The Highland breed can be distinguished from the other bovine breeds by their characteristic coats or rather double coats : one is a bushy undercoat made up of short hairs, covered with a coat of long hairs that can reach a length of 33 centimetres. The colours of these coats vary : they can be black, red, brindle (coat full of markings of different colours), yellow, white and dun. On occasion, a line of white fur will extend down the stomach of the highland.

The muzzle also has it's colours, varying from yellow, to black, at times white or red. On rare occasions, the snout of certain cows with red coats will be surrounded with a thin line of black hairs. This characteristic is called Bus Dubh.

It is only at 24 months that the colour of the young calf becomes definitive. During these long months we may observe all kinds of colour combinations and types of hairs, as the undercoats of the heifer and the steer thicken throughout the summer shedding, while the long hairs will get longer and thicker.