Galop 2Knowledge
Contents
- 01WelcomeOverview
- 02The five sensesKnowledge
- 03Life in the herdKnowledge
- 04The mouth and mealsKnowledge
- 05Feed, water, mealsCaring for the horse
- 06Housing, catching, turning outKnowledge
- 07More coats and patchesKnowledge
- 08The legsKnowledge
- 09Three breedsKnowledge
- 10GroomingCaring for the horse
- 11Quick-release knot and bridleCaring for the horse
- 12Saddling, saddle careCaring for the horse
- 13Work on footOn foot
- 14Mounting, girth, reinsIn the saddle
- 15Going forward, changing gaitIn the saddle
- 16Sitting or light seatIn the saddle
- 17Figures and arena rulesKnowledge
- 18The first fenceIn the saddle
- 19Equestrian activitiesKnowledge
- 20RevisionRevision
More coat colours, and patches
In Galop 1 you learned black, chestnut and bay. Galop 2 adds four “other colours” and teaches you to name horses with patches.
In the exam programme
- Name and recognise white, grey, cream and chocolate — the “other” coat colours.Common module B
- Name and recognise patches: small ones make a spotted coat; large ones make a pie coat (black pie, chestnut pie, bay pie).Common module B
To name a coat colour, you always look at the body hair, the mane and tail and the points — the lower legs, ear tips and muzzle. For the other colours, two more clues come in: the colour of the skin, which shows around the eyes, nostrils and mouth, and the colour of the eyes.
White
White hair on pink skin, from birth.
Grey
Mixed white and black hair on dark skin; it whitens with age.
Cream
Very pale coat, pale mane, pinkish skin.
Chocolate
Chocolate-brown body, washed-out, almost flaxen mane.
Other colour
White
White hair, mane and tail, pink skin all over, dark eyes, pale hooves. The horse is born white and stays white all its life. It is a very rare colour.
Other colour
Grey
A mixture of white hairs and coloured hairs, mixed mane and tail, black skin, dark eyes. A grey is born dark and lightens with age: an old grey can look completely white.
Other colour
Cream
Cream hair, an off-white, a white to greyish mane and tail, pink skin and pale eyes, often blue.
Other colour
Chocolate
A very dark chocolate-brown body with a washed-out mane and tail, pale and almost flaxen: that contrast is what gives it away. Dark skin and eyes. Do not confuse it with a very dark bay, whose mane and tail stay black, or with a liver chestnut, whose mane and tail match the body.
Remember
An all-white horse with black skin is a grey. A true white has pink skin. Look around the eyes and nostrils before you answer.
Horses with patches
Some horses carry patches: areas of a different colour from the rest of the body. They are named by their size.
Spotted
Small spots on the coat.
Black pie
A black with large white patches.
Chestnut pie
A chestnut with large white patches.
Bay pie
A bay with large white patches.
| Patches | Name of the coat | How to recognise it |
|---|---|---|
| Small patches, dots or flecks | Spotted | Small spots scattered over part of the body or all of it. |
| Large white and coloured patches | Pie, after the colour of the coloured patches | Black pie: black patches. Chestnut pie: red-brown patches. Bay pie: brown patches, with a black mane, tail and points in the coloured areas. |
For a pie, you first name the base colour that makes up the coloured patches, then add “pie”. The different pie and spotted patterns are told apart later on: you will meet them in Galop 5.
Did you know?
The word “pie” comes from the magpie, a black-and-white bird — pie in French. English keeps it too: a black pie is what British riders call a piebald, and a chestnut or bay pie a skewbald.
Common mistake
Calling a horse scattered with small spots a “pie”. A pie has large patches; small spots make a spotted horse.