| Cacadoress | 11 Oct 2025 6:02 a.m. PST |
Anyone got any tips for painting horses? Of course, the best way to get an idea what they look like is to go out and find some. It's natural to want to paint variations on our cavalry – white flecks on their noses, white socks or that wonderful colouring when horses with white uppers have darker lower parts and white spots in the transition. Or the fact most horses have much darker hair and shins, although their hooves often remain lighter. This is a useful description:
"Bay horses have a brown body with black points (mane, tail, and lower legs), while chestnuts and sorrels have a brown or reddish body, mane, and tail. Seal brown is a specific dark brown with lighter areas around the eyes and muzzle". But:
Colonels do like a nice turn-out and if they can get their troops fielding the same colour horses, they will. Which necessarily means less variations, less flecks than you see in a typical stable or horse race nowadays. Americans probably realise that piebald horses are far less common in the Old World where they are generally looked down upon by cavalrymen, being associated with gypsies and the poor. Well-bred horses are a symbol of wealth; a sign of good breeding being a single coat-colour. So, another thing I found out is that despite the artistic licence afforded modern uniform illustrators, the more wealthy a regiment, the more likely they are to have single-colour horses without white flecks or socks. That's why the best sources we have for the colour of horses is contemporary battle-paintings, as these paintings immediately had to pass the scrutiny of participants. Single-colour horses are especially deriguour in Spain, where breeding standard have all but bred variations out of the stud population. For French horses, I found this:
Light Cavalry (e.g., Hussars): Often brown.
Heavy Cavalry: Often black.
Special Units (e.g., trumpeters): Often white or grey to stand out.
Officers: Used privately purchased horses, which varied in color. Officers in elite guard regiments might use black or white horses. |
| 14Bore | 11 Oct 2025 6:18 a.m. PST |
For many years I find pictures of horses and try and copy their colors. Many of my generals do have quite colorful horses, it's my army so who cares? |
| cavcrazy | 11 Oct 2025 7:12 a.m. PST |
I use the Foundry triads for painting my horses, they work great. |
79thPA  | 11 Oct 2025 7:52 a.m. PST |
My tip for painting horses is go buy a can of brown spray paint. |
 Herkybird | 11 Oct 2025 7:56 a.m. PST |
I still use the old system:
Mostly various browns with the odd white/grey and black.
Almost all have some facial white colouring – even if just a forehead spot.
A quarter have black fetlocks, mains, tails and a thin stripe down their backs.
The rest have 1-3 fetlocks in white, very rarely none or all four. |
| The Leidang | 11 Oct 2025 8:45 a.m. PST |
Way back when I bought a horses for sale magazine at Barnes & Noble. It has hundreds of color horse pictures. I use it as my guide whenever I'm painting 28mm horses, I just pick out a picture for each horse and paint the model to match. Not sure if you can even find such a thing anymore but there might be a horse auction site. 15mm are simpler, varied browns with a few black, Grey, or white. Mane and tail darker than body and then throw a few white socks around and a few white streaks on the top of the snout or on the chest. Of course, some units in some periods had matching mounts but I would still do a little variety in shades of individual horses or in white accents. |
 The Nigerian Lead Minister | 11 Oct 2025 10:04 a.m. PST |
Paint some shade of brown. Paint mane and tail black or dark brown. Wash with another shade of brown. Done. |
| 14Bore | 11 Oct 2025 10:43 a.m. PST |
The Leidang there are a few on line picture sites , |
| Phillius | 11 Oct 2025 12:10 p.m. PST |
Youtube. Search for horse painting. Loads of help there. |
| The Leidang | 11 Oct 2025 12:53 p.m. PST |
Oh, I still have the magazine/catalog for my reference. Just mentioned sites for others if they need a reference. |
| HMS Exeter | 11 Oct 2025 2:32 p.m. PST |
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| Erzherzog Johann | 11 Oct 2025 10:29 p.m. PST |
Youtube should have a series by 'Loki" that I found really good. Apparently about 70 percent of horses are bays (chestnut but with black mane and tail), most of the rothers are various chestnuts. The rest are the remaining 10%. So I read somewhere. Cheers,
John |
| Martin Rapier | 11 Oct 2025 10:48 p.m. PST |
Various shades of brown, some white/grey, some black. Manes, tails, and a dark brown ink wash. Add blobs of white in various places. Job done. I see plenty of horses around here, and honestly, most of them are boring brown. |
| Artilleryman | 12 Oct 2025 3:27 a.m. PST |
One thing I would add to 'technique' is to use an airbrush for the main colours. I use a black undercoat and then use the airbrush to put on the main colour, Careful use will allow black legs to blend more naturally with the rest of the horse. If you paint with the rider already attached, then you may have to go back and touch up the black undercoat on the figure main, tail and equipment. Then at the end, use a dark brown wash to finish off the horse. Greys of course are a different technique but starting with an airbrush also works. |
| Cacadoress | 12 Oct 2025 10:50 a.m. PST |
Phillius
"Youtube. Search for horse painting. Loads of help there".
+ Erzherzog Johann Problem is, modern horse variations aren't representative of Napoleonic cavalry breeds, which tended to be monochromatic, especially for certain countries and up the wealth scale. |
does his research, selects his colors, and goes forth!
