What type of coloured is she?

[Meowy Catkin]

but if it turns out pink and green

That'll be a sunburnt maximum sabino with grass stains.

 

[Cheiro1]

Faracat - with regard to silver horses, would they be born silver?

I ride an "iron grey" but he is 10 now and is still iron grey. Is he just blinking slow on the uptake or would he be something else? He was born brown.

 

[biccie1]

That'll be a sunburnt maximum sabino with grass stains.

You've almost described my boy - often to be found with a slight yellow and brown tinge in places...

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Faracat - with regard to silver horses, would they be born silver?

I ride an "iron grey" but he is 10 now and is still iron grey. Is he just blinking slow on the uptake or would he be something else? He was born brown.

You have to remember that the foal coat is slightly different to the subsequent coats. But yes, when the foals are born they can be identified as having the silver gene (by those who understand the foal coat differences) and Silver does not develop slowly as the years pass in the ways that greys grey out. Silvers generally have a creamy-beige foal coat.

Greys do grey out at different rates. The tell tale signs of grey are the goggles that generally develop around the eyes early on in the process. The fact that he was born brown, indicates grey, as all greys are born a colour and then grey out. I would say that it's far more likely that the horse you ride is grey, unless he's a Rocky Mountain pony, Icelandic or other breed that has a lot of Silver.

You've almost described my boy - often to be found with a slight yellow and brown tinge in places...

LOL.

 

[PingPongPony]

Can i make a suggestion Faracat??? How about you make a thread ''HHO colour genetics clinic'' ??? We have a towing clinic so why not have a truely horsey one with different colours??
Its all very intersting and i'd love to learn about it and its interesting to see what different colours are like etc. I have two for you but will need to get onwers permisson to post photos first. I'm pretty sure my horse is flea bitten grey but just for confirmation, is she?

And what would this colour be?

(the horse on the left, it shows his weird stripes across his chest)

 

[JustAnotherNeddy]

When I was young I had a grey horse with a touch of grey roan, a spotty bum and black stockings. He was known as the spotty horse. I'd never heard of an Appaloosa then. What should he have been called?

Appaloosa is a Breed not a coat colour (technically! don't get your pitchforks out!) And from what you've described he was a blanket spot fader (if he actually looked like he was a grey) where the spots eventually disappeared just like an actual grey, born dark then gradually turning lighter. If not, then the only other option (without seeing a photo) would be a blanket spot with a massive amount of roaning.

Avidly awaiting the photo though!

 

[Archiepoo]

so youve got me thinking -why do horses change colour as they age? their genetics dont change so what makes an dappled iron grey turn into a fleabitten as he ages?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

You are correct, the first horse is a fleabitten grey. You might get a hint as to the base colour from the colour of the fleabites.

^ This fleabitten grey was born chestnut, hence the chestnut fleabites.


The second horse looks like a draught cross? I am pondering that he could be a bay roan. Does he have a mix of white and brown hairs on his body? The dark marks could actually be from old injuries. It's not uncommon in roans for the base colour to come through when the fur re-grows on the site of a healed cut/sore.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

so youve got me thinking -why do horses change colour as they age? their genetics dont change so what makes an dappled iron grey turn into a fleabitten as he ages?

Ahh but you see, grey isn't a colour, it's a lack of pigment. They aren't born grey, they go grey. Yes, you do get spots of the base colour turning up (pigmented fur) which is known as fleabitten.

Bloody shoulder markings can show how grey is a lack of pigment, as the BSM remains pigmented/fails to grey out.

Can you see how without grey, this horse would be bay? Also look at the colour of the fleabites, especially the black fleabite on the tip of the ear, where a bay horse would have black ear tips.

 

[PingPongPony]

He's had the marks from birth, i've known this horse from birth and he's had them since day 1 so definitely not injuries and yes he does have a mixture of grey/white and brown hairs everywhere, some bits have slightly more brown than others vice versa. dam is same colour and sire is a bay. his full sister is also the same colour. his full sister, you might be able to see the bay spots she has here and there, like his lines, he also has a couple of spots scattered on his body, but his lines are the most distinct solid colour markings, heres his sis:

the fleabitten, the flea bites are black/very dark grey. i know for a fact that she was born a solid steel grey, started getting dappled then greying out and getting fleabites, now at 14 she is getting more and more fleabites all the time, some fleabites are merging together into spots too.

 

[Enfys]

I could write a massive post about things that do annoy me RE colours - but it would be long and dull!

Oh go on, please, if only for me I do like these colour/pattern threads.

 

[CinnamonChristmasCookie]

Oh go on, please, if only for me I do like these colour/pattern threads.

Me too, it's fascinating!

 

[PingPongPony]

got the owners permission to post pictures now of a few that i'll be interested to what you think they are
here's the first one, dam bay, sire few spot, born just black and white spotted.

this one, unclipped looks bay, this is her clipped (you can see the unclipped colour on her legs and face)

and finally, born bay, turned purple, now greying out.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He's had the marks from birth, i've known this horse from birth and he's had them since day 1 so definitely not injuries and yes he does have a mixture of grey/white and brown hairs everywhere, some bits have slightly more brown than others vice versa. dam is same colour and sire is a bay. his full sister is also the same colour. his full sister, you might be able to see the bay spots she has here and there, like his lines, he also has a couple of spots scattered on his body, but his lines are the most distinct solid colour markings
[

Interesting. So bay roan but with areas on his chest that have failed to roan. What breed are they?

