Karen S. Garvin (C)
Through the Looking Glass
A horse of a different color
 

Base color and markings	Getting fancy	The language of color	Magical markings	Conclusion
Dungeons & Dragons	Advanced Dungeons & Dragons	Monsters	Dragon magazine	Dragon #141

You're deep into a painting session.
Choosing your palette with great purpose,
you create, from a horde of leaden clones,
a unique persona ? the highwayman.
Astride his horse with sword raised in
salute, the highwayman is a dashing fig
ure. He is dressed in soft deerskin breeches
and a tan tunic, belted at the waist by a
wide red belt. His knee-high, black leather
boots are dulled by road dust. A black
velvet cape wraps about his waist, draping
stylishly over the saddle?s cantle. On his
head, set at a rakish angle, is a widebrimmed
gray hat surmounted by a scarlet
plume.

You paint his horse brown.

Brown -- not cinnamon or copper or
chestnut or chocolate ? just plain old,
boring brown, the brown of a hundred
other miniatures. Somehow, it doesn?t
seem to fit in with the bon vivant image
you?ve just created for the highwayman.
What can you do? How can you change
the horse to give it some pizzazz without
going to unreal lengths? How can you
match the horse to its rider by choosing
an appropriate color or marking for the
mount?

Basic color and markings
Horsemen have studied the coloration of
horses for so long that it is practically a
science in itself. Horse coloration is
divided into five basic groups: black,
brown, chestnut, bay, and gray. An enormous
range of variations exists within
each group, and the difference between
two colors may sometimes be so subtle
that horsemen often find themselves arguing
about what color a horse actually is.

When preparing a horse miniature for
painting, white primer is recommended
over red primer; it is harder to cover up
the red primer with a light color such as
white, and it is easy to mistake the red for
an actual color, especially when you?re
painting the horse a reddish brown. If you
are going to give your horse white markings,
paint them so that you are not trying
to cover up a dark color with white.

The five basic colors for horses are
described below.

Black: Coal black and raven black are
two variations of this color. A coal-black
horse has a dull coat that reflects little
light. To accomplish this effect, use a matte
sealer on the horse after painting. Raven
black, on the other hand, is very shiny and
often shows green or purple highlights. To
get this effect, wash the horse with a deep
blue-purple after painting, and finish with
a gloss sealer. Black horses almost always
have some white markings.

Brown: Brown may range from a light
reddish brown to a deep, nearly black
brown. Brown horses have muzzles that
are either the same color as their bodies
or somewhat lighter. Use almost any earth
color for this type of horse. Matte sealer is
recommended.

Bay: The body of a bay horse ranges
from a yellowish brown to a reddish
brown. Bay horses always have black
points ? meaning the muzzle, mane, tail,
legs, and tips of the ears. White markings
are also common. Matte or gloss sealer
may be used.

Chestnut: The redhead of the horse
world, a chestnut horse has a flashy color
that is rare in its appearance. It may be
light yellow, red, or mahogany. Sorrel is a
diluted variety of chestnut; add white to
the color you would use for the chestnut
to obtain sorrel. Chestnut and sorrel
horses have manes and tails that match
their body colors or are lighter. They
frequently have extensive white markings.
Gloss sealer is recommended for the chestnut
and matte sealer for the sorrel.

Gray: Steel gray is a medium gray with
dark legs, mane, and tail, Flea-bitten gray
is a light gray (almost white) with dark
reddish-brown speckles (?flea bites?) scattered
over the entire body; the mane and
tail are light gray or white. Gray is not
usually a very shiny color, so use matte
sealer to finish this type of miniature.

When choosing paints for any of the
above colors, remember that yellow and
red refer to earth tones of these colors,
not the bright primary colors. Almost any
earth tone makes a good horse color. Some
of the grays on the market, though, are
too flat and machinelike in appearance
and may need to be washed with a black
to give depth to the color.

