What color IS that horse?
Answer: He is a Cremello.
Ok.. so exactly what is a cremello? The CPEA (Cremello & Perlino Educational Association) has researched and consulted with veterinarians and veterinary colleges to define exactly what a Cremello or Perlino horse is, and what it is not.
Definition of a Cremello/Perlino
A Cremello or Perlino horse is simply a sorrel (cremello) or bay (perlino) horse that has recieved two copies of the "creme" gene. This gene, when in it's single form, makes what would have been a sorrel horse into a palomino, and what would have been a bay horse into a buckskin. Every time a palomino to palomino, buckskin to buckskin or palomino to buckskin cross is made, you have a 25% chance of getting this rare and beautiful coloration, but there's more! Aside from being extremely rare, this coloration makes a horse extremely valuable in the breeding shed. Because a Cremello or Perlino horse has two copies of the "creme" gene, making them homozygous, they can never produce a bay or sorrel foal no matter what they are bred to. Most foals that result from breedings with a Cremello or Perlino will be Palominos or Buckskins. A small precentage of black and gray foals can also be produced as these colors hide the palomino and buckskin coloration.
What a Cremello/Perlino horse is NOT:
Cremello and
Perlino horses are NOT albinos.
Science has not been able to find any albinos or even albino genes in
the 
equine
world. Besides which, even though they can have very light colored
(almost white) hair, and have pink looking skin, and blue eyes,
horses of this coloration do not have the health problems associated
with albinos, and their hair, skin and eyes DO contain pigment. The
only TRUE white hair and pink skin will be where they have white
markings if any. Graphically illustrated to the left, there IS a
different between the Cremello/perlino pink and pigment free pink.
This SOLID COLORATION has markings like any other color- they can have stars and stripes, socks, and even dorsal stripes if they also happen to carry the dun factor. These horses even have pigment in their eyes. They are nothing like a "glass eye" seen in horses with paint characteristics.
This brings up the second myth about this coloration. As illustrated above, this coloration is different than an "all white" paint. Because of that, understanding that these horses are NOT more prone to sunburn and skin cancers is not hard to do. The rules that apply to bald faced white horses and paints simply do not apply to the Cremello/Perlino horse. To address the issue of cancers more in depth, much research has been done on the subject of skin cancers in horses. The studies show that Appaloosas, Draft Breeds, and Gray horses of any breed are the highest at risk for carcinomas and melanomas. In contrast, no mention was ever made about Cremello or Perlino horses in any study or literature the CPEA has ever been able to find about equine cancers.
Cremello/Perlino horses are NOT Lethal whites, and their coloration does not make them more prone to produce lethal whites either. Lethal whites are caused by one gene, LWO, which can produce the Overo color pattern, and is NOT connected to the "creme" gene. The only way a Cremello or Perlin horse could produce a lethal white would be if it ALSO carried the LWO gene, which is possible for a horse of any coloration. Fortunately, this gene can be tested for, and lethal white foals completely avoided by breeding only to horses that are negative for LWO.
In summary of what a Cremello or Perlino is and is not, aside from standing out from the croud, and the inability to produce a sorrel or bay foal, these horses are no different from any other colored horse. The conformation, performance ability, quality (or lack thereof) found in a horse is determined by its bloodlines and training, NOT by its coloration. A good horse is NEVER a bad color!
"The Quarter Horse is a breed, and not a color breed either. But if you breed a Quarter Horse to a Quarter horse and get too much white, they say it's not a Quarter Horse. But if it's a solid color, with no class or conformation, it's still a Quarter Horse. I disagree..." ~~Hank Wiescamp 1979
The AQHA has in its books, the rule 227i (formerly rule 227j) that denies registration to horses with light or pink skin on the body, eyes of bluish cast, and white hair on the body. Because of this rule, any Cremello or Perlino offspring from two Quarter Horse parents are forced into the APHA registry as breeding stock (because the horses in question do not have high white markings, they do not qualify for the regular registry.) The CPEA is fighting to get the rule 227i removed so these horses may be registered with the AQHA where they belong. The AQHA is the last remaining breed registry where this color occurs naturally, that still denies them registration.
Last year the efforts of the CPEA were rewarded when the AQHA removed the "albino" line from rule 227j (now 227i) acknowledging there are no albinos in the equine. The CPEA will be at the AQHA convention again this coming March, and they need your support. If you would like to help, or would like to learn more about these colors, please visit www.doubledilute.com, or Email us. We would love to talk to you!
Lilsonofadun|4THorses|The CPEA