Oh go on, please, if only for me I do like these colour/pattern threads.

Me too, it's fascinating!

Well the latest thing that I read that made me go 'aaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhh' was in relation to an advert for a chestnut arab mare. You got the pleasure of paying more for her because she was 'black bred and may produce black foals.'

Of course, as a chestnut, she doesn't have any black genes and could be hiding agouti and seal brown which really would throw a spanner in your works if you really were trying to get a black foal.

 

[Cheiro1]

You have to remember that the foal coat is slightly different to the subsequent coats. But yes, when the foals are born they can be identified as having the silver gene (by those who understand the foal coat differences) and Silver does not develop slowly as the years pass in the ways that greys grey out. Silvers generally have a creamy-beige foal coat.

Greys do grey out at different rates. The tell tale signs of grey are the goggles that generally develop around the eyes early on in the process. The fact that he was born brown, indicates grey, as all greys are born a colour and then grey out. I would say that it's far more likely that the horse you ride is grey, unless he's a Rocky Mountain pony, Icelandic or other breed that has a lot of Silver.

Ah thank you No he's WBXTB so we'll go grey! lol

He is clearly just slow on the uptake.....which to be fair is fitting to his general character (and works for me....he doesn't show dirt )

 

[Meowy Catkin]

PPP - I would call the spotty a Near Leopard spot, some might prefer Semi Leopard but he's not got spots over enough of him (IE all of him) to be a Leopard spot. He looks black based and I don't think that he inherited agouti from his dam.

The clipped pony is a seal brown, not bay. Both are black based colours that are modified/diluted but they are slightly different genetically.

The last horse pictured is very interesting, especially the purple bit! Do you have any more photos of this horse?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Ah thank you No he's WBXTB so we'll go grey! lol

He is clearly just slow on the uptake.....which to be fair is fitting to his general character (and works for me....he doesn't show dirt )

That's just not fair! My grey was white by the time she was two years old!

 

[PingPongPony]

Interesting. So bay roan but with areas on his chest that have failed to roan. What breed are they?

their dam is a belgian draught and their sire is a trakehner. so they're belgian draught x trakehner let me find some more pics of the purple pony

 

[Cheiro1]

That's just not fair! My grey was white by the time she was two years old!

Haha sorry! If its any consolation I frequently get told once a grey goes white it normally behaves? (Its normally meant as an insult seeing as he has got to 10 and is still nearly black most places )

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Haha sorry! If its any consolation I frequently get told once a grey goes white it normally behaves? (Its normally meant as an insult seeing as he has got to 10 and is still nearly black most places )

Well she was dreadful as a yearling... so maybe that's true.

 

[ldlp111]

Can I ask what the black spot is on my gelding on his cheek, only the one and the hair is slightly different, i've always thought it's a kind of birth mark

 

[PingPongPony]

here's some more of purple horse.
this was her (on the left) at the age of 5

and thats the only one i have of her when she was younger, but here are some of her over the last 3 years.
close up of her face (notice spots on skin, and pink skin)

her ears and face

body

thats all i have atm, sorry. do you have any idea what colour she might be??

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Can I ask what the black spot is on my gelding on his cheek

Probably a Bend Or spot. More commonly seen on chestnuts, but not unheard of on other colours.

 

[ldlp111]

So what actually is a Bend or Spot ?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

and finally, born bay, turned purple, now greying out

This description, coupled with the mottled skin indicates a varnish roan. Does she have stripy hooves?

 

[PingPongPony]

This description, coupled with the mottled skin indicates a varnish roan. Does she have stripy hooves?

she also has markings on her skin which you can see when she's wet or clipped, but they're more of less the same as the markings on her fur. she has pretty much white hooves but has a stripe down one of them and the top of each hoof has a dark band round it which fades into the white
both tail and mane are white, im just trying to find out what her parents colours were
dam was a snowflake knabstupper x, sire is unfortunately unknown.

 

[ester]

PPP - I would call the spotty a Near Leopard spot, some might prefer Semi Leopard but he's not got spots over enough of him (IE all of him) to be a Leopard spot. He looks black based and I don't think that he inherited agouti from his dam.

do you not think that one might be varnishing out too?

 

[CinnamonChristmasCookie]

Can I ask what the black spot is on my gelding on his cheek, only the one and the hair is slightly different, i've always thought it's a kind of birth mark

Probably a Bend Or spot. More commonly seen on chestnuts, but not unheard of on other colours.

Blagdon spot?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

So what actually is a Bend or Spot ?

Well Bend Or was a TB stallion who had dark spots on his coat. So dark spots of pigment on a lighter coat are named after him. Some horses have none, some have one, some have quite a few. Here's a palomino with lots of Bend Or spots.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Blagdon spot?

Blagdon = sabino. Sabino is one of the pinto genes, although it is often the cause of white socks and face markings. So it causes white fur, not dark.