Most horses have solid-colored coats
with white markings on the face or one or
more legs. Facial markings range from
snips (small patches of white on the nose)
to baldface, where the entire front of the
face is white. Paint these markings with a
crisp white, not an off-white or ivory. Leg
markings can be small white patches near
the hoof, or they can extend above the
knee, hock, or somewhere between. Markings
tend to be very irregular in shape and
size, so give your imagination free rein.

Getting fancy
Now that you know about the colors of
everyday horses, here are some fancy
colors to further tempt your imagination:

Buckskin: A buckskin horse?s body is
yellowish brown with black points. Usually,
a dorsal stripe (a black stripe running
the length of the spine from mane to tail)
is apparent. Faint zebralike stripes occasionally
appear on the lower legs. Buckskin
is a dull, dusty color, so use matte
sealer.

Palomino: Palominos can range from a
very light yellow to a bright copper. Their
manes and tails are always lighter than
their bodies and are often flaxen in color.
Use a color such as Poly S Frost Giant
Ivory, or use white with a dash of yellow
added to it. Roy Roger's famous horse
Trigger is an example of a palomino.

Pinto: Also known as a paint, the pinto
has large irregular patches of white and
another color (usually black or brown).
Piebald is the term that describes a blackand-
white pinto; a brown-and-white pinto
is referred to as snowbald. Within these
two divisions, a pinto may be primarily
white or primarily colored. Tobiano is a
white pinto with large, dark patches on
the body; the white of this horse extends
downward towards the belly. Overo is a
pinto whose coloring consists of jagged
white markings that extend upwards from
the belly against a dark body. In both
patterns, facial markings are common.
Gloss sealer is recommended for dark
pintos and matte for those mostly white.
(White hair does shine, but the shine is
usually not visible to the extent that dark
hair is.)

Appaloosa: This is a breed of horse as
well as a marking. Appaloosa coat patterns
are divided into a variety of their own
categories. Blanket is a mostly solidcolored
body with a white ?blanket? covering
the rump. Snowflake is almost the
reverse of the flea-bitten gray, with white
speckles covering a dark coat. Drybrushing
with white will help achieve the snowflake
appearance. Leopard Appaloosas are
white with egg-sized dark spots covering
their bodies (not unlike the spots of dalmatians).
In addition to their fancy markings,
Appaloosas usually have pink and black
vertical stripes. Use a coral pink and a
very dark gray for coloring hooves. Gloss
sealer for dark-colored horses and matte
sealer for light-colored horses are recommended.

The language of color
"A horse is a horse, of course, of course,"
or so goes the song, but the fact remains
that color plays an important role in
choosing a horse, both in the real world
and in the world of miniatures. Some
choices are nothing more than personal
preferences, but more than one horseman
seems to think that the color of a horse's
coat plays an important part in determining
its psychological makeup. Theories
abound as to why this may be, so color
does seem to make a difference.

For example, chestnuts are considered
high-spirited and temperamental creatures
? true to the fiery redhead maxim. Bay is
considered the toughest color; likewise,
bay horses are sturdy and reliable mounts.
Brown and black horses are more sensitive
than bays, but not as fiery as chestnuts.
Finally, gray horses are considered
kind, gentle, and not easily upset.

So how can you use this information to
match the perfect mount to your character?
First establish what kind of horse
your character needs for the purpose at
hand. Soldiers need tough horses, horses
that are easy to care for on long campaigns.
Based on this, soldiers would prefer
bays and browns. Practically speaking,
gray horses get too dirty. They are also
highly visible ? not something a soldier in
battle would appreciate. However, a general
might prefer a gray horse because it
does stand out in a crowd.

Black has long been a symbol of power,
and a black horse, especially a stallion,
embodies this power. Since Western culture
associates white with good and black
with evil, a black horse is probably the
only choice for an evil paladin.

White is a color associated with purity,
thus, a lady would likely ride a white or
gray horse. A princess, on the other hand,
might well ride a chestnut or a fancycolored
horse, such as a palomino or
Appaloosa. Female adventurers would be
well suited for a bay or steel-gray horse.

