Red roan is not a breed of horse. Rather it is an increasingly-popular coloration pattern determined by the roan gene. Red roans can vary in shape and color and appear lilac, honey-colored, or pink in some light. If you combine this unique coloration with a great skill set, you’re looking at a recipe for fame. Not just fame on the track or in the ring…Hollywood fame, too.
Famous red roan horses have secured their spots in recorded equine history for almost 100 years. Red roans have unique chestnut coats due to their interesting color genetics. Metallic Cat is a current example of a famous red roan who has gained fame in the cutting ring and Hollywood.
Other famous red roans include Red Man, Happy Hancock, Zippos Mr. Good Bar, and Vital Signs Are Good. While there are other red roans with great achievements, the five discussed in this article stand out in American history for contributing to growing the show horse breeds and improving the show horse disciplines.
Metallic Cat, The Red Roan Hollywood Stud Horse
Metallic Cat first acquired fame as a cutting horse in 2009. He had already started winning top-tier competitions, and the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) in Fort Worth had named him the “Horse of the Year”. He retired after four years in the cutting ring in 2009; however, he has fathered many championship-worthy offspring.
Metallic Cat, affectionately known as “Denver”, was bought in 2017 for $14 million by keen-eyed businessman Bobby Patton. His purchase has earned him at least $87 million so far. The progeny of Metallic Cat have won more than $49 million, and Denver himself has earned over $10 million.
Metallic Cat’s fame in the cutting ring led to a crossover into Hollywood fame in late 2021. Through a fundraising auction where Patton outbid other hopeful horse owners, Metallic Cat got a cameo role in the “Yellowstone” series. After a few years of training, Metallic Cat was able to join the star cast in the increasingly-popular show.
Metallic Cat’s Pedigree
According to Metallic Cat’s website, he is the leading son of sire High Brow Cat due to his offspring earnings. Metallic Cat’s red roan dam, Chers Shadow, is from the line of the 1992 red roan stallion, Peptoboonsmal, who is worth over $26 million. The Peppy San Badger line is considered the best in the Quarter horse bloodline in the cutting horse industry.
Red Man, The Red Roan Steer Tripper
Red Man was born in 1935 and is considered one of Joe Hancock‘s greatest sons. He is known in rodeo circles for his Steer Tripping skills and has sired much terrific race and rope horses. He got his roan coloration from his dam, simply named Burnett Roan Mare, of the Burnett Ranches.
As a foal, Red Man lost his ears to freezing conditions. He earned the nickname “the Cyrano de Bergerac of horses”, after the French satirist and dramatist. Red Man sired one of the most outstanding rodeo horses, Blue Valentine, who was a blue roan.
Happy Hancock, Red Roan Horse Of The Hancock Bloodline
Happy Hancock was born in 1956 and is the great-grandson of the famous Joe Hancock. While controversial to some, the Hancock bloodline is admired for its level-headedness and powerful builds. Happy Hancock sired many famous sires, geldings, and mares thick, stout, and capable in rodeo competitions. He was a prized Quarter horse from the Haythorn Ranch.
Happy Hancock is the son of Pepper Hancock, and his dam was Betty Buster with a sorrel coat. He received his roan coloration from his father, who had, in turn, inherited his roan gene from his sire, Roan Hancock.
Zippos Mr. Good Bar, The Western Pleasure Red Roan Horse
Zippos Mr. Good Bar was born in 1984 as a red roan. He competed in the show ring and Western Pleasure, even though roan was not a preferred color for the competition. His cadence and self-carriage, amongst his other fine qualities, lead him and his offspring to win the events in which they competed repeatedly. As a result, roan coats became a sought-after color for rail horses.
Of the offspring that Zippos Mr. Good Bar has sired, 89 have been point-earners, collectively earning over $3.3 million, 67,477 points, 17 world reserve championships, and 22 world championships. Zippos Mr. Good Bar sired winners in many disciplines and excelled as a broodmare sire. He passed away in July 2016 and was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2019.
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Zippos Mr. Good Bar’s Pedigree
Zippos Mr Good Bar inherited his red roan coat from his dam, Tamara Wess 1972, who was a chestnut roan. His sire was the famous Zippo Pine Bar, with a sorrel coat. You can view his pedigree here.
