Identify the foal color ;)

Skyhuntress

Trying to escape reality
Apr 26, 2005
4,101
0
0
Alberta, Canada
hidden-identity.net
We are having such dilemas figuring out what color my now-gelded yearling will turn out to be.

His sire is chestnut and his dam a dark bay.
Ariustrot8709Stallionpage.jpg

A really bad picture of his sire, but you get the idea.

Anyways, Arion was born this way:
Arion4.JPG

With no noticeable black points whatsoever

4 months later, still no black points on his legs, but his mane and tail became a dark brown
Face3.JPG


At a year old, he did develop black spots on his legs and his mane was still dark
23102_6720.jpg


And now at 15 months...with black points, and a really reddish coat.
23102_3012.jpg


Some people say he'll turn chestnut again. Others say he'll be a light bay. Others believe he might hit blood bay, and others still think he'll be plain brown

Soooo...thoughts?
 
I find horse colours totally confusing. A colleague has a dapple grey 6yr old connemara/ID cross. When he was bought as a yearling he was a classic golden dun!
 
Look at the roots of his mane and tail. If they're black, then he's bay - which would be my guess. Bays are often born with very pale legs and moult out darker later. They are usually black legs; but there are also types of bay that have a much reduced amount of black on the legs, called wild-type bay.

My guess is that he's a bay though. If there's any black at all in mane or tail then he's not chestnut, and never will be. There's nothing about any of those pictures that would suggest chestnut to me.
 
sidesaddlelady - all greys are born a base colour (black, bay, chestnut, dun roan - whatever) and then start to grey out later. Foals that will go grey are often born a darker shade of the base colour than non-grey foals - black foals that go grey are usually very black, for example, whereas a black foal that'll stay black is often a pale mushroom colour - and lots have the start of grey visible around the eyes.
 
Hey,

I'm probably not going to be much help, I have just read up on Chev's old colour threads from ages ago, but is it possible that the sire or mare could have a grey gene. And if so, could the foal not turn grey. Or would he have already have showed signs of turning grey. I'm not sure what age the foal would start turning grey at. Can someone please clarify the for me. Thanks :)

Danielle
xxx
 
Hi Danielle, nope - not turning grey. He'd have a very obvious smattering of black and white through his whole coat now, that would be making him look a pale roany colour. It's usually very obvious by the time a foal sheds his foal coat that he's going grey, even if it takes most of his life to actually get to the white stage.

Bay foals that are destined to go grey also generally have very dark legs, as opposed to the pale fawn legs that non-grey foals have. :)
 
He is most definitely a bay. The pale color on his legs initially was simply his foal coat. Chestnut horses do not have any black pigment in their hair, although a really dark liver chestnut can look almost black.

Your youngster had black hair in his mane and tail at birth, even though it was mixed in with the fauny colored hairs. A bay cannot turn chestnut, but he may lighten or darken depending on whether its his winter or summer coat or bleach out somewhat in the sun.
 
newrider.com