I have always been intrigued by horses that don’t fit neatly into the category of roan as described by the American Quarter Horse Association, The Jockey Club, or the Arabian Horse Registry of America. Often these horses are not related to roan horses, yet their coats are mixed with white hairs typically around the barrel, at the flanks, and/or at the base of the tail. Sometimes, as in the case of the legendary running champion Go Man Go (photo), they are registered as roans. Most often, as in the case of all-time leading cutting sire High Brow Cat, they are registered as a solid color horse.

“Roaning” is a common term for this coat pattern, although The Lyons Press Horseman’s Dictionary refers to it as “rabicano,” and defines it as “a coat color in which a few, scattered white hairs appear amid a darker-colored background, usually on the hindquarters and dock.”

Roan, as defined by AQHA, is a “more or less uniform mixture of white with (red, black or bay base color) hairs over a large portion of the body, but usually darker on the head and lower legs…”

The difference between rabicano and true roan is that in the true roan the color is evenly distributed over the entire body, often with the exception of the head and lower legs, while rabicano roaning varies in intensity, sometimes spreads with age, and is usually limited to barrel and hindquarters. Rabicanos also often have “skunk or coon” tails, while true roans do not.

*****Read the rest of the article here.*****