “freckles” that complement his handsome features.

Sorrel Chestnut

While many equestrians prefer to distinguish their chestnut horses based on the specific shade, some breed associations such as Thoroughbred, Morgan, and Arabian use the name as an umbrella term for any red-coated steed.

13. Fetters in the Flowers

Ringo is a sorrel chestnut American Quarter Horse, a breed hailed for its ability to nimbly maneuver around barrels and sprint up to 55 miles per hour (88.5 kph). They come in almost all coat colors, but this medium chestnut hue is the most common.

14. All Muscle

From his forelocks to his fetters, Alazan is the paradigm of how strong a horse can get when granted access to open pastures. His access to freshly grown grass helps him maintain his shiny sorrel-colored coat.

15. Powerful, Yet Poised

This rugged sorrel chestnut stallion, Ruger, is clearly well-loved by the horse rescue he calls home. His coat’s healthy glow indicates his caretakers pamper him with frequent grooming and nutritious meals.

Light Chestnut

Sometimes referred to as sandy chestnut, light chestnut has a more distinctive white dilution than other shades along the spectrum.

16. A Sweet Little Lady

This newborn filly is Wren, a Falabella-American Miniature Cross born with a light chestnut coat. She’s quite the dainty little darling with wispy curls throughout her multicolored tail and barely-there mane.

17. Born to Run

Arnie is another example of a flaxen chestnut coat, but he's a gorgeous strawberry blonde rather than having a darker sorrel or liver coat. His golden hair accentuates the strokes of blonde along his legs and belly.

18. The Horsey Hoover

While it might be a summertime nuisance to humans, grass gives horses all the nutrients they need to fuel their athletic lifestyles and aid in healthy coat growth. Malakye is so efficient at caring for his owner’s unruly lawn that she refers to him as her equine lawnmower.

Chestnut Pinto

Pinto horse coats are characterized by splotches of color that differ from their base coat. While many horses have small white patches– such as the star, blaze, snip, and strip facial markings– pinto spots are more distinctive and cover a more significant portion of the body.

Chestnut is one of the most frequently seen pinto base coat colors, along with black, bay, and brown.

19. Chestnut Tobiano

Don’t be fooled by the flowers and cascading blonde waves– This magnificent mare isn’t Rapunzel. She’s an Irish Cob named Kandy. Her red chestnut coat has a tobiano pinto pattern, characterized by large patches of white with rounded edges.

20. Chestnut Overo

The American Paint horse Jojo has an overo pinto pattern with a sorrel chestnut pelt. She showcases classic frame overo markings, including the “bald” face and jagged-edged white splotches on the neck, flank, and shoulder.

21. Chestnut Tovero

Tovero pintos have a mixture of tobiano and overo patterning, like this chestnut-spotted American Paint Horse named Merrie. In addition to having mostly-white coats, horses with this pinto patterning often have blue eyes and white patches in their mane and tail.

Final Thoughts

Horses come in a vast range of coat colors and patterns, but there’s something particularly stunning about a well-groomed chestnut horse’s coat set ablaze by the afternoon sun.

If you’re fortunate enough to be the proud owner of a copper-colored mount, treating it to a well-rounded diet of grass and fodder will ensure it has the vitamins and minerals necessary for maintaining its iconic coat.

You can also supplement with vegetables rich in biotin, copper, and zinc to promote light-catching shine and rich pigmentation.