I have been thinking a lot about black horses ever since typing my article on the Friesian. I have also lately been seeing so many gorgeous black horses on my social media pages which made me begin to wonder. If I ever had a black horse, would I care about what colors I put on my horse? And what colors look best? This is why I made this list of all the best colors to put on your black beauty!
What Colors Look Best On Black Horses?
The 10 best colors to put on black horses are dark teal, baby blue, pale pink, lilac, maroon, red, white, purple, royal blue, and yellow. Not only do these colors pop on your gorgeous black horse, but they also stand out more than ever against a black coat than any other coat color out there.
Dark Teal
Dark teal, I have to admit, is my favorite color ever! This color is one of the most gorgeous colors to put on a black horse. One of the best ways to pull this color off on a black horse in English riding is to use a dressage pad made of shiny material. This look on a black horse is definitely a show stopper.
On a western horse, I think that either a fully dark teal pad or a black pad with dark teal designs looks absolutely amazing against a black coat.
This color, though it is dark, stands out well against the horse’s dark coat and can make the horse seem even darker than they already are.
Baby Blue
I love baby blue on nearly any horse, but on a black horse it stands out because of the brightness of this color. Baby blue looks so bright against that dark black coat and if this color is paired with matching boots or polo wraps and a fly bonnet, all together it looks so good as a set.
This color looks so good on both male and female horses. If you are thinking of a riding outfit to wear along with your black horse, wearing baby blue breeches or a baby blue shirt will make you pop on your black horse.
The baby blue against a black coat makes the coat look blacker and the blue look brighter. This color is definitely a go-ahead when picking a color to match a black horse.
Pale Pink
Thank you www.hooks.se/ for letting me borrow this image! To purchase their tack, equipment, and riding apparel, check out their website!
Pale pink or baby pink is another one of my favorite light or pastel colors. This color looks absolutely amazing on black horses. Like baby blue, the pale pink color makes the dark coat of the black horse look blacker than it already is.
One of the cutest sets I have ever seen for the pale pink color on a black horse was a set of pale pink polo wraps, fly bonnet, saddle pad, and even pale pink gems on the browband of the bridle. The rider of this horse was also wearing pale pink and had on pink breeches and a pink shirt.
This color pops on a black horse and because of that, I would 10/10 recommend you try this color on your black horse.
Lilac
Lilac, or pale purple used to be my top pick for colors to match with black horses, that was until I fell in love with the dark teal color.
I first saw the lilac color against a black horse’s coat in a horse book that I used to read when I was little. I truly think that lilac looks the best on black horses over any other coat color out there.
The contrast between the dark black color of the horse and the bright pale purple color of the tack is really what makes this color look so good in a black horse.
Maroon
Like dark teal, maroon is another one of those dark colors that just works so well against a black coat. Like with the dark teal color, I recommend using a shiny maroon dressage saddle pad if you ride English. If you ride western, I recommend using a fully maroon pad or a black or white pad with maroon detailing.
Because this color is being used on such a dark horse, it looks so much better against a dark coat than it does against a lighter or red-toned coat, I think this because the dark backdrop this color has on a black horse makes this color stand out. Even though it is a darker color on a dark horse, trust me, it always looks great.
Maroon makes the horse look almost regal or royal or even professional when it is wearing the color.
Red
Red looks amazing on black horses. I remember riding with one of my friends and she would wear a bright red shirt when riding her black Thoroughbred gelding. The red looked so so good against his black coat! Sometimes she would even put a red saddle pad on him as well and that color could never look better on a horse of any other color.
Red clashes too much with bay and chestnut, and gray horses look better in cooler-toned colors. I must say that this color looks best against black than it does against any other coat color a horse might have.
Like many of the other colors, red has a nice contrast with the horse’s coat and makes its coat look darker than it already is.
White
White is one of the most common colors to see in horse tack and saddle pads. This is because that color looks good on really any horse that you put it on.
The reason I put white on the list of the 10 best colors to match black is the fact that the contrast against the black coat and the white tack works so well.
Whenever I see a black dressage horse wearing white leg wraps and a white saddle pad, I can’t help but think about how good that color looks on the black horse.
The white makes the horse look professional and something about it on a black horse makes the horse look that much better! If you are struggling to find any of the other colors I mentioned to match with your black horse, this color is by far one of the easiest to find.
Purple
Purple looks really good on black horses, whether it is the pale lilac color I mentioned earlier, or if it’s a darker richer or royal tone.
Purple is a color that symbolizes royalty. When a black horse wears this color, it looks exactly that, royal. Purple looks the best on black horses than it does on almost any other colored horse. This is because the purple color seems to clash too much with the redder tones of other coat colors.
I think that the best shades of purple to put on these horses are either the light lilac color that I mentioned earlier or the darker richer colors of royalty.
Royal Blue
Royal blue is already a really bright color. This color is one of those that looks good on nearly any coat color. Not only does this color already pop, but it stands out even more against the dark backdrop of a black horse.
This color stands out so much on a black horse that it looks smart and flashy no matter what discipline you ride in. For western, I would recommend that you wear royal blue clothes, put royal blue wraps on your horse’s legs, and put a royal blue pad on your horse. This stands out so well against that black coat, that you might ever want to switch from this color.
For English riding, putting on a royal blue fly bonnet paired with a royal blue saddle pad and polo wraps will make your horse look better than any other horse out wherever you are riding.
Yellow
In my honest opinion, I would say that no other horse can pull off yellow better than a black horse can. Not only does this color stand out, but it also is a lot different than the colors you would normally see being used on a horse. Yellow on a black horse is definitely an eye-catcher for sure.
Not only does this color look flashy, but it also is bright enough to where it would be easily visible if you were ever riding on a darker road, at dusk, or even in the dark. Most other colors wouldn’t stand out as well as yellow does making it a good choice for visible wear for those darker, later rides.