Horse Color Genes explained!

[roxy's_mom]

Howdy all! I received my Feb 2012 issue of Equus in the mail the other day and was excited to see an article on equine coat colors. It was a really good article and is a great read for those of us who have a hard time understanding what basic genes cause what colors. I tried to find a link to the article on Equus's website but they didn't have one for that article but did have a link to a similar article by another writer and it's just as good.

Here's the link to the other article- I can't get it to open up another screen but it will take you to the article:

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/anatomy/a_guide_to_equine_color_genetics_and_coat_color_120610/

If you want to read the original article called, True Colors, by Laurie Bonner, pick up the Feb 2012 issue of Equus. It's worth the time to read it because I learned alot from it.

Enjoy!

Becky M.

 

[Mona]

WOW!

I was NOT impressed with that article at all. Maybe it's just me because I am used to using more "proper" terms, but reading that article that was supposedly written to simplify things really seemed to complicate matters.

 

[ohmt]

I was really not impressed either Mona. Thank you for sharing though Becky.

 

[targetsmom]

Maybe the article in the Feb 2012 issue is better??? But I was MORE confused by this article, and I think the confusion is common.

The biggest issues I saw were that "overo" was indicated as causing lethal white syndrome, without much explanation.

"Gray" seems to be a common problem: For the record, horses with the gray modifier gene can be born ANY COLOR/PATTERN and with ANY COLOR EYES, and if they have the gene for gray they will turn gray. According to this article and the AMHR registration papers, our gray mare Mira (genetically/born a silver bay frame overo, possibly splash, with one blue eye) does not meet their definition of "gray", but I can assure you she is!!

 

[Lewella]

Whoa is that bad....

"Non-black-point colors are champagne, chestnut/sorrel, cremello, red dun, palomino and silver dapple." Umm.... Silver Dapple is a black horse with a dilute. Champagnes can also dilute black. Bad, bad, BAD info! You should never, ever lump black base colors and red base colors together. You can dumb down color genetics and still keep the information correct!

Gray is NOT a white pattern. Gray is a genetic condition that removes pigment.

Under Buckskin.... "The term "zebra dun" is generally used to describe buckskin-colored horses with primitive markings" Umm.... NO.... The term "zebra dun" is used to describe a horse that is genetically bay with the dun dilution which includes primative markings.

I can't read any further... My head might explode.

 

[supaspot]

I read that yesterday but didnt know how to tell you how bad it is ..sorry

 

[Songcatcher]

Try this for an easier read on basic colors/patterns: http://songcatcherranch.webs.com/horsecolorgenetics101.htm

 

[rabbitsfizz]

This is the problem when bona fide magazines publish articles without running them by anyone who actually has a working brain cell.......(and knows something about the subject matter)

 

[roxy's_mom]

Sorry everyone, didn't mean to confuse anyone with the color thing. Guess I just need to learn to reread things before I post them. I know the article I read in Equus was pretty good - I actually understood it.

Sorry once again.

Becky

 

[ohmt]

Don't be sorry Becky! It was very nice of you to try to share something with us that you thought might be beneficial

 

[Mona]

No Becky, for sure, there is NO NEED for you to be sorry!! You posted a link that you thought may be helpful, udeful and informative....nothing wrong with sharing!

It's just that sometimes the "experts"seem to make things worse by writing some of that stuff!

 

[supaspot]

no need to be sorry , I have seen many interesting things because someone was kind enough to share a link

 

[Sandee]

Don't be sorry, Becky. If we always believed everything we read, we'd be too "smart" to stand. Finding out something is WRONG is just as important as knowing what is RIGHT.