I’ve often thought we need to expand our color vocabulary in the livestock world. Each of the animals in this photo is red, except maybe the lone piglet which I would non-creatively call tan and white. The breeds in this photo are predominantly Red Angus for the cattle, and Duroc for the swine. Each of these breeds can vary from tan to dark red. But we cattle and swine farmers just stick to “red” when describing all of them.
Horse people are a little more creative: Chestnut, which includes Liver, Sorrel, and Blond; Bay, which includes Dark Bay, Blood Bay, and Brown; Champagne; and others I’m sure. But I’ve always considered Horse people crazy, surpassed only by Dog people.
But writing this has made me realize I’m probably missing out on a marketing opportunity by not creatively describing my animals. Some Shorthorn breeders have done this by crossing Red Angus with Shorthorn and marketing the resulting crossbred bull as a Durham Red. When I used to sell a lot of boars, I sold two crossbred lines called the Oak Grove Red and Oak Grove Blue. That worked really well for me as farmers would alternate Red and Blue boars annually, and it was easy for them to remember.
So I’ve thought myself into a circle. Livestock farmers, we need more colors for our livestock. Horse people, I still think you are crazy, but you are right on the money describing the color of your horses!
Curiousfarmer 