foal born, but what colour may it go?

[polyphonic]

The FoalI am interested in has been born black, his dam is bay and his sire Liver chestnut, will his colour turn or will he remain black, after speaking to the sires owner this morn the stallion does through alot of greys, any help appreciated!!

 

[scotsmare]

No idea but my 4 yr old was jet black as a foal, stallion was liver chestnut and mare was grey, horse is now greying out slowing and is currently steel grey.

 

[sallyellis]

Hi Flintus, hard to say really my filly was born a pewter colour so black in effect and is still black/v dark bay? her dam was v dark bay and sire a leopard spot? I have put piccies on for comparison first one she is a couple of days old and second one a yearling.

Hope this helps

 

[mis_max]

there are laws of genetics that determine the possible range of colours but I don't know them myself and I think to be absolutely sure you have to have had the mare and stallion tested to see if they carry recessive colour genes for a particular colour.

We put a grey mare to a grey stallion who had never been known to give anything but grey or chestnut and we got a bay! We were delighted thoigh he was a stunner.

Do a search on foal colour calculator and you will get some american sites that let you put in the 2 colours and see possible outcomes

 

[Cyberchick]

Not much help on yours but mine was born chestnut and turned grey. His dad was bay and I cant remember what his mum was.

 

[PapaFrita]

I don't think a chestnut stallion CAN throw a grey foal as chestnut is recessive and a chestnut horse would be carrying 2 chestnut alleles. I would think the mares were grey as for a grey foal to be born one of the parents has to be grey (I forget the exact term for this) and the greying gene is dominant.

 

[Lyndz]

Most foals change colour, our boy was born bay and is now grey, his adopted sister was born bright bay but turned black! However, my mare was born black and in summer is brown bay, but getting lots of grey coming through at her flank and spreading each year!

 

[martlin]

QR
Genetics aside, I have never seen a black horse that was born black - they normally are mousey or pewter colour to start with.
The jet black foals normally grey out, or at least become paler colour.

 

[sallyellis]

ah well there you go some confirmation as per my above pics my foal was born pewter and is black/v dark bay as a yearling. does the foal have any signs of greying out around the eyes/ between the legs? is it the same parents that have bred before that the youngstock has greyed out?

 

[punk]

We had a foal born dark bay - mother was very dark bay, father (Accondy) was Grey.
Stallion owner told us that, if she had 'paler' circles round her eyes, more than likely, she would end up grey.

Is now 6 and has gone through bay/bayroan and now steel grey, getting paler each year.

Has yours got the paler circles?

 

[destiny11]

As said above you will ONLY get a grey if one of the parents are grey

 

[Tnavas]

My pewter grey foal now rising three with bay mum and chestnut father went a deep liver chestnut.

 

[magicgirl]

I have bred several black ponies and all have been a paler colour at birth a bit like a seal or a mole. The foals that have looked black at birth have actually ended up dark brown.

 

[legaldancer]

As PF & Dests have said, you will only get a grey foal if one or both of the parents are grey. It isn't possible otherwise. If the grey gene is inherited it will always be expressed. A grey parent could have one or two grey genes. If a stallion had two he would always throw grey foals as he has no choice but to donate one. Think this is homygozous(Sp?!).
Liver chestnut is supposed to come from the black gene not the chestnut gene.

 

[Annagain]

[ QUOTE ]
QR
Genetics aside, I have never seen a black horse that was born black - they normally are mousey or pewter colour to start with.
The jet black foals normally grey out, or at least become paler colour.

[/ QUOTE ]

My old boy was born jet black and stayed that way all his life- or until his late 20s at least when he started to hang on to his winter coat a bit and the ends got bleached by the sun and went ginger!

 

[sidesaddlelady1]

In some breeds grey (white) horses are born black. Most obviously Lippizaners but others as well. Depends on the genes

Grey is a dominant gene and thus a horse needs only one copy of the grey allele, ie heterozygous, to be grey in colour. A homozygous grey horse, one carrying two grey alleles, will always produce grey foals.

Last year a theory was reported that seemed to show that white horses, such as Desert Orchid or the Lone Ranger’s Silver, are actually mutants whose defective DNA carries a gene that accelerates ageing and rapidly turns their coats grey. Horses with this gene are born white.

Getting off the technical bit, a friend's grey Connemara cross was actually a dun when she bought him as a yearling. He gradually whitened through dappled grey and is now almost completely white.

NB I know the term "white" does not exist in horses but I use it here to avoid confusion between horses coloured grey and horses coloured white (hope that makes sense!)

 

[brighteyes]

All things aside, what colour do you WANT it to be

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
The FoalI am interested in has been born black, his dam is bay and his sire Liver chestnut, will his colour turn or will he remain black, after speaking to the sires owner this morn the stallion does through alot of greys, any help appreciated!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Your foal CANNOT be grey unless one of his parents is grey - that is FACT! The only way he COULD be grey is if one parent is VERY young and hasn't greyed out yet (highly unlikely!)

The stallion owner is misguided if he/she things the stallion has ANY influence on the number of grey foals. If the mare is grey, there is a 50% chance foal will be grey (unless mare is homozygous for grey when it becomes 100% grey foals from that mare.

Foals that are going to be black don't usually look VERY black at birth - chances are he will be dark brown or bay.

 

[Tnavas]

This years foal was a real shock - GINGA!! Mum bay, dad Black

 

[punk]

sidesaddlelady - we have a dun connemara who was obviously born grey, as that is what is on his passport!! Apparently it is very rare for it to happen that way round, but not unheard of. Nearly got turned away from a 3-day event because vet thought I had the wrong passport.

Luckily it was stamped 'Parentage Tested' by the CPS

 

[xena_wales]

[ QUOTE ]
we have a dun connemara who was obviously born grey, as that is what is on his passport!! Apparently it is very rare for it to happen that way round, but not unheard of.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's just not genetically possible for a horse to be born proper grey then revert. It may well have been a mousey sort of colour as a baby, but a proper grey (carrying the grey gene) won't do it that way round.