Horse color genetics is concerned with two basic coat color pigments. The gray gene causes the progressive loss of pigment throughout the horses coat and will affect any color horse.

Download For Full Size I 39 M Presenting You A Side Effect Of My Recent Work For Equirealm Equisite But I T Horse Coat Colors Horse Coloring Chestnut Color

A dominant genetic effect results in the intermingling of white hairs with the base coat color throughout a horse s body but not on the points.

Horse colour genetics. For a long time horse color genetics has been studied to determine coat color and pattern in horses. Even though the horse is gray it still has all the genetics of the color it was before going gray. Most white markings are present at birth and the underlying skin color of a healthy horse does not change.

Classic dun sometimes referred to as a bay dun or zebra dun these horses have a golden coat with black markings. The basic outline of equine coat color genetics has largely been resolved and dna tests to de. More discoveries to come.

Chestnut is one of the most common horse coat colors seen in almost every breed. These are controlled by the interaction between two genes. Melanocortin 1 receptor mc1r and agouti signaling protein asip.

For instance a palomino is also genetically a chestnut as is red dun red roan all greys that were born chestnut cremello chestnut with white markings and so on. Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings. Some of the color variants below are not yet genetically discovered but known to be heritable.

Mc1r which has also been referred to as the extension or red factor locus controls the production of red and black pigment. Phaeomelanin red and eumelanin black. Furthermore chestnut is one of the three base colours of horses the others are bay and black but all of these can be further modified.

As the research in this area progresses it is getting easier for the interested breeder to forecast the likely color and pattern of foals from breeding specific mares and stallions. Red pigment is produced by the recessive alleles of the extension locus designated e. Capital letters indicate dominant variants and lower case letters indicate recessive variants.

Chestnut consists of a red or brownish coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. A specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them. Gene information displayed here.

Red dun the red color of the red dun is caused by the presence of the dun gene in a chestnut or sorrel horse the coat is lightened to either a pale yellow or a tan which makes the primitive markings much more obvious. Try pressing the genetic buttons to the left of the horse below and see how they all interact. Modifications of these pigments produce the whole spectrum of horse colors that we observe in modern horses.

The basic coat colors of horses include chestnut bay and black. True roans are said to be born roan or to shed out to that color when they lose their foal coats rather than slowly progressing to it as with grays. While most horses remain the same color throughout life a few over the course of several years will develop a different coat color from that with which they were born.