There are some breed specific colors that I do not know much about (silver dapple, metallic on the akhal-teke, etc…).
If those colors are your forte, please let us know about them.
My first thread will just cover the basic colors.
The horse’s points. Knowing where the points are is important for identifying color. The points are the mane, tail, lower legs, and ear tips.
* I have taken pictures from various selling websites. If your horse is here and you would like it removed, please send me an email.
Sorrel/Chestnut
From a genetic standpoint, these are the same color. Many references claim sorrel was the “western” term and chestnut was the “english” term. Some say a sorrel is lighter and a chestnut is darker. I don’t know if either is true as other references disagree.
A sorrel/chestnut horse has a red coat color with non-black points. The mane can be lighter (flaxen or ruan), the same (alazan), or darker (tostado) than the body color. I run across ads that frequently refer to sorrels with flaxen manes and tails as palominos.
Genetically, a sorrel/chestnut is:
ee _ _
The blanks represent the agouti or “A” gene. In a sorrel/chestnut, the ee hides what is in the agouti slot. It could be AA, Aa, or aa. Without genetic testing or having more information about the parentage and/or offspring you cannot determine the A status by appearance. Sorrels can be
ee _ _
The blanks represent the agouti or “A” gene. In a sorrel/chestnut, the ee hides what is in the agouti slot. It could be AA, Aa, or aa. Without genetic testing or having more information about the parentage and/or offspring you cannot determine the A status by appearance. Sorrels can be
eeAA, eeAa, or eeaa.
Because sorrel/chestnut is homozygous, breeding two together will always result in a sorrel/chestnut foal.
Bay
The body color of a bay horse can range from light to dark brown and can have reddish undertones. If the points are black, the horse is considered to be bay. Many brown horses and even some black horses are actually bay. Different breed registries sometimes categorize and name different shades of bay (blood bay, mahogany bay, dark bay).
Genetically a bay is:
E_ A_
A bay must have at least one E and one A. What is in the other position does not matter. The other genetic choices are Ee Aa, EE Aa, EEAA, or EeAA.
Brown
Typically, brown is lumped in with bay genetically. In a brown horse, the lower legs are brown instead of black and the mane and tail are brown. Pictures of brown horses have not been easy to find. Most are actually bay if you look at the lower legs. It could be argued that the horse in the first picture is a bay displaying the “pangare” or mealy trait.
Because sorrel/chestnut is homozygous, breeding two together will always result in a sorrel/chestnut foal.
Bay
The body color of a bay horse can range from light to dark brown and can have reddish undertones. If the points are black, the horse is considered to be bay. Many brown horses and even some black horses are actually bay. Different breed registries sometimes categorize and name different shades of bay (blood bay, mahogany bay, dark bay).
Genetically a bay is:
E_ A_
A bay must have at least one E and one A. What is in the other position does not matter. The other genetic choices are Ee Aa, EE Aa, EEAA, or EeAA.
Brown
Typically, brown is lumped in with bay genetically. In a brown horse, the lower legs are brown instead of black and the mane and tail are brown. Pictures of brown horses have not been easy to find. Most are actually bay if you look at the lower legs. It could be argued that the horse in the first picture is a bay displaying the “pangare” or mealy trait.
According to http://www.horsecolor.us/ , there is now a test for brown. However, other sites deny the existence of such as test.
Genetically, brown is (according to the above mentioned site):
E_ At_
So a brown horse can be EE AtAt, EE Ata, Ee AtAt, or Ee Ata
Black
A black horse must also have black points. They can fade in the summer or if left outside but their points will remain black. If the points are a lighter color, the horse is most likely a bay or brown.
Genetically, a black horse is:
E_ aa
There must be one E present and both agouti loci must be recessive aa. The two genetic choices for a black horse are EE aa or Ee aa. A true homozygous black horse is EE aa. They will not always produce black when bred to non homozygous black horses. To guarantee black, you would have to breed two horses with EE aa.
Genetically, brown is (according to the above mentioned site):
E_ At_
So a brown horse can be EE AtAt, EE Ata, Ee AtAt, or Ee Ata
Black
A black horse must also have black points. They can fade in the summer or if left outside but their points will remain black. If the points are a lighter color, the horse is most likely a bay or brown.
Genetically, a black horse is:
E_ aa
There must be one E present and both agouti loci must be recessive aa. The two genetic choices for a black horse are EE aa or Ee aa. A true homozygous black horse is EE aa. They will not always produce black when bred to non homozygous black horses. To guarantee black, you would have to breed two horses with EE aa.
No comments:
Post a Comment