In Ireland horses of these color are referred to as Palomino

The story about Eskimos having 100 words for snow has been debunked numerous times, but pastoral peoples have an enormous number of words for different sorts of livestock. Some of them are functional (ages and gender status) and many name significantly different breeds, but a lot of them just name patterns of hair color, etc. In far-off times these had ritual values, and even today a nice coloration can increase a horse's value.

The culture of horses and dogs is a sort of weird archaic survival. Horse people today are country people, very rich people, and romantic but down-to-earth women. Guys with dating problems are well-advised to learn to ride, buy themselves a few quality riding horses and hang out in the right places.

In two words: horse racing

There's potentially a lot of money in a faster racehorse. A genetically modified horse wouldn't be a Thoroughbred by definition, but better understanding of the genetics could help you decide which horses to mate naturally. I know of at least one university with a professor who specialises in horse genetics.