When did colours become so complicated??

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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When I grew up a horse could be Bay, grey, chestnut, dun, palamino, black, piebald and skewbald... and maybe roan... and then something changed... WHEN did this happen.

BnBx

(Who has a black tobiano and a roany coloured thing and a bay - she thinks);)
 
Its always been there! Its just that with a bit of research, and advancement of DNA and genetics, we now know what causes certain colours.
Years ago a coloured was simply that....a coloured. Now depending on where the white is will depend on the "type" of coloured it is. Confusing!
 
Blitznbobs I couldn't agree with you more :D

The more exotic colourings appear to = £££ on sales values, am I just being cynical in linking the "expansion" of colour definitions to £££'s :D:D
 
When people started to study inheritance and then even more now they have started to discover the genes responsible and besides us Brits have always been right at the bottom of the class where colours are concerned!

1, Grey is not a colour, every grey is born a colour and the grey gene fades the coat so you can't see it any more.
2, Not everything that isn't Palomino is DUN! That's why you breed two Duns and get a blue eyed cream (they wern't Duns!!! they were Buckskins). Breed 2 palominos and you can get a blue eyed cream
3, Piebald and skewbald are very simplistic there are several forms of coloureds and knowing about frame Overo's along with genetic testing can save a foals life!
4, The descriptive Roan covers several coat flecking genes so breed certain types together and you might not get what you wanted.
5, A black horse may well not be black at all. Especially if it's coloured !!(you can't see the clues that it may be seal brown)
6, If you want or want to avoid certain colours then you have to know how you get or avoid them!

Oh and you didn't mention Appaloosa (spotted) pattern probably just as well as how those coat colouring are inherited are very complex!!
 
I understand genetics ! I did my Masters in Genetics and Ethics - but I'm not overly sure of the necessity of the lengths ppl go to, to describe a geldings colour in an advert!!

Bx
 
Okay, experts... What colour do you call this?

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Yep....when I was a kid you had piebald, skewbald, bay,roan, grey,dun,chestnut and black......

My horse is down as a bay-grey in his passport. He was born bay, has a white-grey face, steel grey body, black legs, black mane and tail and a roany brown bum.

He's just bloody awkward. But gorgeous.

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On his passport he's down as a tri coloured gelding - but i think he must have some appy colouring somewhere :D i get embarrassed when people say ohhh what is he, i just say erm dunno but he's my lovely boy ;)

Oh and to top it all my old man is a cremello :rolleyes:
 
blitznbobs said:
When I grew up a horse could be Bay, grey, chestnut, dun, palamino, black, piebald and skewbald... and maybe roan... and then something changed... WHEN did this happen. That's all the choice we had when I did my HM, PTT, II etc 30 years ago (ish)

BnBx

(Who has a black tobiano and a roany coloured thing and a bay - she thinks);):D
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But...is it a bay;) or could it be a black and tan?:eek:

Technical, I can't advertise a horse here as simply a bay, liver chestnut or Paint without someone asking me "is it a silver bay, or a sooty palomino, or a ......?" :o Whatever, :rolleyes: I don't know, I don't really care, but it's pretty.

To look in my paddocks I have three palominos, but not really :( One is a palomino, one is a champagne overo, and the other one is a dunalino...Gah:mad: and as for the Paints...:rolleyes:
 
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KarynK said:
When people started to study inheritance and then even more now they have started to discover the genes responsible and besides us Brits have always been right at the bottom of the class where colours are concerned!
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Perhaps that's because most of us Brits think there are far more important things about a horse than it's colour, like temprement, conformation, paces, ability................ ;)
 
Well, to be honest, all horses are just varying degrees of brown :D I myself have a light brown one, a dark brown one, two flecky brown ones and a spotty brown one :)
 
marmalade76 said:
Perhaps that's because most of us Brits think there are far more important things about a horse than it's colour, like temprement, conformation, paces, ability................ ;)
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Just because some of us breed with colour in mind it does NOT mean that we breed solely for colour, when you understand genetics, and looking at colour inheritance helps considerably with that, you can produce horses with better temprement, conformation, paces, ability than simply bimbiling along breeding the best to the best and wondering why it wasn't better!!

We Brits have also made stupid mistakes by not doing our homework. Like banning certain colours from a breed when not knowing what they really are and how the genes work! Ergo the NF pony, banned chestnut stallions with flaxen manes and tails beleiving them responsible for Palominos and unregisterable blue eyed creams! Then allowing Dun (BUCKSKIN) stallions to breed Dun (BUCKSKIN) mares and wondering where the blue eyed creams were comming from ??? The Americans knew that donkeys years before we woke up to it!
 
I know, I have a complicated one too!

My horses passport says bay, some people say he's skewbald, others say he's roan, some say I can definitely enter coloured classes, others say I definitely can't.

I think he'd officially be Sabino, but most people haven't heard of that!

He's a gelderlander with a solid bay neck, shoulder, back and hind quarters. He has solid white legs up to his stiffle on his hinds, and white up higher than his knees. He has a big white tummy which fades into roan level with his elbows and stifle.
 
Gawd.You guys are making my head head thinking about it :D
what do you call this bit on her shoulder then? or does it not matter if its a few bits on the body , not the whole?
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Joyous70 said:
So what do you call this then????

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His base colour is bay.
His primary pattern is tobiano.
He also carries one of the forms of Leopard (appaloosa) ... I'm hazarding a guess at Varnish Roan.
He also carries probably Sabino.

If one of his parent's is a grey then discount the Varnish Roan and think instead greying Leopard blanket.

Either: A bay tobiano with Varnish Roan
Or: A greying bay tobiano with Leopard blanket.
 
ColourFan said:
His base colour is bay.
His primary pattern is tobiano.
He also carries one of the forms of Leopard (appaloosa) ... I'm hazarding a guess at Varnish Roan.
He also carries probably Sabino.

If one of his parent's is a grey then discount the Varnish Roan and think instead greying Leopard blanket.

Either: A bay tobiano with Varnish Roan
Or: A greying bay tobiano with Leopard blanket.
Click to expand...

I would have just said He's gorgeous, and left it at that!
 
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