Smoky black

Smoky black or black carrying cream is a coat color of horses which has the same phenotype as black. Smoky black is produced by the action of a heterozygous (single copy) cream gene on an underlying black coat color. Therefore, smoky black is a member of the cream family of coat color dilutions, and found in horse populations that have other cream-based colors such as palomino, buckskin, perlino, cremello and smoky cream. All smoky blacks must have at least one parent with the cream gene, and a smoky black can only be verified through DNA testing or parentage. Smoky black has been mistaken for faded black, dark bay or brown, grullo or even liver chestnut.

A single copy of the cream gene can have a subtle effect on the colour of an otherwise black horse. However, this cannot be used to positively identify an individual horse as black or smoky black, as too much variation comes from other sources. An individual black horse may well be a lighter shade than an individual smoky black horse, even if the reverse is more common. Other factors that can influence the shade of black and smoky black horses include sun fading and nutrition.

Two copies of the cream gene on a black base coat produce a smoky cream, a cream-colored horse which cannot be visually distinguished from a perlino or cremello, but can be identified through DNA testing.