Colour genetics help.

[martlin]

It is a bit of an idle wondering, really, but it does have its purpose, you see my OH is a farmer and is adamant what he doesn't want in our foals... It might seem pretty ridiculous to you, and it does to me, for a good horse is never the wrong colour, but as time goes by I am more and more inclined to make little concessions for the sake of a quiet life.
So, purely on colour basis, as the pedigree usefulness etc is established and we have no argument over that, I need your help.
I have a grey mare, she is by a bay stallion out of a grey mare, she has to date produced 2 foals, one greyed out from black, the other is 1 day old and will very obviously be grey but at the moment is sort of bay-ish.
1st foal was by a bay stallion, second is by a grey.
If I was to put her to another bay stallion, what sort of colour options am I faced with?

Sorry for the rambling and thanks for any help

 

[Kacey88]

I'm no expert, but your mare is heterozygous for grey so her offspring will always have a 50% chance of being grey. Is this what you want to know? Do you know what colour she was before she greyed out?

 

[martlin]

I'm no expert, but your mare is heterozygous for grey so her offspring will always have a 50% chance of being grey. Is this what you want to know? Do you know what colour she was before she greyed out?

She was as far as I know dark brown/chestnutty before she greyed out. I know the 50% chance of grey, it's the other 50% I'm confuddled about

ETS: she couldn't have been chestnut I think, because she had black legs, am I right? I bought her at 4 years old and she was darkish grey with black legs, she's 19 and fleabitten now.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

She was as far as I know dark brown/chestnutty before she greyed out. I know the 50% chance of grey, it's the other 50% I'm confuddled about

ETS: she couldn't have been chestnut I think, because she had black legs, am I right? I bought her at 4 years old and she was darkish grey with black legs, she's 19 and fleabitten now.

It doesn't always work that way.

This horse was born chestnut.

 

[martlin]

It doesn't always work that way.

This horse was born chestnut.

Damn!
I'm dreading to ask the question, lol, but how does it work?
she's fleabitten now and her ''spots'' are distinctly ginger.

Ets: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/mikronezja - that's the pedigree, as you can see, for 4 generations it's greys and bays, plus a black, 5th generation is full of gingers, though.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Have some fun with this. If you skip to the end, you can press the buttons (only do one at a time to start with) and see how the coat colour changes.

http://www.jenniferhoffman.net/horse/index.html

 

[GinnieRedwings]

Chestnut is a recessive gene. Your mare may carry it, even if she was born bay or black, but even if she doesn't pass on her grey gene, you can only have a chestnut foal if both parents pass on a red gene... which a bay stallion may or may not carry? Clear as mud? If it's such an issue, I would either find a suitable homozygous black stallion (doesn't necessarily mean it's black, just that it doesn't carry the red gene) or have your mare tested to figure out if she carries the red gene (costs under £20)

 

[GinnieRedwings]

Ooops posted too quickly... Animal Genetics does a test. Cheap and quick. If she doesn't carry the red gene, she can never produce a chestnut even put to the fireiest gingerest stallion possible
Of course you still have 50% chance it won't be an issue as the foal may grey out

 

[martlin]

Thanks, GinnieRedwings I think I'll just give in to the whims and wishes of him-outdoors and hope for the best, lol.

 

[Kacey88]

Have some fun with this. If you skip to the end, you can press the buttons (only do one at a time to start with) and see how the coat colour changes.

http://www.jenniferhoffman.net/horse/index.html

This is great, thanks Faracat!