Pictures Colour questions

Chippers1

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Just looking at Buzz today and realised he's suddenly gone very flea bitten! I was wondering what the basis of flea bitten grey is and whether its usual for the flea bitten patterns to appear as they get older rather than always being there. They just seem so sudden!
Here's a photo - the top is about this time last year, the bottom was a few days ago
Screenshot_20190627-181305_Instagram.jpg

For comparison this is how he looked when I got him in march 17
Screenshot_20190627-181756_Photos.jpg

He still vaguely has dark legs...
Screenshot_20190627-182057_Gallery.jpg

Thanks for answering my musings!
 

BMWKIPP

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How old is he? My mare was born piebald, totally white grey by 6yo and now at 11yo getting more and more flea bitten
 

greygirlie

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My QH mare was steel grey at five, greyed out, and now is getting more and more flea-bitten at eighteen. First pic at 7, second at 13, third at 17. Her speckless are black.

1561659641361.png1561660062329.png1561660305484.pngACH]
 

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Chippers1

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I am loving the new spotty look, I was just surprised by how quickly they've appeared. My old pony was a proper rocking horse type dapple grey and he went straight from dappled to white with no flea bitten section!
 

PapaverFollis

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So thet can go white then fleabites can develop after? Awesome. I never knew that. Thought the fleabites were just there or not when they greyed out! Granny didn't really get any but thinking about it I think she was getting a few more as she got older. I hope Beast gets some, I love fleabites... But I'm not sure I've seen a fleabitten cob type... seems to be more thoroughbred or Arab types.
 

BMWKIPP

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I'll take you some pictures tomorrow, I thought flea bites came before whiting out, but not on this my little beast ☺️
 
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My TB is getting more and more fleabites every year ... if he gets any more spotted he is going back to Ireland! I can't stand them lol!

My Shetland got fleabites for 2 years then whited out completely. I was hoping my TB would do the same but he isn't!

P.S. I would never send him home to Ireland - I would just never bath or brush him so I didn't have to see them!
 

Annagain

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I have two greys, both 23. M is fleabitten - he seemed to go straight from dapple to fleabitten without the white stage. His passport says bay roan and he's almost a negative of what he was as a foal now. A is white. I bought him at 9 (according to his just issued passport, we suspect he may be slightly older) and he still had darkish legs but by 10/11 he was completely white and has stayed that way. Here are some photos of M as he's the more interesting one colour-wise.
1hr old
DBZVflC.jpg

2 years old
SXKL4GP.jpg

12 years old
Wh0EZSu.png

18 years old (he loook more white in this photo than he actually was, but he certainly isn't as fleabitten as at 22)
qXXaXRd.jpg

22 years old
NT3z3Gi.jpg


I must digitise the photos of him between 2 and 12 I have loads but they're all pre-digital! I only have the foal ones as his breeder sent them to us.
 

Lois Lame

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He's 11 too! Grey colouring is so interesting, I hope he doesn't go fully white too quickly 😬

If I read this correctly, you are worried that your (now) flea-bitten grey will go white, hopefully not too quickly.

That won't happen. He will stay flea-bitten grey.

After a grey gets more and more white hair through their coat over the years, some (I don't think it's all by any means) get the 'flea-bitten' markings. These markings will be the same colour as the horse was before he went grey.

Horses born black seem to grey out later than horses born a paler colour.

Also, interestingly enough, the greying gene makes a foal appear a darker colour than what he otherwise would be. For example, a black horse who does not have the grey gene is born a smoky colour, not black. A black foal is a foal who will later go grey.

ETA. I stand corrected on the flea-bites not greying out :)
 

BMWKIPP

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Sorry but you are wrong, my mare went white at 5/6yo and now is going flea bitten, she was born piebald, so her speckles should be black, but nope they are brown!
 

Lois Lame

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I have two greys... His passport says bay roan...
1hr old
DBZVflC.jpg

2 years old
SXKL4GP.jpg

12 years old
Wh0EZSu.png

18 years old (he loook more white in this photo than he actually was, but he certainly isn't as fleabitten as at 22)
qXXaXRd.jpg

22 years old
NT3z3Gi.jpg


I must digitise the photos of him between 2 and 12 I have loads but they're all pre-digital! I only have the foal ones as his breeder sent them to us.

Grey is often described incorrectly as roan when the base colour of the horse is bay.

It's possible that your horse has both the roan gene and the grey gene, but I suspect he has just the grey gene. He's lovely whatever he has.
 

Chippers1

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According to the connemara database he was born brown so the brown flea bitten spots make sense!
I dont mind if he greys out, I was just wondering about how quickly flea bitten can appear 😊
 

Mule

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Mine has gone fleabitten really fast. He was dark grey a few years back. He still has five cute dapples around his tail 😊
 

ester

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I'm pretty sure there is no evidence that colour of fleabites reflects the original base colour of the horse.

I did read something recently re. speed of greying being related to the speed of melanoma appearance.
 

DabDab

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I'm pretty sure there is no evidence that colour of fleabites reflects the original base colour of the horse.

I did read something recently re. speed of greying being related to the speed of melanoma appearance.

That's interesting about the melanomas. As in the faster they grey the greater the speed of melanoma appearance?
 

ester

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I'll see if I can find the links, it came up on one of the colour genetics group by people who know much more than me and it was the first I had seen it.
 

Meowy Catkin

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I should add that my mare has had several lumps, but on histology none were actually melanoma. I would love to know how common it is to send lumps from a grey to a lab? How many people (including vets of course) are just assuming grey horse plus lumps equals melanoma?
 

BMWKIPP

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I'm pretty sure there is no evidence that colour of fleabites reflects the original base colour of the horse.

I did read something recently re. speed of greying being related to the speed of melanoma appearance.
So far my heffalump hasn't got any or any signs of any. But I do keep a close eye
 

PapaverFollis

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I should add that my mare has had several lumps, but on histology none were actually melanoma. I would love to know how common it is to send lumps from a grey to a lab? How many people (including vets of course) are just assuming grey horse plus lumps equals melanoma?

The Beast has a pretty annoying scar because of this. It was a dermal inclusion cyst in the end. I thought it was a cyst of some kind rather than a melanoma but vet insisted on removing it. Probably for sounds statistical reasons but I wonder if it had been different if she was a bay or a chestnut.
 
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