Grey Gene Testing done and results.....

[sundaymom]

About a year ago I had a person tell me my stallion had grey and it was the worst thing for my appaloosa breeding. She also advised I contact seller and complain that I had been sold a grey horse for my appaloosa breeding program. Well I started to call everyone I could think of in his bloodline and everyone swore no grey. I wanted to believe them (you can guess why).

Then this year when his first foal crop came one of the fillies had grey hairs around her eyes when she was born but also throughout her coat under the foal hair. Naturally that old fear crept into my system again. I then started calling other appaloosa breeders asking their opinon on this filly. One of the nicest replies I got was from Jennifer at Haricane Farms. She even sent me pictures showing how the app gene causes all kinds of coloring throughout their lives. So...I put that fear to sleep again.

Last week I read about the new genetic test for grey here on Lil Beginnings. A part of me was so glad to see this test finally come about...but. So with great fear but also knowing I had to know for sure, in order to keep breeding him, I sent in his samples.

Silly or not, every night since then, I have included in my prayers morning and night that it come back gg.

GB is the sweetest stallion a person could want and to think of having to get rid of him or even keeping him as a gelding, knowing that cancer lay in his future tortured me.

We have been without power due to Gustav and finally got power back on last night. Today I got the advance email notification from Animal Genetics and folks........GB IS gg. No grey gene.

This elderly reserved lady with arthritic hip and bad knee is up doing the happy dance. lol !

Good or bad I had to know but thank "GOD" GB will be with me for some time.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Good news for you!!

I know that fear, I gelded my beautiful leopard stallion Chips because I was 99% sure he carried grey, this was before the test but I had other reasons for gedling him and only regret it a teeny bit now and then.

Do you have photos of your stallion and filly you can share? I have a few apps I would like to test, but part of me is not sure I really want to know!!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Congratulations! I've very happy for you and your stallion!

 

[maestoso]

Just so you know, the grey gene is not something that hides. If a horse carries it, they WILL start to grey out. It is something you can usually see by the first year, but sometimes not til a bit later. If you have a senior stallion, and it has not started to grey out, you didn't need a test to know that it didn't carry the gene.

 

[Songcatcher]

Congratulations! Glad you got the results you wanted. I'm sure that Appaloosas is one pattern that Gray can easily be mistaken in.

 

[RnRs Lilnickers]

Just curious how much does it cost for the test and what do you have to send in for samples?

 

[sundaymom]

Kim...you can look on my web site and see GB and on the foal page the filly was Ebbie. Yes I am so happy it worked this way for I know it could have gone another way in which I would probably not be on here talking about it but crying at home. I think this is probably a worry all app breeders with fewspot/snowcaps worry about due to most losing so much color.

Thank you Star Ridge Acres and Songcatcher

Matt..yes that is true but it is really a worry with apps I have learned, especially fewspots and snowcaps. They lose so much color and the losing part often looks like the greying gene. That is what is so wonderful about this test. I'm sure, like me, many others before were told they had grey and either gelded or got rid of that mare or stallion, due to someone elses opinon. My stallion was born looking like a large snowcap but within a month started changing and by 6 months had hardly any color except for a couple of spots and color on legs, tail, mane and between legs at the chest. Very easy for someone to say looking at foal pictures that it had to be grey gene for foal to change so fast. Like you I had heard a parent had to show it. The sire of my stallion was born a large big spotted blanketed horse that went leopard. The picture I had of my sires granddam showed blue black spots all over even at 18 years old. This person said it probably came from her and that some greys are slow and didn't matter she was 18 and still had spots. This is why I began calling old breeders of these horses. One thing this journey got me learning things about apps it might have taken years to even think to ask.

RnRlilknickers..the test cost me $45.00 and I copied the form from their web site (Animal Genetics) pulled mane hairs and put in a plastic bag and mailed to them. They send you a email message with results and then regular mail the paper report.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

I'm sure that Appaloosas is one pattern that Gray can easily be mistaken in.

Oh definitely! Many think that a horse that is varnished is "grey".. I don't know how many times I've had someone tell me that my snowcap mare is grey

Nope she's a black base that's heavily varnished

 

[miniluck]

hello.. I have to ask what is wrong with the grey gene?? sorry im sure it is stupid for me to ask but I just wanted to know.. thank you

 

[HGFarm]

Snowcaps are notorious for really roaning out sometimes too. There ARE differences in the horses that are going gray and the ones that are not.

I have a question for you genetics folks though.... if the horse has NO gray gene, why would it show up with anything in it's results whether it's Gg, GG, gg or whatever?? Are they using the small gg to indicate a negative? Just curious.

I went to your site and without testing could tell you that your horse, if that is a true pedigree, would not have gray in it. I know MANY of the horses in the pedigree, but also, if you study the pic of him- he has dark legs, varnish marks, dark in his tail, his ears, etc.... By the way, he is related to my Renegade with a few horses in there. Looks like a cute little guy!

Glad you can put your mind at ease now and hope you didnt too much of a mess from the latest storm and weather!!

 

[sundaymom]

Sorry for dashing in and out but grandaughter is here and she wants me to play with her. Ha!

Miniluck...nothing at all wrong with the grey horse. Some of the most beautiful animals I have seen have been grey. I especially love the different shades that some go through. The main reason app breeders worry about it is we are breeding for color, especially spots. The grey gene takes a wildly colored spotted horse and fades them away. It's funny how the greatest producers of color...the snowcaps and fewspots hardly have any.

HGH the way the results reads is GG homozygous for grey gene. Gg...heterozygous, which says horse will go grey and 50% of passing grey gene. The gg means a negative.

 

[sundaymom]

HG Farm..sorry for mis-typing your name and thank you for the kind remarks on GB. You are an experienced breeder but I am new to apps and this person was very knowledgeable and sowed the seed of doubt. Most of those pictures of GB's family came by way of me digging back for answers and talking to the owners and breeders. Also I have learned some of the colors can be wrong on papers so I needed to know for sure. Like one showed AWT which I took for appaloosa white and thought ut oh...but come to find out and got picture to verify he was a buckskin leopard.

 

[topnotchminis]

Congrats on the outcome!

 

[wpsellwood]

Yeah there is always someone trying to put doubt in our minds. Im glad it worked for you!

 

[HGFarm]

LOL Sundaymom, we sure all know how horses can be registered under wrong colors!! Egads! I am glad it worked out for you!

Thank you for the clarification also on the color results and how they use that to state what they do/dont have. Makes sense!

 

[miniluck]

thank you for letting me know!!

 

[Jill]

I'm happy the result was what you hoped for

Grey is one of my favorite colors, however, I understand why someone who breeds for appaloosa or pinto would choose to avoid it.

Congrats on your hoped for result!!!