Finding good activities for kids when it rains is a struggle. My three are always bouncing off the walls by noon. So we put together these printable horse coloring pages to buy myself a few minutes of quiet.
There is something about drawing farm animals that just works for toddlers and older kids alike. These horse coloring sheets usually keep my oldest occupied until the coffee actually kicks in.
We made sure to include lots of little details in the backgrounds like fences and mountains. Or rather we tried to strike a balance between too simple and overly complicated.
Sometimes you just need a quick activity that doesn’t require setting up paints and drop cloths. Grab some crayons and let them go wild.
Featured Horse Coloring Pages
Browse Different Farm Animals
Horse Coloring Pages Highlights
Foal Galloping at Sunset
This one shows a little foal running in tight circles around its mother who is resting on the ground. The sun is huge in the background behind the fence.
This is one of my favorite horse printable coloring pages because of the energy. It reminds me of my youngest right before bedtime. The sky leaves a lot of room for warm oranges and pinks.
Foal and the Crow
Here we have a curious young horse looking down at a crow pecking the ground. There is a nice big tree and some fluffy grass around them.
Getting kids to color the crow anything but flat black is a challenge. I usually tell them to add a little dark blue or purple for feathers. These free horse coloring pages are great for teaching kids about nature.
Sleeping Foal in Buttercups
This little guy is totally passed out in a field of flowers. The sun is shining high up in the sky with a few clouds. It is such a peaceful scene.
When my kids want coloring pages of a horse they usually pick this sleeping one. Maybe it makes them sleepy too.
Nursing Foal and Grazing Mother
The foal is nursing here while the mother just quietly eats grass. You can see her tail wagging slightly in the drawing.
It is a very sweet moment between the two animals. My middle child always colors the trees in the background a bright autumn orange. Finding horses coloring sheets like this really sparks their questions about farm life.
Heavy Horse Pulling Logs
This is a massive draft horse pulling a sled of logs on a muddy winter track. The pine trees look cold and bare. It is definitely a change of pace from the spring meadows.
We wanted to show different types of work these animals do. This is a great choice if you need printable horse coloring pages for a winter theme.
Herd Wading Through the River
You can see a whole herd walking through a wide shallow river with mountains way back there. The little foals are safely tucked right in the middle of the line.
There is a lot going on here with the water splashing and the rocks. Every time we print out these horses coloring sheets the kids spend around 35 minutes just on the water. It is honestly their favorite part to color.
Drinking from the River
Three horses have their heads down drinking from the river in the evening light. The clouds look soft and the water has little ripples.
Sometimes getting the reflections right in the water is tricky. I think the kids just like scribbling blue all over the bottom half anyway. Looking for calm coloring pages of a horse usually leads us right to this relaxing river scene.
Running to the Water Trough
A small group of horses is galloping straight toward a round water trough. You can see a classic wooden fence in the background.
They look like they are in a big hurry for feeding time. Using a horse printable coloring pages layout like this helps kids practice drawing dust kicking up. It gets pretty messy but they have fun.
Tips for Coloring Horse Color Pages
1. Blending Dirt and Mud
That muddy winter track in the logging picture needs texture. If they just use flat brown it looks like… well a chocolate bar melted on the page. Does this matter for a toddler? Probably not.
But older kids love the realism. Try layering a really light tan down first. Then go over the ridges with a dark brown or even black crayon. It creates this tactile muddy look that actually feels like a rut in the road.
2. Coloring Shallow River Water
The river crossings are my absolute favorite scenes. Water is not just blue. It reflects the sky and the dirt underneath it.
Have them use some green and yellow near the riverbanks. Save the bright blue for the very middle where the water is deeper and moving faster.
3. Creating Realistic Horse Coats
Horses have shiny muscles that catch the light. Well most of them do anyway. Leaving a little white space on their shoulders makes them look muscular.
I used to teach my third graders to color in tiny circles instead of long aggressive lines. It makes the horse look furry instead of scratched up.
4. Painting the Sunset Sky
That big sun behind the fence is just begging for warm colors. Start with a bright yellow right in the center of the circle.
Then radiate outwards with orange and finally pink or purple at the edges. My oldest daughter figured this out on her own one afternoon. Now she does it on every single sky she colors.
5. Making the Manes Stand Out
The hair on these animals can get totally lost if they color the body the exact same shade. A dark brown body needs a black or maybe a blonde mane to stand out.
Contrast is everything when kids are learning art. It might seem advanced but they pick it up really fast. Just hand them two completely different crayons and see what happens.
6. Weathering the Wooden Fences
Fences are boring if you just color them straight brown. I tell the kids to make them look old and weathered.
Light gray marker works really well for this if you use it lightly. Add a few dark lines for the wood grain and suddenly it looks like a real farm. It is such a simple trick.
7. Layering Grassy Meadows
The field where the foal is sleeping has lots of little flowers. Coloring around them is honestly a massive headache for a five-year-old.
A good trick is to color the whole ground a very pale green first. Then go back and dot the buttercups with bright yellow. The visual noise just kind of blends together nicely.
8. Keeping Snow Looking Cold
The heavy draft horse picture has patches of snow. Leaving it totally blank white paper sometimes looks unfinished to a kid.
A tiny bit of light blue around the edges makes it look freezing cold. It is a small detail but it changes the whole vibe of the picture. Try it next time.