What’s the obsession with the duns and buckskin

[Squeak]

My daughter's first two ponies were grey and that put me off completely. Such a nightmare to get ready for outings in the winter, plus both had melanomas. Apparently more than 80% of greys will have melanomas at some point in their lives.

I'm hearing this more and more and wonder what the documented research is for it. I've certainly known greys to have melanomas but I've also known other colours too as well.

 

[oldie48]

Any excuse to get the pics out! Especially for AE, our lovely 13.2 connie by Templebready Fear Bui, I think you would have loved her. She could turn her hoof to anything except dressage but I think that was our lack of experience as rider was 7 when we bought her as a 5 year old. She excelled at polocrosse and went to the pc champs on a number of occasions.

 

[Chiffy]

How funny to find a thread about duns/ buckskins . We bought one this weekend for my granddaughter. She wasn’t bought for her colour though but for her temperament and ability to do the job we want.

 

[GreyMane]

Have posted this before. Taken in 2010, still think it's lovely and wish I'd tried to have a chat to the owner to find out its breeding. Could it be a Highland? The ears, dorsal stripe, stripy legs look really appeals to me. Maybe it reminds me of a dun I rode who was just a lovely, sturdy, march-along girl with great self carriage, even when she was very young. She always seemed a cheerful character.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Have posted this before. Taken in 2010, still think it's lovely and wish I'd tried to have a chat to the owner to find out its breeding. Could it be a Highland? The ears, dorsal stripe, stripy legs look really appeals to me. Maybe it reminds me of a dun I rode who was just a lovely, sturdy, march-along girl with great self carriage, even when she was very young. She always seemed a cheerful character.

View attachment 81951

Defos a Highland pony.

 

[GreyMane]

Do dark points/dark hooves stand a better chance of being strong than socks / paler hooves, or is that a fallacy?

 

[Cloball]

Huge vote for murky brownish dun horses here.

The palomino is very pretty but honestly you can’t even tell what colour she is today, she’s so revolting.

I did buy her because she was pretty but probably more that her breeding makes a pretty showy horse rather than her specific colour being the selling point - but it’s just as shallow a reason to buy one as colour.

I wanted a pretty, happy little pet to have in the field and make me smile, and she does that brilliantly. It was an unexpected bonus that she’s actually lovely to ride. No regrets here!



My favourite colour is liver chestnut, and one with white trimmings sounds just perfect.

Oh no see I prefer a proper orange chestnut with trimmings and a liver chestnut with no white at all except maybe a flaxen mane ?

Do dark points/dark hooves stand a better chance of being strong than socks / paler hooves, or is that a fallacy?

I'm pretty sure that's an old wives tale as is blue eyes being weak.

 

[HashRouge]

I'm hearing this more and more and wonder what the documented research is for it. I've certainly known greys to have melanomas but I've also known other colours too as well.

I always wonder this. I mean, I'm not saying that it's wrong but I just don't see how they know? How do they know how many grey horses there are in total, for one thing?!

 

[[153312]]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080697802705

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...0x1S7ke0sSOG4vdzpt7B8A3UiYJ4Tp9TUVEsOE8NSGTi4

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Why do so few people seem to dislike greys?

do you mean very few like them or dislike them? ?. I love them, lost a wonderful horse at only 11 because of them. Will never have another-there are virtually no realistic treatment options, it’s absolutely horrible. And while everyone will tell you they’re more likely to die from something else, when you lose one because of them, you are suddenly inundated with stories of horses dying with them.

 

[Cherryblossom]

She may not shine, but she glows! And it’s a good job she’s nice to look at, because there’s every chance she’s on the journey to being a field ornament! ?

 

[pistolpete]

Nice when you can get t shirts to match!

 

[McFluff]

I love duns and buckskins. Would have bought one if I’d found one when I was looking, but the only ones I saw weren’t right for me.
I ended up with a sooty palomino who’s lovely. Shiny, dapply and perfect for blending with mud stains.
I must admit when I was looking I wouldn’t consider greys or mainly white coloured. As much as I loved my mare, three hours prep on a dark winter night for a five min dressage test made me swear never again.

 

[millikins]

I love duns and to a slightly lesser extent buckskins, especially if they're dappled. Here are my two, the one at the front is a Shetland, the one behind is whatever he is. I went to look at him because of his colour and size (potential driving) and he was so pitiful that he was coming home. I tease him about his football socks in the summer.
Isn't there an old saying that there's never a bad dun?

 

[KEK]

I love duns too, its my fave colour, followed by palomino.
When I bought my grey connie I asked the breeder about melanomas. She said she's only had them in homozygous greys. Nearly all hers are heterozygous as her stallions are dun and bay, and she hasn't had an issue. Dont know if this is true, but she showed me her 25 yo broodmare still going strong.

 

[ycbm]

I'm hearing this more and more and wonder what the documented research is for it. I've certainly known greys to have melanomas but I've also known other colours too as well.

