Counter shading

[PaintedMeadows]

I have a little mare that is black or almost black and had a dark stripe down her back. Now the woman I bought her from doesn't think she is grulla (grullo?) and says dad is just black but doesn't own dad so can't be positive and my mare is unregistered. Anyways, does countershading stay all of the time? She is 4 and has the stripe the whole time. I am thinking she might be grulla. She has a darker head and legs with the stripe from mane to tail. I have pictures of summer and winter coat if that helps. Just curious.

 

[Magic]

Pictures would definitely help! I have bays with countershading but I've not seen a black horse with it that wasn't either a foal in it's "baby coat" or a horse with another color going on. Interesting!

 

[PaintedMeadows]

dang, I just relised that my good summer pictures of her are stuck on my second hard drive and I need to set up my ftp to upload so I will get her pictures on as soon as I can.

Ohhh, good luck. I found the summer ones. Here is the first

As soon as I get my FTP set up I will send her winter pics but she looks pretty well the same.

 

[Chilli's Mum]

She doesn't look black to me. True black horses are exactly that, black, with no shading and they don't bleach in summer. I'm not sure what colour to call your mare but I wouldn't have thought she was black from the photos. I'm sure someone else who is more expert in colours will have an answer!

 

[chandab]

I'm no expert in all the shades of dun, but grulla (or dark bay dun) sure looks like a possibility. That dorsal stripe is awfully dark for countershading. Does she have any stripes on her legs?