New Here, and a Question

[HollynIvysMomma]

Hello everyone!

I have always loved horses, and had a pony growing up. My parents have two "bigs," but Monday I got an early 30th birthday present: two minis of my very own! I have Holly, who is 5 months old, and Ivy, who is 4 months old. They are from a great farm with a fabulous teenage daughter who has handled them a lot. They are not shy at all and are happy to be lead and have their feet picked up, brushed, etc.

These are our first minis, so I am very happy to have found you guys. Here is the first of what I am sure will be many questions: Ivy is a cream color now. Her previous owners said she would either be a dapple or a palomino How old will be she be when we know, and what do you think from this photo?

Thanks!

 

[wingnut]

I'm no good on colors, so I can't help you there. Congrats though on a great birthday gift! I just gave myself #5 for my 48th birthday that doesn't happen for another week, LOL! I just brought home a 5 month old filly.

Enjoy and welcome from northern Maryland!

 

[MyMiniGal]

Welcome to the board! Your mini's are very cute! I got my first horse ever, my mini, back in March and so far it has been the most enjoyable ride, I have ever had, getting to know her. She stole my heart, right off.

 

[paintponylvr]

lost my post! Doing that a lot lately...

Color genetics are a fun and wonderful thing. They can also be frustrating and minis come in many colors and mixes of colors.

The filly closest to "us" looks like she could be silver or smokey black. The filly farthest from us looks like she could be palomino, but she also looks like she could be silver! Confused??

The silver gene is a dilute gene that only shows on black base. BUT it can be seen with many other colors - bay (silver bay looks like a chestnut), dun, buckskin, brown etc To make this worse - a palomino CAN carry the silver gene AND pass it on, but you can't see it because the pony is "red" - which does not show the silver gene. You can have a buckskin or a smoky cream with a silver gene and it DOES change the coloring, LOL!!!

Then you have a double silver... I have two mares that are double silver on heterozygous black base. They can both produce chestnuts by a stallion who is either chestnut or heterozygous black. They "fade" sometimes and they look "white" or "cream" or "palomino" - but they are not! I often have people asking me about the palominos in my field (I don't have any). Even if they have a red foal, that foal carries a silver gene. The stallion they've been bred to since being here is homozygous black with one silver gene. I expected one or two foals to be homozygous for silver - but really hadn't seen that yet. I've been told that many silvers don't survive if they are homozygous, but I don't have any proof of that. YES, the two pics below are the SAME MARE...

The cream gene is also a dilute gene - one gene on red it changes to palomino. Two genes on red become cremello. One gene on bay becomes buckskin & two become perlino. One gene on black becomes a smoky black and 2 genes on black become a smoky cream.

This year I have a silver tobiano filly. She is homozygous black - both of her parents are tested homozygous black. She hasn't been tested yet. And right now, she looks "white". I think that when I have her tested - she will test not only homozygous for black but also for silver (my first). She could even test homozygous for Tobiano as well.

But if you just look at her, especially from a distance, she's going to be thought of as a cream or white or palomino.

Yours are lovely - can you share more pics and also the colors of their sires and dams?

 

[paintponylvr]

I also have a pony that I'm pretty sure would test as a smoky silver black (Ranger). He is a 1/2 brother to the filly above - by a palomino stallion. I know that he's going to be heterozygous black - as his dam is homozygous black (EE) and his sire is chestnut based (ee). I know that he got a silver gene (dam is nZ) and "think" he got a creme gene (his sire is nCR)... But I would have to have him tested to know for sure. He could just be a "funky shaded" silver pony! I've always called him my pink boy - he looks "pink" especially when clipped as a foal.

and this one while still in summer coat - 23 August 2013



And then there is shading as well as fading to effect the color of your mini. Each color comes in many different shades and most of the darker colors will fade in sunlight - especially if the mini sweats (creates bleaching of color).

 

[HollynIvysMomma]

Thanks guys, for the info and the pics!

I have a photo of Ivy's dam, but I cannot seem to get it uploaded. Her mother is a darkish gray, with white paint markings.

I do not know what her sire looked like.

here are some other pictures of her:

-

We are pretty sure HOlly will be a chocolatey brown