I own a chestnut gelding named Cisco, and I love to put all kinds of cute colors on him that I think match his coat color. Seeing I have already written a few articles in this style where I discuss the best colors to put on different horses, I was surprised that I hadn’t written one for the chestnut coat color even though I have a chestnut of my own.
In this article, I will discuss 10 of my favorite colors to put on my chestnut horse, and why I think they look so good on these horses.
Royal Blue
This color is by far one of my favorite colors to put on my chestnut. The reason I love it on him so much is for these reasons:
- The blue pops against his red coat
- His read coat pops against the blue color
- It is a bright fun color
- Blue things are easy to find
I think it’s so cute to have my horse Cisco tacked up in all blue. He has a blue halter, lead rope, saddle pad and, polo wraps so whenever we ride in blue, he’s all matchy matchy!
White
White looks great and very professional on a chestnut horse. Because many of the saddle pads and polo wraps used in English riding are white, chestnut horses always look great when wearing this color.
The reasons I love putting white tack on my horse is because:
- The white makes his coat look like it’s a super deep and rich red color
- The dark look of his coat makes the white look clean and bright
- White tack is super easy to find
Cisco will sometimes wear a white saddle pad and white polo wraps for our rides. I think he looks like a little show pony when he gets all dressed up in white which I love.
Baby Blue
I recently bought a baby blue saddle pad for one of my friends as a graduation gift. She uses the pad on her chestnut Thoroughbred mare named Freya. The light blue color of the pad makes Freya’s coat blaze. The red of the horse’s coat and the blue of the saddle pad makes for great color contrast.
The reasons baby blue works so well against the chestnut coat color include:
- The baby blue contrasts with the redness of the horse’s coat making the red stand out and pop
- This color is absolutely adorable
- Not many other riders use this color in their tack
Freya absolutely rocks this color and it looks so good on her every time she is ridden in it.
I 100% recommend this color to make both your tack and your horse pop next time you are riding.
Black
Though this might seem like a sort of bland or boring color to use, this is not the case at all. The dark black color of your tack makes your red horse look even brighter because of the color contrast between the horse’s coat color and the tack you are using.
I recommend black tack for these reasons:
- It is easy to find tack in this color
- It is hard to see dirt and stains on black
- It makes your horse’s chestnut coat look brighter and stand out more
One of my favorite saddle pads that I used on my chestnut Cisco is a black pad.
Hunter Green
Green is not a commonly seen color when it comes to tack. This is one of the reasons why I like it so much.
This green, hunter green, is a deeper and darker green color. I actually used this color to decorate my lesson horse for a Christmas Party that I did with my students. The red of his coat and the green of his tack went together super well!
The reasons I recommend this color for tack include:
- Not many people use this color in their tack so you are bound to stand out
- Stains from manure and dirt are hard to see on a hunter green pad
- The green contrasts nicely with the horse’s coat making their coat stand out
Whether it is just for everyday tack or for a holiday event, using green on your chestnut really is a good choice. Not only does this color look nice on your horse, but it also doesn’t dirty easily and you and your horse will stand out with your unique color choices.
Grey
Grey is a nice color to use for riding when you want a nice simple color to ride in that isn’t going to dirty very easily. I have several grey saddle pads and use them all the time.
The reasons I love my grey pads include:
- They don’t dirty as easily as my white pads
- Tack is pretty easy to find in this color
- Depending on the shade of grey, your horse’s coat will either pop with color or look darker and richer
Grey is a go-to pad for me because you can put it on any colored horse and it will look great no matter what
Navy Blue
Navy blue is a nice color to put on chestnuts as it has the same effects that both black and royal blue have on their coat, but combined into one color.
Because red is basically the opposite of blue, the blue tack makes the chestnut horse’s coat stand out. Not only this, but the dark color of the pad makes stains and marks hard to see.
I like to use this pad for many of my lessons because it doesn’t dirty very easily so it can be used by my students without my needing to worry about it getting stained and messed up.
Yellow
Yellow is a fun color to used on any horse because of these reasons:
- Not many people use yellow tack
- It is a bright, fun, and happy color
- Though it is a similar color to the chestnut’s orange coat, it isn’t so close to where they blend in to each other or clash
I really would like yellow tack for my horses. I think that yellow is such a fun color to ride in even if its only because of its uniqueness and brightness.
Turquoise
This is another super fun color to try on your chestnut horse. This light blue has the same effects on the horse’s appearance that baby blue has.
I love the turquoise color on chestnuts for these reasons:
- It makes the chestnut coat pop
- It stands out against the red chestnut coat
- Not many people ride in this color
Dark Teal
Dark teal is by far one of my favorite colors. This color has the same visual effects on the horse’s appearance as hunter green does.
The main reasons I think this color looks GREAT on chestnut horses include:
- The fact that you will stand out from the crowd because of the unique colored tack your horse is using
- This color doesn’t stain easily so it still looks great after years of use
- The contrast against the horse’s coat makes for a great combination
I hope this post helps you to find the next best color for your chestnut horse’s tack collection!