dark bay/bright bay/brown?

[MontyandZoom]

I have always thought that my horses were dark bay and bright bay.......but a friend at the field says that I am wrong. Can someone please tell me what colour they are?!

Monty is dark dark brown, almost black in winter. He has a black mane and tail and legs though and his passport says dark bay. In the summer he is a chocolate brown colour and his mane and tail get highlights, but I think this is just bleaching. His nose is black but he has brown points. My friend says that he actually technically a brown horse.

Zoom is darker in winter but is a light brown colour with black mane, tail and legs and a very distinctive black dorsal stripe. My friend says that she is bay not bright bay but I don't really know the difference.

winter coat:

together

 

[ginginandtonic]

I agree with your friend.

 

[spookypony]

Huh, I'd call Monty a dark bay, too. As to Zoomy, her summer coat looks quite bright bay, and her winter coat doesn't. I don't know what that makes her! Maybe call her bright bay in the summer, and bay in the winter??

 

[karenjj]

Hi, What breed is Monty he's gorgeous?!! Mine are both classed as dark bay, they are in my siggy below, I'd say Zoom is bright bay as you say.. Although having said that now I'm not sure what a "normal" bay would be?!!

 

[MontyandZoom]

Hmmm.....seems there is divided opinion!!

Thanks Karenjj!!! I think he's gorgeous too.

He is a 28yo tb ex-eventer. We don't know his history as he's a rescue but his old owner said he was tb x id but to look at. ride etc he is at least 7/8 tb.

I think of a normal bay as any of those mahogany coloured horses you see in hunter/riding horse classes.

 

[Lucy_Nottingham]

I agree with you in general terms,

However normally in passports they say brown rather than dark bay etc..........

 

[only_me]

Monty is brown, and id say zoom is bay?

My horse is a dapple bay

but changes colour through the seasons! siggy horse

 

[Donkeymad]

Technically, bay has a reddish-brown coat colour, I also wouldn't say Zoom is bright bay, just bay,so I agree with your friend.

 

[nedzy]

My understanding is that a dark bay is dark with reddish colours underlying around muzzle and above rear legs, whereas a dark horse which is completely dark is brown.

 

[Faro]

I often ask myself the same question about Warrior, the dark horse in my signature.

He's virtually black, but with a mealy muzzle. He bleaches a bit in the summer.

I was always taught, as a kid, that a brown horse was just as I've decribed Warrior, virtually black, but with the mealy muzzle - so I tend to refer to him as brown. However, others have often referred to him as a dark bay and on his passprt he is described as "bay-brown".

I would describe your Monty the same way as Warrior.

Zoom I would just refer to as Bay.