under the mistaken notion that homozygous cream was a form of albinism. Colors produced Cream coat colors are described by their relationship to the three "base" coat colors: chestnut, bay, and black. All horses obtain two copies of the SLC45A2 gene; one from the sire, and one from the dam. A horse may have the cream allele or the non-cream allele on each gene. Those with two non-cream alleles will not exhibit true cream traits. Horses with one cream allele and one non-cream allele, popularly called "single dilutes," exhibit specific traits: all red pigment in the coat is gold, while the black pigment is either unaffected or only subtly affected. These horses are usually palomino, buckskin, or smoky black. These horses often have light brown eyes. Horses with two copies of the cream allele also exhibit specific traits: cream-colored coats, pale blue eyes, and rosy-pink skin. These horses are usually called cremello, perlino, or smoky cream. Heterozygous creams ("single dilutes") Horses that are heterozygous creams, that is, have only one copy of the cream gene, have a lightened hair coat. The precise cream dilute coat color produced depends on the underlying base coat color. Unless also affected by other, unrelated genes, they maintain dark skin and brown eyes, though some heterozygous dilutes may be born with pink skin that darkens with age. Some have slightly lighter, amber eyes. However, the heterozygous cream dilute (CR) must not be confused with a horse carrying champagne dilution. Champagne (CH) dilutes are born with pumpkin-pink skin and blue eyes, which darken within days to amber, green or light brown, and their skin acquires a darker mottled complexion around the eyes, muzzle, and genitalia as the animal matures. It is also possible for a heterozygous cream horse to carry more than one of the other dilution alleles. (see "Cream mimics" below) In such cases, they may exhibit some characteristics more typical of a homozygous dilute. Palomino is the best known cream-based coat color, and is produced by the action of one cream allele on a chestnut coat. It is characterized by a cream or white mane and tail and yellow or gold coat. The classic golden shade akin to that of a newly minted gold coin is common, but there are other variations: the darkest shades are called sooty palominos, unusual but most often seen in Morgans, can include a mane and tail with darker