Cremello or Albino

Is it a Cremello, or is it an Albino?

by Lana Sibley

I told my friend that there are no albinos in horses and he looked at me like I was nuts. “I have seen them!” he said. I tried to explain that what he saw was probably a “cremello” and not an “albino”. He just shrugged. His basic stand was this: I was calling it one thing and he was calling it another, but it was still the same horse, and in his book... an albino.

So my point here is to explain why albino and cremello are not the same thing. I’ll make this brief without any genetic letter combinations to confuse and confound. I just want to explain what an albino actually is, and how it comes to exist. And then I’ll point out the differences between it and a cremello horse.

There are several different genes that cause albinism in the species in which it exists. We say it does not exist in horses because have never found a horse that meets the criteria to be considered an albino, not because it is impossible in one species while possible in another. In my understanding, even the experts don’t know why it doesn’t exist in horses. Its existence has just never been proven.

Albinism is created when an offspring receives two recessive genes from its parents... one from each parent. The parents do not exhibit any signs of albinism... a recessive gene is completely masked or “overpowered” by the dominant gene in the pair. So the parent carries the gene without being albino. The different types of albinism all affect pigmentation, and also carry with them some other genetic problems including eye problems, blood clotting problems, and hearing problems.

But the creme gene, which causes a cremello, is not a recessive gene. It is what is referred to as an “incomplete dominant” gene. This means that it shows even when there is only one copy in the gene pair (because it is dominant) but shows more strongly when the horse carries two copies! A horse that carries one creme gene is a very popular animal in today’s horse world! He is usually either palomino or buckskin. The single creme gene dilutes the chestnut or sorrel basecoat to a gold or cream color and the mane and tail to white. But it does not affect black pigment, so on a bay basecoat, it creates the same golden color, but leaves the mane, tail and points black. There are also horses who have no red hair on their bodies and the gene can be hidden there... these are called smoky blacks. Only on true blacks is the gene totally masked, because any brown or red hair will be turned to gold and give those horses a “glow”.

When the horse receives a copy of the creme gene from each parent, you have a cremello (on a chestnut basecoat) perlino (on a bay basecoat) or smoky creme (on a black basecoat). But, just as it is not a recessive gene like the albino gene, it also does not carry the associated genetic defects. There is no indication that cremellos, perlinos or smoky blacks have the eye problems, blood clotting problems, or hearing problems that come with an albino gene. This is because the creme gene is a totally different type of gene.

Albino is one thing, caused by one genetic factor. Cremello is another, caused by a completely different genetic factor. So you see that it’s not just an argument over what we call them!

This page is not intended to give the visitor a complete education in the science of equine genetics, but merely to explain the creme gene in layman's terms, and thus help dispel some of the myths associated with it. If you have questions about these horses and their coloration, Please visit the Creme Gene Facts page.

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