My Pal, the Palomino!

A friend of yours is a Palomino  Palomino is not a breed of horse, but its coloring. Palominos are golden, yellow, or cream colored, with silver or white manes. –webmd.com

You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.

What is palomino to you?  Some may know it as the name of a restaurant, an RV park or even a ranch. Some think it is a type of horse.  Well, I found out that palomino is Spanish for “young dove”. And palomino is actually a certain color of horse.  Any horse that is golden, yellow or cream colored having a silver or white mane is considered palomino. 

However, colors of palomino can vary a lot depending on different things. Horses will “tan” in the summer just like we can. Their coats can get darker in the summer sun, and lighter again in the winter. What the animal is fed can also have an effect on its color.  There are four primary colors of a palomino: golden, light, pearl and chocolate.  And then, depending on the genes, there can be variations of these colors, like champagne, cremellos, perlinos and smoky creams.

Buckskin colored horses are also often mistaken for palomino because their coats can also be lighter or golden. However, buckskin horses, regardless of their color, will always have darker lower legs, and dark manes and tails.

The cream gene is passed down from the parents of the horse, and the mother and father must have a chestnut (reddish) color coat. Without this cream gene color combination, palomino colors will not happen. If two copies of the cream gene are passed down, the horse’s coat will be much lighter and their eyes will even be blue! Have you ever seen a horse with blue eyes? Very cool!

Several breeds can have palomino coloring. Quarter Horses and American Saddle Horses are the most common. These can also include Arabians, Morgan, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and Tennessee Walking Horses.

Some of you may know of famous horses from movies or TV shows. There was a show called Mr. Ed back in the early 1960s. He was the famous “talking” horse. His real name was actually Bamboo Harvester. Then there was Trigger, made famous by his owner who was cowboy and actor Roy Rogers.

Palominos have a unique personality. The Palomino is a horse that is incredibly curious and very alert. They are often easy to train and many can be taught to do tricks. They respond to the emotion that they receive from their owners. This means if a palomino is given love and affection, then it will offer that in return. If a palomino feels like it is being hurt in some way, then there’s a good chance that the horse will attempt to bite. They are known for their speed, endurance and how easily they move and handle.

Palominos are beautiful golden-colored horses with light colored manes and tails! And it sounds like if they are taken care of very well and given love and affection they will give it back in return.

This reminds me of Proverbs 12:10 “A righteous man regards the life of his animal…” NKJV

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.