# What colour is my miniature?



## Gwyneth (Sep 3, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I am wondering what colour my mini gelding is? His body is black, but he has an undertone of brown, the fuzz inside his ears is a cream colour, his legs are mostly dark brown and his mane (although sun-bleached) does have some brown (not just sun-bleached) hairs. He turns a grey colour when clipped. So far I have just been calling him a black, but I was wondering if he would be considered something else? Maybe a smokey black? 

His sire is a black and his dam is a black pinto. He has a grandsire that is a chestnut pinto and a great grandsire that is a palomino.

Thanks in advance!
M1010854.jpg IMGP2357.jpg IMGP0175edit.jpg IMGP2496.jpg


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

I would say black.
Initially I would have thought smoky black, but for that to occur one of the parents would have to be carrying cream.
He doesn't really look like brown to me either.
Do you have any way of finding out what color the grandparents were by chance? You mention that he has a great-grandsire that was a palomino, but if his foal (your horse's grandsire/dam) was not a palomino, buckskin, smoky black, etc, then it was not passed on.


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## Gwyneth (Sep 3, 2011)

He does have a granddam that is buckskin. Would that mean that he is a smokey black then?


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Most black horses look like that when body clipped. I'd say he's black. Smoky black is a possibility since a grandparent had cream and it wouldn't have shown up in either parent since they're both black also, but you can't reliably tell a black from a smoky black visually. To know for certain you'd have to DNA test.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I don't know. I went to amha's website to compare colors and the closest thing he matches is the dun although yours has no dun markings. 

Coat Colors


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

JCnGrace said:


> I don't know. I went to amha's website to compare colors and the closest thing he matches is the dun although yours has no dun markings.
> 
> Coat Colors


He's shaved in those photos, so they are not even close to an accurate depiction of his colors.

I'm going to vote black, too. _Possibly_ smokey black, but totally impossible to tell without genetic testing or a gander at his pedigree.


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## Gwyneth (Sep 3, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I think I would like to get him tested, just to be sure on what colour he is. I have no idea how to do it though. I use some of his hairs, right? Where do I send them to? (I'm in BC Canada)


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> He's shaved in those photos, so they are not even close to an accurate depiction of his colors.
> 
> I'm going to vote black, too. _Possibly_ smokey black, but totally impossible to tell without genetic testing or a gander at his pedigree.


 Drafty, I have mini's and used to get their magazine which is full of pics when I kept my membership updated. Most mini's that are shown are shaved and the black ones still look black. 

He's obviously not a dun but I thought it was interesting that his shaved body color most closely matched that of a shaved dun in the link I provided. That's why I had to vote don't know. I'm glad Gwyneth is going to have him tested so it we'll know for sure. I'll probably be wrong in saying he's not black without at least something else going on but that would be par for the course.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Oh my goodness, he's adorable. I want a mini ;-;

So... the consensus here is black?


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Gwyneth said:


> Thanks everyone. I think I would like to get him tested, just to be sure on what colour he is. I have no idea how to do it though. I use some of his hairs, right? Where do I send them to? (I'm in BC Canada)


You just pull a few mane or tail hairs (no cutting- the root must still be attached) and send to your lab of choice.

I used UC Davis when I decided to do a color test on my horse. I don't think your being in Canada would affect your ability to use them (other than slightly higher postage rates ;-))

There are a number of coat color tests you can run if you're curious about anything other than whether or not he has cream


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Dont know.. be interesting to see what DNA test show. I would not say that it is black.
I would go with dun or brown, look how much darker his legs are than his body in the shaved photo.


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## Bridgertrot (Dec 2, 2011)

stevenson said:


> Dont know.. be interesting to see what DNA test show. I would not say that it is black.
> I would go with dun or brown, look how much darker his legs are than his body in the shaved photo.


Shaving skews color drastically so you can't use it to judge colors. Also he can't be dun unless he has a dun parent.

You say his ears are a cream color, I've seen that can be a sign of smokey black. So I'm going with black or smokey black.


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## brookiecookie (May 12, 2014)

He is definitely black. So cute though I want him.


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