A flamboyant character, such as the
highwayman mentioned at the start of this
article, would go for the showiest horse he
could find. A pinto or an Appaloosa would
be a good choice, or a chestnut with a lot
of white markings. These are only general
guidelines, so feel free to experiment.

Magical markings
Certain markings have been ascribed to
have magical importance. These various
markings and their purported qualities are
listed below. Note that medicine hat and
bloody shoulder are both real-world markings;
magic saddle is a fantasy invention.

Medicine hat: This is a marking worn by
some pintos. The ears are covered with a
dark ?bonnet? and the chest by a dark
?shield.? The Cheyenne Indians thoughtthat
these horses had mystical powers.
Shielded by these markings, a horse with
medicine-hat markings was believed to be
impervious in battle. The rider of such a
horse was likewise protected as long as he
was mounted. Because it is a shield, the
medicine hat marking is considered a form
of magical armor, awarding variable protection
to horse and rider without weighing
the horse down. Add + 1 to +4 to the
armor-class rating of the horse and of the
character when he is mounted. Movement
is not affected by this change.

Bloody shoulder: This is a marking characterized
by a red coloration over the
horse?s shoulder. Bedouin legend tells of a
devoted mare who carried her wounded
master over her shoulder to safety. This
marking is extremely rare. Any horse
exhibiting it proves loyal to one person
only and may not be ridden by anyone
else. If a horse with this type of marking is
stolen, it runs away from its captor at the
first opportunity and seeks its true master.
The horse does not panic or run away
from melee as long as its master is alive. If
the master dies, the horse then runs wild
until it is captured and tamed by another
person. In order to tame a horse with the
bloody shoulder marking, a character
must have a charisma of 15 or greater;
even then, there is only a 20% chance of
taming the horse.

Magic saddle: This is another pintolike
marking in which a dark saddle-shaped
patch covers the horse's back. Any rider
mounted on this horse will not fall off or
be knocked off in battle. The rider may
dismount only when it is his wish to do so.
Because of this, the rider may even sleep
in the saddle, since falling off is virtually
impossible (the key word is ?virtually?).

Conclusion
What does this all mean for the modeler?
Well, a basic understanding of horse
coloration can provide a useful set of
guidelines when realistically painted horse
miniatures are desired. Of course, you can
always paint your figures lavender or
green if you so desire; this is, after all,
fantasy. But when you want realism, this
article can be invaluable in providing
horses with individuality and authenticity.
Above all, it makes painting them a lot
more fun!
 

THE FORUM
This is in response to Karen S. Garvin's "A
Horse of a Different Color" article tissue #141).
As a miniatures painter, I find "Through the
Looking Glass" invaluable. Karen's discussion of
the color of horses is no exception.

There are, however, a few points she seems to
have overlooked. There is a sixth group of horse
coloration: the albino. True albinism (pink eyes
and a total absence of pigmentation) doesn?t
occur in horses, but any horse that is born
white or almost white is called an albino. The
most common form of albino is a cream-colored
horse. These cream-colored albinos tend to
breed true (they pass their color on to their
offspring), while many white albinos do not.
The eyes of albino horses may be dark brown,
light brown, or blue ?glass!? Another coloration
is dun, which is yellowish-brown to mouse-gray,
with a dark or black mane and tail, dark points,
and an eel stripe down the spine. (Buckskins are
a subgroup of duns.)

Likewise, under the category of gray horses,
Karen left out perhaps the most striking coloration
?one that is relatively easy to duplicate on a
miniature. A gray horse is born black or dark
brown and gets lighter with age. Dapple-grays
are lightly spotted in gray and white patterns,
giving them a mottled appearance. These dapples
may be thought of as white spots with illdefined
edges on a gray background, or as gray
rings on a white background. Some dapplegrays
are almost uniformly dappled from head
to toe; others are lightly dappled on the neck
and shoulders, with a blanket of darker dapples
on the rump. Dapple-grays may have light or
dark manes and tails and might have dark
points on their legs and muzzles.