Plenty of references to 80% of greys over 15 years old online. I've never seen a melanoma on a non grey horse, only sarcoids that sometimes look similar.
.

 

[Spotherisk]

Harley is buckskin tobiano. When I bought him in 1997 no one had heard of buckskin so he was known as dun, then someone said he was lemon and white. He changes colour with the seasons. Apart from the white he doesn’t show the dirt.

 

[ycbm]

Ah no, I hate spots, I can't stand the eyes and most of the ones I've met have had such ugly heads.

You haven't met mine, if he was solid colour he'd pass for a tb and he has a temperament to die for

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Horses for courses

The risk of melanomas and they're a pain to keep clean. I'm surprised more people aren't trying to breed out grey.

Bbecause many of us love them as we find the boring colours too common. I have been out with my buckskin mare and she got the wows and, look at that colour horse. Not a second look to the bay or chestnut on the ride.

 

[Abi90]

I love duns too, its my fave colour, followed by palomino.
When I bought my grey connie I asked the breeder about melanomas. She said she's only had them in homozygous greys. Nearly all hers are heterozygous as her stallions are dun and bay, and she hasn't had an issue. Dont know if this is true, but she showed me her 25 yo broodmare still going strong.

This is mostly correct. Homozygous greys are far more likely to get melanomas than heterozygous. The heterozygous ones lose their pigment a lot slower so melanomas develop much later/not at all (it’s far more technical than that). Breeding a grey to a grey is probably not a great idea if you want to avoid melanoma

 

[HashRouge]

This is mostly correct. Homozygous greys are far more likely to get melanomas than heterozygous. The heterozygous ones lose their pigment a lot slower so melanomas develop much later/not at all (it’s far more technical than that). Breeding a grey to a grey is probably not a great idea if you want to avoid melanoma

That is really interesting! My grey is heterozygous (she had a chestnut foal) and has lightened very slowly. In fact she's 28 and you still wouldn't describe her as white in colour, she's more silver.

 

[lannerch]

What’s not to love , I’m obsessed ? and never shows the dirt

 

[I'm Dun]

Why do so few people seem to dislike greys?

Melanomas is the biggest issue, but also the constant cleaning to get them presentable to go anywhere! I'm fundamentally lazy and the less prep things take the better.

 

[ester]

I'm reading snails comments the same as MoC is in that not many people dislike greys, but that's not how most people have responded!

Grey is usually described as a pigment disease from a genetics point of view.

 

[Squeak]

Plenty of references to 80% of greys over 15 years old online. I've never seen a melanoma on a non grey horse, only sarcoids that sometimes look similar.
.

Ah now I'm feeling ignorant. I'd thought that sarcoids and melanomas were the same thing. One bay I was thinking of was definitely a sarcoid and the other bay was a few years ago, I know it had to have it cut out/ operated rather than just liverpool cream or banding but I definitely wouldn't be confident enough to say it was a melanoma rather than a sarcoid.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

Nice when you can get t shirts to match!

Impressive - your whole outfit coordinates !

 

[[153312]]

do you mean very few like them or dislike them? ?. I love them, lost a wonderful horse at only 11 because of them. Will never have another-there are virtually no realistic treatment options, it’s absolutely horrible. And while everyone will tell you they’re more likely to die from something else, when you lose one because of them, you are suddenly inundated with stories of horses dying with them.

AHH, I didn't see the typo. It was supposed to say like; auto correct doesn't like me that's for sure

I'm reading snails comments the same as MoC is in that not many people dislike greys, but that's not how most people have responded!

Grey is usually described as a pigment disease from a genetics point of view.

I always think of it as such. Hence why I am actually serious about liking grey spotties. Diva is very pink skinned and het grey but only very small risk of melanoma because homozygous LP (though that comes with its own issues obviously - greater risk of uveitis and csnb etc- which does put me off another fewspot/snowcap etc.

 

[LegOn]

From my point of view, as a leisure/amateur rider - who does this as a hobby basically, then doesnt every aspect of liking the horse come into the equation? Like a dark bay or shiny bay makes my heart skip a beat as they are just so beautiful but the same doesnt happen for me when I see a grey - so surely as long as the horse does everything else I want it do, I can be picky about the colour aswell, well because I like looking at it!

I never get the argument that they could be the most perfect horse for you or you are missing out if rule out a colour when searching, well maybe I am but I will never know because I would never go see a grey horse if/when I was looking!

If someone wants a dun, just because they are pretty - I see nothing wrong with that! I am with my husband because he is a wonderful person, but he is also hot! LOL!

 

[[153312]]

Oh god I sound like a doting mother gushing about their favourite child ?

Shut up snail ?

I'm disturbed by how many people have liked this?? am I that annoying

 

[Gloi]

My mud coloured blue and bay Duns ?
And my red dun to complete the set.