Buckskin or dun???

[PrettyPonies]

So I just recently bought two mini’s a half brother and sister and I don’t know if they are buckskins or duns? I was told that they were buckskins but I’m thinking they’re duns… They are in their full winter coat right now so I don’t know if that makes it harder, the darker on is Nolly and she has a dorsal stripe and a stripe over her shoulders. The lighter on is Texas

 

[Capriole]

Nolly looks like she may be grulla to me....does Texas have a dorsal stripe?
Do you know the colors of their sire(s), dam(s)?
They are gorgeous!!
Congratulations!! How exciting!!

 

[PrettyPonies]

Thank you!! Yes I believe he does, it’s just faint because of his winter coat. They share the same mom who was supposed to to be a buckskin… The lady I got them from really didn’t give much info, they just got left in a pasture (with plenty of food) and didn’t even get names yet and they are two and three!

 

[kimbalina]

Those two are so adorable, congratulations I grew up thinking dun and buckskin were different words for the same thing?

 

[PrettyPonies]

Thank you! They are mischievous little sweethearts! I thought they were to but I guess they’re different?

 

[LostandFound]

Dun has a dorsal stripe that looks like it was drawn on with a sharpie. I don't see that on either of them, but maybe it's just not in the pics. I'm guessing buckskin, and very sooty buckskin.

 

[Taz]

I have no idea if they're dun or buckskin but they are adorable!!!!

 

[Kelly]

Agreed! So adorable!!

 

[Dragon Hill]

Buckskins can have dorsal strips. Both buckskin and dun modify bay, so a wide range of shades but dun turns the black points to brown, where buckskin retains the black points. Of course they do modify the main body color differently. More along the reds for duns and yellows for buckskin.
Beautiful horses you got there!

 

[HersheyMint]

I have no input on color but I do know they are so cute!!! I love the cute little faces. Congratulations!

 

[PrettyPonies]

Thank you everyone! I got pretty lucky with those little cuties

 

[Willow Flats]

If you are planning to clip them as weather allows or when they shed out I would love to see the coloring of these two cuties. Please post pictures again then! ❤

 

[PrettyPonies]

Okay I definitely will post more pictures! I’m excited to see what they’ll look like in their summer coats! We’ve been having kind of nasty wet weather here so I can’t clip them right now, so I guess I’ll have to be patient to see what their “real” coats look like

 

[Capriole]

I'm not an expert on color genetics (and it gets more complicated all the time ) but, buckskin is caused by a cream modifier and dun is caused by a dun modifier.

I recently found out there is a non-dun modifier (nd1...I think) that allows the horse to retain primitive markings without being dun....but, because Molly's markings seem very pronounced I went with dun/grulla ...and her less golden color looks more grulla to me ...but, she very well could be sooty buckskin....either way they are both adorable and dun, grulla, buckskin, sooty buckskin .... are all some of my favorite colors

 

[PrettyPonies]

Okay thanks! Yea it is very complicated! I’m thinking about doing a dna test on her just for curiosity sake

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

You think color is complicated? I was looking at the UC Davis page the other day....and there's now a third genetic extension for Red-factor coat color:

Red Factor | Veterinary Genetics Laboratory

The extension gene, or red factor, determines whether a horse will have a chestnut base coat color or a black or bay base coat color.

vgl.ucdavis.edu

It's always evolving. Homozygous silver Z/Z ALWAYS has MCOA (an eye disorder) Silver | Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
This is a fairly recent discovery

LP/LP always has CSNB (night blindness) and susceptible to recurrent uveitis.

Soooooo....coat color questions can make you go....!

 

[Taz]

What's LP? I have two little and one big that are night blind.

 

[Capriole]

Leopard Complex...appaloosa spotting.

I had an appaloosa....I never noticed night blindness, but, I boarded and wasn't over there too much after dark....I guess if she was used to it that it wouldn't be very obvious to me just petting her and giving her treats.....she did have an episode of uveitis though.

 

[chandab]

winter coats can be deceiving, both look buckskin to me; one dark, one light.
come summer coat, it'll be easier to tell. Natural summer coat, not clipped coat, so if you clip we'll have to wait a few weeks to help determine color, as clipping cuts off the colored part of the hair shaft.

 

[diamond c]

I’m old school, ( the dear wife says just plain old ) . To me a buckskin is a dun with a dorsal strip and matching legs from the knee down. the one with the light body might be a buckskin ( hard to tell till it sheds. The other to me looks like what I’ve always called a mouse gray.