Colour Experts

[Lisa]

What are the signs of a black foal who will go gray? I'm having an argument with a woman about the colour of our foal. If you'd like to see the foal, please look at my thread in the Pony Talk forum. These are the signs of a gray foal as far as I know. Are there any others?

Born deep black

White goggles around the eyes (or at least very light enough to be noticeable)

White hairs on the muzzle and flanks

Our foal looks like a typical black foal to me - mousy gray body.

 

[Magic]

No expert here, and I've had but one graying foal, but it was obvious to even me when she was born that she would go gray. I think that mine was a dark black color at birth too, but I'm sure that you could find the exception of a lighter black going gray as well. But the signs of graying as you have stated are definitely what to look for. There may be only one of those at first, but as far as I know, the signs should almost surely be there. I remember that you said that this lady also argued that the 2 1/2 year old sister of this foal would gray too, when it STILL shows no signs, lol! Sounds like someone you can't win an argument with, no matter what you say, or how right you are. You could just say "watch and see!" and nothing else, until later when you can say "I told you so!" Though with this person, it may be YEARS before she accepts it, lol!

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I am not expert either and agree that your foal looks to be black and staying black! I have had multiple grey foals but only one black that turned grey and he had obvious greying around his muzzle and eyes but that was it and he was more black than most actual black foals I have had born, here he is as a baby:

And here he is now as a two year old:

 

[Lisa]

Thanks both of you!

Maple - Do you have any pictures of your black foals when they were born?

Magic - The filly is not quite two yet (I believe she's born in June or July), but she looks very obviously chestnut to me. It's a bit harder to tell with a chestnut, but the only thing I see on her is a bit of sabino flecking - no true gray.

 

[icspots]

I don't think you'll find many exceptions to the rule that a horse that is going to go grey is born a deeper than normal color ie. deep black, deep chestnut etc. instead of the kinda cloudy coloring of a normal colored foal. They wouldn't necessarily have to have any of the other signs, but those signs would start creeping in pretty quickly, the muzzle, eyes etc. I've had quite a few greys and they don't deviate much from what you said is normal for a grey foal.

 

[targetsmom]

Well if that were my foal, 1) I would be very happy whatever color it is and 2) I would have color testing done to find out if it is gray or not. The gray test is new at http://www.animalgenetics.us/Equine.htm. Then you won't have to wait long or argue!!!

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I do have pictures of my black foal and a couple of black and whites, these are the only pictures of black foals I could find easily, the two pintos are only a couple wks old and the top one is pictured at probably a month or so old:

Also I want to add that if your friend believes all greys are likely to produce mostly or all grey foals then I would like to say that the colt I posted above is the only grey foal we have had out of that mare, we have only had her for three foals and the others were a bay and a perlino. Hopefully this helps.

 

[Mona]

I don't have any pics of my pure black foal that I had born here that was going to grey out (and did), but I did find these pics of this filly. Her sire is a bay pinto (non grey) and her dam is a grey appaloosa. The foal was a pintaloosa, but by the time she was 3 years she was snow-white and showing only mottled skin in her ears, on her face and her genitalia! But it is very obvious right from birth and from the rings around her eyes that she was going to grey!

This is "Ghost" at birth:

Then as a weanling at about 3 or 4 months old:

And finally here at 3 years, pure white!

 

[kaykay]

Heres a pic of a black foal we had born last year. Most blacks will be born mousy grey and then turn black as they mature. So many people thought he was grey which I kept telling them was not possible since he had no grey parents. This is why we named him Baxters Black Conviction LOL

After maturing and first clip

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Here is promise one day old and you can see the grey goggles starting

Here she is now

 

[Jill]

Don't forget, there is now a test for grey

:yes

We love greys here... These are our grey horses as foals and more recently, all black based

[SIZE=12pt]Ericas Gone and DunIT, a/k/a DunIT[/SIZE]
2005 31” AMHR / AMHA grey-grullo fancy moving stallion

National Top 10 (halter) & AMHA Honor Roll (halter) – Multi Champion – Proven Sire

Grandson of both Ima Boones Little Buckeroo Too (“BTU”) and Yellow Diamond Little Feather, Great Grandson of Egyptian King

[SIZE=12pt]Whinny For Me's Passionately Dun, a/k/a Passion[/SIZE]

2008 AMHA / AMHR pending, AMHR Futurity Nominated Grey-Grulla Filly -- Expected To Mature at or under 32”

By Erica's Gone and DunIT (AMHR Nat'l Top 10 / AMHA Honor Roll / Multi Champion) and Out of Edgewood Skip To My Lou (Halter Champion)

Bloodlines include: Buckeroo, BTU, Yellow Diamond Little Feather, and Egyptian King

[SIZE=12pt]Whinny For Me's Dun Buckin Around, a/k/a Ducky[/SIZE]

2008 AMHA / AMHR pending, AMHR Futurity Nominated Show Colt – Greying Black -- Expected To Mature at or under 34”

By Erica's Gone and DunIT (AMHR Nat'l Top 10 / AMHA Honor Roll / Multi Champion), out of Harrells Rowdys Reflection of Hope (Halter Gr Champion)

Bloodlines include: Buckeroo, Reflection, Rowdy, BTU, Yellow Diamond Little Feather, and Egyptian King

[SIZE=12pt]Erica’s Big City Blue By U, a/k/a Blue[/SIZE]

2007 AMHR / AMHA Grey Gelding -- Buckeroo and Yellow Diamond Little Feather Grandson / Egyptian King Great Grandson

Maternal brother to my “DunIT”

Siblings on both sides are very successful National level halter horses as stallions

 

[pepperhill]

The only thing to remember is that the graying gene is an overlying gene. Any horse, born ANY color, can inherit the graying gene. It does not have to be only a black or black based horse. Even dilutes like palominos can gray out to white if they have the gene. Using the term "Gray" implies a color when actually when a horse grays it is a gradual fade to white. How quickly a horse grays out is also very, very different. Some will be almost completely white by their first shed. Others won't be white until 15 years old or more.

The goggles are a really nice sign that the horse is going to gray, but not all horses will have such an obvious sign. Sometimes it is just a few white hairs around the eyes that you can hardly see. More and more will grow in until it becomes more obvious. The graying process usually starts on the head and makes its way over the rest of the body. The knees are frequently the last grey out.

You will have to wait and see with your little foal. Best wishes.