may interact; they may suppress, enhance, obscure or cancel out various tell-tale clues to the genetic identity of a coat color. Coat colors involving multiple genes often have an unexpected appearance and unique terminology. This type of genetic interaction is called epistasis. Horses with both the champagne gene and the cream gene are the most common combination. The cream gene is responsible for the palomino, buckskin and cremello coat colors, and is a dose-dependent or incomplete dominant, meaning that a horse with only one copy is visibly different from a horse with two copies of the gene. A single copy of the cream gene dilutes red pigment in the coat to gold or yellow, and has a slight effect on the skin and eye color. The black pigment is lightened little, if at all. Two copies of the cream gene dilute both red and black pigments in the hair to cream or ivory, dilute the skin to a rosy-pink and the eyes to pale blue. The cream gene and champagne gene have an additive or enhancing interaction. Horses with the champagne gene and a single cream gene typically have lighter yellowish or blue eyes and paler, more faintly freckled skin. Gold cream or Ivory champagne refers to an otherwise-chestnut coat affected by the champagne gene and a single copy of the cream gene. The mane, tail, and coat of gold creams are typically ivory and difficult to distinguish from cremello, other than by the skin and eyes. Amber cream, similarly, is an otherwise-bay coat affected by the champagne gene and a single copy of the cream gene. The mane and tail of a typical amber cream are a warm yellowish-brown and are often frosted. The legs may also be a light chocolate brown, but need not be. The body coat is a shade of ivory, usually darker than a gold cream. Their points are substantially darker than those of a perlino, and they have champagne skin and eye traits. Sable cream is a seal brown coat affected by champagne and a single copy of the cream gene. Sable creams may more closely resemble amber cream or classic cream. Most are several shades darker, with a cooler hue, than amber creams. Classic cream is a black coat affected by champagne and a single copy of the cream gene. Classic cream coats should resemble classic champagne shades, being only slightly lightened by