Vitals Signs Are Good, The Remarkable Red Roan Dam
Vital Signs Are Good was foaled in 2000 and was given the nickname “Lucy”. She was owned by three different riders and was a celebrity show horse. Lucy scored 3,097.5 AQHA points in her show career, including 13 AQHA World Championship wins eight Reserve World Championships, and eight Superiors. Her earnings amassed to $288,581.
Of Lucy’s offspring, 18 are performing. They have amassed almost $500,000 and more than 3,500 AQHA points. Vital Signs Are Good passed away on 24 January 2017, and in 2019 she was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.
Vital Signs Are Good’s Pedigree
Vital Signs Are Good was sired by chestnut roan Zippos Mr. Good Bar, and her dam was sorrel-colored Vitalism. You can view her pedigree here.
Red Roan Horses In Literature, Film, And Music
Red roans have had stories and songs written about them, as well as movies made about them. The following are some examples.
Red Roan Stories
- Strawberry Roan, by Don Lang, is a young-adult novel released in 1946. It is about the adventures of Roscoe and his strawberry roan while they explore the world of harness racing.
Red Roan Songs
- The Strawberry Roan, by Curley Fletcher. This classic American cowboy song was initially written as a poem in 1915 and was called The Outlaw Bronco.
Red Roan Movies
- Strawberry Roan, a Western film from 1933, starring Ken Maynard.
- The Strawberry Roan. A 1948 film with singing cowboy Gene Autry who captures and tames a wild strawberry roan. The strawberry roan is played by Little Champion, who was sorrel in color.
A Brief Look At The Color Genetics Of Red Roan Horses
For a horse to have a roan coloration or phenotype, at least one of its parents needs to carry the roan gene. The roaning allele causes a horse’s coat to have short white hair evenly distributed with the base coat, which is chestnut in the case of a red roan. The head and points of a roan are usually darker in color, including a darker, inverse V that can be seen above the knees and hocks.
To calculate the chances of getting a roan, you can follow the following formulae explained by UC Davis, which has developed various equine tests, including the Full Color/Pattern Panel test:
Roan Parent (Rn/Rn) x Roan Parent (Rn/Rn or Rn/N) = 100% chance Roan Baby (Rn/Rn or Rn/N)
Roan Parent (homozygous Rn/Rn) x Normal Parent (N/N) = 100% chance Roan Baby (Rn/N)
Roan Parent (heterozygous Rn/N) x Roan Parent (Rn/N) = 75% chance Roan Baby
Roan Parent (Rn/N) x Normal Parent (N/N) = 50% chance Roan Baby
The mane and tail of a red roan may have some white hair, but they are generally close to the base color. A unique characteristic of roans is that if they are dappled, the dappling is the inverse of “normal” dappling. In other words, a red roan will have darker chestnut patches with white flecks instead of white patches surrounded by darker flecks.
Another unique and unusual characteristic is that an injury, however large or small, on the coat of a roan will heal as a solid color, without any white hair present. These solid spots marking an injury are called corn marks or corn spots.
The Different Names And Colors For Red Roans
Red roans can be called by various names other than red roans. Other popular names to describe the various shades of red roan horses include:
- Chestnut roan is the term preferred by geneticists.
- Strawberry roan. These roans usually have reddish or flaxen points. It is used to describe light sorrel or chestnut roans that appeared pinkish and is a colloquial term often used for light sorrel horses with chestnut points.
- Lilac roan is used to describe a dark chestnut roan.
- Sorrel roan.
- Honey roan.
Which Horse Breeds Carry Genetic Red Roan Coloration?
Since not all breeds carry the roaning gene, finding a red roan in some breeds with purebred lineage will be impossible. However, red roan can appear in many horse breeds, including these ten breeds, where you are more likely to see the red roan coloration. These breeds are:
1. American Quarter horses
2. Falabella horses,
3. Tennessee Walking Horses,
4. Missouri Fox Trotters,
5. Standardbred horses,
6. Haflinger horses,
7. Icelandic horses (red roaning is possible but rare),
8. Welsh ponies,
9. American Paint horses, and
10. Mustangs
Conclusion
Throughout equine history, red roan-colored horses have reared to gain recognition and fame. Metallic Cat is a present-day example of a famous red roan, but other examples include Red Man, who was famed for his steer tripping, Happy Hancock, Zippos Mr. Good Bar, the Western Pleasure champ, plus his daughter, Vital Signs Are Good, who excelled as a show horse.
