Sooty (or Smutty)

Sooty is a modifier that is found in many breeds. It acts on both red and black based horses by darkening the color or certain areas of the horse. It varies in extent from minimal to extensive and has a many different expressions. Sooty can cause dapples, it can cause individual black hairs, it can cause a darker shade along the topline and it can also darken the animal in a uniform manner.

Sooty is most concentrated along the top of the horse, like a bucket of ash was poured from head to tail. Many times Sooty expresses itself as a dark line, that varies in width, down the back of the horse. This is often called Countershading and is commonly mistaken for a dorsal stripe associated with Dun. Other times Sooty may be expressed by a dark shadow flowing onto the sides of the neck, over the shoulders and hips. The parts of the animal that are the least effected by Sooty are the areas underneath and soft parts, the flanks, behind the elbows, the buttock, the muzzle, around the eyes, along the belly and between the front and hind legs.

Some horses are very sooty, so much so that the true color can be mistaken for something else or unknown entirely. Some horses are very sooty, so much so that the true color can be mistaken for something else or unknown entirely. The horse below is a Buckskin that has a very high degree of Sooty. The poor quality of the pictures fails to show the degree of the Sooty expression on this horse but the only areas not affected are along her belly, between the front and hind legs, the muzzle and around the eyes, which are a tan color normally seen with Buckskins. In contrast the color along her topline is so dark it is almost black.