Often, the background coat color is used in combination with the word 'roan' to describe the shade of a roan horse's coat, such as bay roan or red roan. The non-white background coat may be any color, as determined by unrelated genetic factors. The unaffected color on the legs often forms a sharp, inverted 'V' above the knee and hock, not seen in other roan-like coat patterns. These interspersed white hairs are more scattered or absent on the horse's head, mane, tail, and lower legs. Horses with the roan pattern have an even mixture of white and colored hairs in the coat.
