Chestnut Color- Dominant or Recessive

[xfactor fan]

Kari,

Did the filly with blue eyes have white on her face?
Or did the eyes change color?

There are more color genes in the QH gene pool than are in the TB gene pool.

Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that there are more color modifying genes in the QH pool.

Both breeds are either red based, or black based. This is controled by a simple dominant/recessive gene pair. Genetic shorthand is EE for black, Ee is also black and ee is red.

On top of this base there are lots of genes that change the color of the base coat.

Bay=gene that dilutes black on the body to brown
Cream=gene that dilutes all colors to a light shade(Bay to buckskin, chestnut to palomino)
Gray= replaces all coat colors with white hair
Roan=replaces body hair with white, but leaves head and legs dark

This is just a starter list. There's lots more including all sorts of white color pattern genes.

TB's have Cream and Gray in the gene pool.

QH's have true Roan, Champaign, Dun, Cream, Appaloosa Roan, Barlink recessive palomino, and brindle.

There are several very nice horse color sites out there, just google horse color genetics for a start.

As for a gray showing up with non gray parents. Except for some very, very rare circumstances it doesn't happen.

Most likely is that someone jumped a fence.

Much less likely:

One parent was late in turning gray, and was sold or died before showing the gray color.

One parent has the gray color masked by another color pattern. Base + gray + full body white sabino pattern. The animal would look like a pure white animal, confusing everybody.

Good luck with your horses.

[skeenan]

That's funny, I was asking yesterday about a QH I saw on TV and deleted my post because I found the answer on this website link:

http://www.equinecolor.com/silver.html

He's a silver dapple, and had one or two blue eyes... real looker! He looked like the Morgan at the top of the page...

This site is nice, as they have photos... a few sites I found explain things well, but I'm visual... I like seeing the colors they're describing!

[Nerd]

rds- do you have a picture?

[Inthe951]

Foaling History:
1) Chestnut had a black when bred to a black or bay - genotype is "a?ee"
2) Chestnut had a bay when bred to a black - genotype is "A?ee"
3) Chestnut had a black when bred to a bay - genotype is "a?ee"

In your opion what would this chestnut mares genotype be:
Bred to Bay had a Bay
Bred to Bay had a Bay
Bred to Chestnut had a Chestnut
Bred to Chestnut had a Chestnut
Bred to Bay had a Liver Chestnut
Bred to Bay had a Black

just for fun

[xfactor fan]

Given that the mare is chestnut, you know right away that she is ee.

Given that she had a black foal, she has at least one non-bay gene to contribute to the mix.

So she should be ee, Aa, or ee aa