Ok, so way back when I began writing on color. Time to take that up again.
We established last time that there are really only two base coat colors in horses--black and red. Everything else is created by a modifier on one of these two colors, and I will begin with the most basic and common--the agouti gene.
Agouti (pronounced ah-goo-tea) is the modifier that creates a bay horse. It is so common in some breeds, such as Arab, that a pure black is not easily came by and is prized. In other breeds, such as Friesians, it doesn't seem to exist-but then again, neither does red in a Friesian *smiles*
In American Miniatures, it is actually not overly common. There seems to be, at least in my years of observation, as many blacks, if not more, than bays. Why do I keep mentioning black? Believe it or not, a bay horse is really a black base! The reddish coat color can make that seem improbable, but they are. Here is why:
Agouti acts on black, and only on black, and restricts it to the 'points' of a horse. The points of a horse, an old time horse-lingo phrase, refers to a horses lower legs, from the knee/hock joints down, and to the mane, tail, and forelock. In a homozygous bay, you may also see the ears are outlined in black. Agouti pushes the black back into these areas, leaving the torso, neck, and head a variety of brownish/reddish/blackish shades. Bay is therefore a general term, and can be divided into it's own categories.
The common varieties of bay in Miniatures is mahogany bay and black bay.
Mahogany bay is rather self-explanatory--the horse is the shade of mahogany wood (a very lovely color, I might add!).
Black bay *can* be difficult to distinguish from a black horse, as the horse is such a dark shade, so very nearly black, it appears so. You can tell a black bay though by it's muzzle-the muzzle hairs will be lighter, usually a shade of brown. I am researching now, trying to determine if black bay is a result of a weak agouti, or the sooty gene in combination with agouti. Either seems a likely possibility.
Brown bay is also rather self explanatory, and the body shade of the horse will be a very normal brown color.
Sandy bay is the lightest shade of bay, and could be mistaken for buckskin at times. It is a very light brownish, but should still have the faintest tint of red to it. Also, only a dilute horse can make a dilute horse, so if a horse is advertised as buckskin and does not have a buckskin, palomino, smoky black, cremello, or perlino parent, it is a sandy bay instead, most likely. (Trying to think of other things it could be...and not coming up with any just now.
Red bay is again, self explanatory--the body will be very like a chestnut's shade, only with the black points.
I got rather upset a few months ago, when I was browsing mini sites around the country, as I saw a horse falsely advertised as 'An extremely rare special color--this horse carries all 3 base genes, black, chestnut, and white'....the horse was a bay pinto. There is no such thing as a horse that displays both black and red base genes, and a horse carrying both genes is not at all uncommon! And pinto most certainly is not rare in miniatures....*shakes head* I do not like either option for this person's listing-either they are purposely trying to deceive (there was a $4500 price tag on this rather nondescript pet only quality miniature), or they really don't even know two of the most basic colors in horses-bay and pinto. It is not good representation for our breed, and that sort of thing only serves to drive in more a reputation of mini people are not REALLY horse people. Never good....
Ok, vent over. Thank you readers for reading, and I will be back soon!
We established last time that there are really only two base coat colors in horses--black and red. Everything else is created by a modifier on one of these two colors, and I will begin with the most basic and common--the agouti gene.
Agouti (pronounced ah-goo-tea) is the modifier that creates a bay horse. It is so common in some breeds, such as Arab, that a pure black is not easily came by and is prized. In other breeds, such as Friesians, it doesn't seem to exist-but then again, neither does red in a Friesian *smiles*
In American Miniatures, it is actually not overly common. There seems to be, at least in my years of observation, as many blacks, if not more, than bays. Why do I keep mentioning black? Believe it or not, a bay horse is really a black base! The reddish coat color can make that seem improbable, but they are. Here is why:
Agouti acts on black, and only on black, and restricts it to the 'points' of a horse. The points of a horse, an old time horse-lingo phrase, refers to a horses lower legs, from the knee/hock joints down, and to the mane, tail, and forelock. In a homozygous bay, you may also see the ears are outlined in black. Agouti pushes the black back into these areas, leaving the torso, neck, and head a variety of brownish/reddish/blackish shades. Bay is therefore a general term, and can be divided into it's own categories.
The common varieties of bay in Miniatures is mahogany bay and black bay.
Mahogany bay is rather self-explanatory--the horse is the shade of mahogany wood (a very lovely color, I might add!).
Black bay *can* be difficult to distinguish from a black horse, as the horse is such a dark shade, so very nearly black, it appears so. You can tell a black bay though by it's muzzle-the muzzle hairs will be lighter, usually a shade of brown. I am researching now, trying to determine if black bay is a result of a weak agouti, or the sooty gene in combination with agouti. Either seems a likely possibility.
Brown bay is also rather self explanatory, and the body shade of the horse will be a very normal brown color.
Sandy bay is the lightest shade of bay, and could be mistaken for buckskin at times. It is a very light brownish, but should still have the faintest tint of red to it. Also, only a dilute horse can make a dilute horse, so if a horse is advertised as buckskin and does not have a buckskin, palomino, smoky black, cremello, or perlino parent, it is a sandy bay instead, most likely. (Trying to think of other things it could be...and not coming up with any just now.
Red bay is again, self explanatory--the body will be very like a chestnut's shade, only with the black points.
I got rather upset a few months ago, when I was browsing mini sites around the country, as I saw a horse falsely advertised as 'An extremely rare special color--this horse carries all 3 base genes, black, chestnut, and white'....the horse was a bay pinto. There is no such thing as a horse that displays both black and red base genes, and a horse carrying both genes is not at all uncommon! And pinto most certainly is not rare in miniatures....*shakes head* I do not like either option for this person's listing-either they are purposely trying to deceive (there was a $4500 price tag on this rather nondescript pet only quality miniature), or they really don't even know two of the most basic colors in horses-bay and pinto. It is not good representation for our breed, and that sort of thing only serves to drive in more a reputation of mini people are not REALLY horse people. Never good....
Ok, vent over. Thank you readers for reading, and I will be back soon!
