numpty question regarding Dun and Buckskin

amycov

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 October 2008
Messages
1,153
Location
Coventry
Visit site
Am I right in thinking that Dun and Buckskin are the same colour or is there some obvious difference that I have failed to notice?
grin.gif
 
Think it's something to do with dun having the dorsal strip & buckskin not -

i googled it & got this -

The most obvious difference between a dun and a buckskin is the presence or absence of a sharp, clear dorsal stripe. Buckskins sometimes have counter-shading that mimics a dorsal stripe, but in that case the stripe is wider, with fuzzy edges. There are many more components to the dun factor, but the dorsal is the easiest to look for and recognize.

Buckskin is often accompanied by seasonal dappling; Dun is not - a dun horse may have dapples if it carries other genetics, but the dun gene in itself is not associated with dappling


My b is proper dun
smile.gif
stripy bum, withers, legs & everything
smile.gif
smile.gif
 
It is down to genetics they are two seperate colours.
Dun is the colour and has the dorsal stripe etc
A buckskin is what you get if you cross a bay gene (doesnt have to be a bay horse just carrying a dominant bay gene) and a dilute gene.
My mare in siggie on left is cremello she is a double dilute so always throws the dilute gene.If crossed with chestnut gene she will throw palomino foals and with the bay gene she will throw buckskin foals.
Im rubbish at explaining things but hope that helps
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_coat_color_genetics

I think that most people call a horse 'dun' even though it is corrctly a buckskin. Dun tends to be the 'English' name whereas in the US they are called 'buckskin'
I have a dun mare, she is really a buckskin as the dilution gene which she is carrying is the cream gene. She has relatives who are cremello and palomino. The dun gene is totally separate. However, we call her dun as that is the accepted phrase to use for her colour even though it is not correct.
 
My spanish horse is officially a dun, but he's a bright bay dun. When he arrived from Spain last year he looked sort of orange where his coat was faded from the sun.

The distinguishing feature is the dorsal stripe, black mane and tail and black legs. He also has some striping at the top of each leg which is more obvious in the Summer.
 
It's just simply that in the UK we refer to both buckskins and duns as duns. However as others have said it is a totally seperate gene, a dun is what you will see in Highland ponies for example, a buckskin is basically the bay version of palomino
 
The dun gene is a fully dominant gene (D), which manifests itself as the same colour whether the horse carries DD or Dd, both would be dun, dd would be full colour. The cream gene (Cr) on the other hand is an incomplete dominant, the presence of the recessive full colour gene having an effect on coat colour. Hence CrCr is cremelo/perlino, Crcr is palomino/buckskin and CC is full colour.

My horse is chesnut, but shows a slight dorsal stripe in the summer. I have no reason to believe that she is anything othere than chestnut, without any other dilution genes as she shows not other signs of dilution.

http://www.horsecolor.com/dilutions/dun/index.html
 
I don't think my boy is anything other than chestnut either! Apparently it is fairly common with ID types - or so I was told anyway! I might just invent a name for his colour, like 'orange dun' - although he does get rather strong dapples too - but maybe thats just another gene?!
wink.gif
 
GAN1 - there is such a thing as a chestnut dun, or fox dun, or red dun if you prefer - they are quite popular in the US in quarter horse breeding. My yearling is one of these, he is a light apricot colour with red mane and tail, dorsal stripe with shoulder cross and leg stripes
 
Top