What's a "Blue and White Mare"?

[Meowy Catkin]

As he looks jet black in the other photos I wonder if he's a faded black rather than a super dark bay? Sometimes feeding copper can help to keep the coat black. Some black horses that look like they've just faded slightly, actually have one copy of cream (smoky black), but they would need to have a parent that passed on the cream gene to them.

SAB - would you be willing to PM the photo to me?

R - sabino gives jagged edged white markings. The white on his face does look like sabino, but look at his socks and see if the edges are horizontal and very straight, or wiggly /jagged. Do you have a photo showing the legs?

 

[Regandal]

Thank you FC, the edges are jagged.

 

[Sootsme]

Thank you FC for getting the photo into the thread, and for your comments..unfortunately I have no idea what his parentage is other than he came from Ireland . Would his dapples indicate anything?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Dapples are often associated with sooty.

This is a sooty palomino, so you can see how the sooty has added black pigment, which has caused dapples in this case.

ETA - if you really want to know exactly what's going on with your horse's colour then you can DNA test for most things.

 

[undergroundoli]

Hay Faracat, just checked HHO after a long weekend away. Thanks for explaining more about palominos. Glad other people are finding this thread as interesting as I do.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I'm glad that you found my waffling on helpful.

 

[Annagain]

All horses have black skin apart from under white markings (even if the white marking is so big that it covers the whole horse) and double dilutes. So all coloureds/pintos have black skin under the base colour bits and pink skin under the white bits. Greys have black skin, again apart from under white markings.

Fascinating. So this would explain the the difference between the greys on my yard. My share horse has no pink at all and is very fleabitten, my boy is almost entirely pink skinned apart from two black hooves and grey skinned socks and has no flea bites. A third who started off "blue and white" but is now grey is fleabitten on what was the "blue" patches but not on any of the white. So only grey bits end up fleabitten as the white are white markings. It makes so much sense put that way!

 

[Spins]

There is more than one gene that causes 'roaning' or white flecks in the coat. A true roan with the roan gene is easy to spot as there head, legs, mane and tail are left unroaned. This is a true Roan on a black base.

Going from the photo in your sig (a better photo would be great) I suspect that your horse's white flecks are caused by sabino.

UGO - Thanks for responding. I find it very interesting that you seem to associate tri-coloured with bay tobiano.

I also find it interesting when you talk about two shades of the same colour not counting. Horses only have two pigments black and chestnut. White is a lack of pigment. The great variation of colours are caused by restricting pigment to certain areas and diluting pigment.

Yes there is more than one pinto gene.

The silver dapple has dark legs, that's the clue that he is black based and not chestnut. As flaxen has no effect on black, the pale mane and tail cannot be caused by flaxen.

Don't confuse black roans or black duns with grey. Greys tend to go grey on their faces very quickly. Both roan and dun leaves the face the base colour (black in this case).

If all those horses were in a field and someone told me to get the 'tri-coloured' I would be stumped as they all have three colours. I would have to ask for more information or I'd probably bring the wrong horse in!

Faracat your knowledge is absolutely astonishing! I'm sorry to ask you another what colour is my horse but having been enlightened to the fact that there are different types of roan (I find genetics unbelievably confusing) could you please tell me what my wee lad is? Hope the photo works!

And here's the link in case it doesn't work again!
http://s1187.photobucket.com/user/S...7A-4549-ABEB-93ED791704EA.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It looks like he might have roaning/white flecks on his head? It's hard to see for certain from that angle.

 

[Spins]

It looks like he might have roaning/white flecks on his head? It's hard to see for certain from that angle.

Sorry yes he does have flecks on his face! He has gone much much lighter recently I'm hoping this is just the sun on his back or will he get steadily lighter as he gets older? He's 3 rising 4 (late foal I've been told)

Thanks a million for looking at him!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He definitely has sabino. The jagged edged white markings show that. I would think that it's the sabino that's also causing the roaning/flecks as it doesn't present like true Roan (ie the roan gene) does.

I have two chestnut sabinos. They don't have as much flecking as your boy, but they both look less flecked in their winter coats and then the flecking shows up really well once the summer coat comes through.

 

[Spins]

He definitely has sabino. The jagged edged white markings show that. I would think that it's the sabino that's also causing the roaning/flecks as it doesn't present like true Roan (ie the roan gene) does.

I have two chestnut sabinos. They don't have as much flecking as your boy, but they both look less flecked in their winter coats and then the flecking shows up really well once the summer coat comes through.

So interesting thank you so much!

 

[Annagain]

Stumbled across this last night. He's being described as a Tobiano Snowflake Silver Dappled Gypsy Vanner horse. No idea if that's accurate but he's an incredible colour!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/563020390886873396/