Bay that looks like a sorrel

[PaintedMeadows]

I have a 2 year old pinto filly here that was born real red looking but has now developed a mostly black tail. Her sire is a silver brown pinto and dam is a bay pinto. I am wondering if she could be a bay.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

To me she still is sorrel. She just has dark brown in her tail. We have several sorrel Paint horses that have the same thing. Since her mane is still sorrel, I am going to say that she most likely is still sorrel just with dark brown in her tail. I could be wrong but since I have seen lots of sorrels and chestnuts like this, that is what I am going to guess. Hope this helps!

 

[PaintedMeadows]

Thank you. someone else on a list suggested that she may carry agouti. Her tail hairs in the center are all black, not dark brown but she has sorrel on top and then white. Her mane is a mix of colors but mostly sorrel. I don't really care what color she is, she is my favourite!! I am more curious than anything.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

Yes she could very well carry agouti, even as a sorrel. Sorrels are a red base and since agouti only acts on black then a red horse could carry it without showing it. So if you bred her to a black horse she could throw a bay.

 

[ohmt]

She is sorrel/chestnut because her mane is still red and not black like a bay's would be. I wish I had pictures to show you, but I have quite a few solid chestnut mares who get very dark manes and tails. They are all the deeper, mohagony color like your girl. Pretty girl by the way!

 

[jleonard]

She is a chestnut. I have a chestnut mare who has a lot of black hairs in her tail, in fact all of the inner hair is black, the rest is a dark mahogany and she only has a little fuzz on the top layer that is red (her mane is the same way). There is still no doubt that she is chestnut, though I remember my trainer commenting that he had never seen a chestnut with a black tail before when I first bought her.

You asked for pictures, don't know how much you can see in these.

Clipped (excuse the poultice)

Natural coat

 

[Mominis]

I used to hire out to braid horses at shows and ran into chestnuts with some black hairs in the mane and tail hairs quite often. They were still considered chestnuts.

 

[PaintedMeadows]

Thank you all. I have been calling her sorrel all along but wanted to make sure I had it right and her tail threw me off. I knew it was possible for her to still carry agouti even being sorrel. I just had a comment from someone that really made me second guess myself so I thought I would ask. Please excuse the matts on her belly, she has a curly coat and matts bad in the spring. They have all been brushed off finally.