To get this effect on a miniature, start out
with a coat of white paint on the entire horse.
For a lightly dappled horse, merely dab all over
with light gray paint, in a random but fairly
even pattern. This will give the horse a subtle
mottled appearance. For a more striking and
darker dapple-gray, start with a slightly darker
gray. Mottle the face and neck with light stabs
of gray paint on the white coat. As you work
toward the rear of the horse, continually but
gradually darken the shade of gray. When you
get to the haunches, begin carefully painting
tiny rings, leaving small white spots showing
through. This will give the horse a distinctly
dappled appearance. Continue the dapples
down the legs, letting the dapples blend into a
solid gray on the lower halves. Dark dapple-gray
horses are likely to have dark gray manes and
tails and dark or black points. Light dapple-gray
horses are more likely to have light manes and
tails. Most dappled horses will have dark brown
eyes, although blue is possible.

Other horses may be dappled as well. While a
gray?s dapples are its normal coloring and will
change only as it gets older and the gray slowly
turns white, dapples on other horses may come
and go with the seasons. Bay horses, for instance,
often get dappled coats during the early
summer. These dapples are a sign of a healthy
coat and may disappear later in the summer as
the horse?s skin becomes sunburned. Chestnuts,
buckskins, and cream albinos may also get
dapples. For a dappling of any color, use the
same techniques as for a gray; simply darken
the color of paint you used for the main body
and dab it on as dapples. Lightly dappled solidcolored
horses tend to have most of their dapples
on their haunches. Some horses may be
heavily dappled over the entire body.

When putting markings on horses, remember
this: The pigmentation that causes white hairs
may also cause blue eyes and light-colored
hooves. One horse I know has a small streak of
white jutting out from his blaze to cover one
eye; it looks like a tear, and the eye is a startling
blue. The horse?s other eye is brown. Horses
with white markings on their legs will often
have light hooves; the hooves of horses with
dark points will be dark. Some hooves will be
streaked light and dark in correspondence to
white spots on their otherwise dark legs. (In her
discussion of Appaloosas, Karen mentioned that
?Appaloosas usually have pink and black vertical
stripes.? I assume she?s referring to their hooves.
Some buckskin or dun horses, however, have
horizontal black stripes on their upper legs,
much like a zebra has.) Most horses? hooves
aren?t black, unless polished or painted to look
that way. They tend to be horn-colored, ranging
from a creamy pinkish color to a dark grayish
brown. Karen?s advice to use coral pink or a
very dark gray to paint the hooves works for
any color horse.

Pinto coloring will also affect mane and tail.
Where white patches meet the mane or tail, the
white coloration will be continued. Manes and
even tails can thus be light and dark in patches
as well as the main coat. Appaloosas will often
have streaked tails and even manes to match
their spots.

Another color type that?s relatively easy to
render in a miniature is the roan. A roan has a
uniform sprinkling of individual white hairs on
a brown, reddish, or black coat. Some roans
have white mixed in with their entire coat;
others have patches of roan on a solid-colored
coat. Dry-brushing with white can be used to
turn an otherwise dull horse into a roan. Care
must be taken not to put the white on in spots
or streaks, however.

As for the specific merits of horses of certain
colors, it?s all a matter of fashion. The Spaniards
bred many spotted horses (the ancestors of the
Appaloosas were bred by the Nez Percé Amerindians),
which were much sought after in Europe
until fashion dictated that riding such showy
horses was vulgar. Cowboys thought that duncolored
(buckskin) horses were the hardiest, so
they bred for that color as well as for stamina
and hardiness. This produced many dun horses
of high quality. Napoleon never rode a horse
that wasn?t gray. But the truth of the matter is
that color is not a reliable indication of quality.
One of the chestnuts I know is the complete
opposite of the ?high-spirited and temperamental
creatures? Karen mentioned. But that?s not to
say that color doesn?t affect riders? choices of
mounts!

My advice to painters who wish to have truly
extraordinary horse miniatures is this: Find a
book or calendar with color photographs of
horses and take your inspiration from that. The
range of coloration and markings is inexhaustible
and can turn a ?plain old, boring brown?
into a truly outstanding miniature.

Ann Dupuis
Brighton MA
(Dragon #148)