Filly changing colour

J

JANANI

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 October 2007
Messages
477
Visit site
When my filly was born she was bay and then turned to her sires and dams colour of dark brown. Her summer coat is now comming through and she is turning grey.

I am so dissapointed there was me thinking I was going to have the shiniest coat in competitions with her as well. My aunt will be thrilled as she hates the way my horse gets a quick body brush and off we go and she has to scrub her for hours. Looks like I will be scrubbing for hours in the future too.

Serves me right for being so smug.
smile.gif
 
Grey is a dominant colour, so if mum or dad is grey, it stands a strong chance (50-100%) that baby will go grey too.

Just think how pretty she will be with dapples though!
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
When my filly was born she was bay and then turned to her sires and dams colour of dark brown. Her summer coat is now comming through and she is turning grey.

I am so dissapointed there was me thinking I was going to have the shiniest coat in competitions with her as well. My aunt will be thrilled as she hates the way my horse gets a quick body brush and off we go and she has to scrub her for hours. Looks like I will be scrubbing for hours in the future too.

Serves me right for being so smug.
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

If neither parent is grey, then it is impossible for her to be a grey - are you sure? Although grey IS dominant it must be passed directly from one or both parents, i.e., one of the parents has to be grey.
 
Both parents are definately dark brown and DNA tested and filly is definately turning grey. The sire has thrown out a few greys although with grey mares. I don't know where the grey has come from maybe it is a throw back as there is connemara in my mare as they tend to be grey.

Just shows you can't predict colour I always thought she would be dark glossy brown.
 
If both horses are definately brown, there is absolutely no way she can be a grey, perhaps she is 'roaning' out. Foals do change coat colours after their foal coat and I have seen them change as yearling too. The other thing to remember is that the grey gene cannot 'throw back' as it is not actually a colour but a 'fading' gene.

The grey gene is not the same as most colour genes in that it cannot be passed on unless one or both of the parent are grey. Each parent has two colour genes and each of them pass one gene onto the offspring, for instance

Grey Mare with 2 x grey genes (This mare may well have been born bay or chestnut but due to being a double grey she has 'faded')
Bay Stallion with 2 x bay genes

The stallion will pass on a bay gene and the mare will pass on a grey gene. as grey is dominant, the foal will probably be born bay but will turn grey.


Grey Mare with 1 x grey gene and 1 x Bay gene (This mare was def born bay but again, due to the grey gene she has 'faded')
Bay Stallion with 2 x bay gene

In this instance, the mare could pass on a bay gene and this, along with the bay gene from the stallion, would mean that the foal would probably be born and stay bay. It has 2 bay genes and will always pass on a bay gene. However, this mare could also pass on one grey gene, in which case the offspring would be 1 x grey and 1 x bay and would 'fade' to grey in time.

If the foal has beige legs, it generally means it will stay bay, conversely, if they are black, the foal is more likely to 'grey out'.

Grey Mare - 1 x bay gene and 1 x grey gene
Grey Stallion - 1 x bay gene and 1 x grey gene

This combination is interesting, because they could, and have, produced non greying bays as both have passed on their bay genes. A non greying foal from these parents would be a double bay, and will always pass on a bay gene to it's offspring. These two could also pass on their grey genes, or one could pass on grey and one bay. The thing to remember is, if the grey gene is present, either singly or doubly the coat will ALWAYS fade to grey, therefore, one of the parents HAS to be grey.

Still with me?
smile.gif
Cookies if you are
smile.gif


Am sorry if I have gone on a little, but am just trying to explain that your filly cannot be turning grey, she could, however be flecking or roaning, which is a totally different set of genes!
grin.gif
 
and.... given that bay is a dominant modifier for black and a bay horse can carry one gene for bay (on a different locale than the grey gene), your heterozygous grey parents could also produce chestnut or black offspring despite being apparently bay

e
 
[ QUOTE ]
and.... given that bay is a dominant modifier for black and a bay horse can carry one gene for bay (on a different locale than the grey gene), your heterozygous grey parents could also produce chestnut or black offspring despite being apparently bay

e

[/ QUOTE ]

Also true, but was trying to explain why this particular filly could not possibly be grey without getting too complicated
grin.gif
 
My 5 yo is brown and has gradually acquired masses of white hairs scattered throughout with a few stray ones in her mane and tail.

She was registered as a foal as black and she's by a black tb out of a bay id.

It maybe shouldn't have happened, but it certainly has!
crazy.gif
 
Hate to tell you. Both parents are dark brown although mare has gone slightly grey around the face but that is due to age (she's 17). And my yearling is turning grey as there is grey flecks through her body, legs and face and there is more appearing each day as her summer coat comming through.
 
pic would be good - she's either roaning out, OR one of the parents isn't one of the parents, so to speak...

have you got pics of all 3?

e
 
I have picks on my phone and I can't get them on the computer. Her parents are definately right as they are DNA tested and you can see her sire in her. Might be going Roan although there is quite a bit of grey and she is getting greyer. She had biege legs when she was born.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My 5 yo is brown and has gradually acquired masses of white hairs scattered throughout with a few stray ones in her mane and tail.

She was registered as a foal as black and she's by a black tb out of a bay id.

It maybe shouldn't have happened, but it certainly has!
crazy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

She will be roaning out rather than going grey
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have picks on my phone and I can't get them on the computer. Her parents are definately right as they are DNA tested and you can see her sire in her. Might be going Roan although there is quite a bit of grey and she is getting greyer. She had biege legs when she was born.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would bet my life that she is roaning out - especially with the beige legs at birth - a friend of mine had a blue roan that you would have sworn was a grey she was so light. Be happy - I have 4 greys - you have had a narrow escape
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top