# What color would you call this?



## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Horses do change in color but I've not heard or seen this before. I know some will change in shades and some will gray or turn white. 

Here are pics of when Ghost was younger:



















He is a buckskin appaloosa and 7 years old. He has brown spots on his butt that darken in the winter and disappear in the summer. The white spots remain all year. Last year and this spring he looked like he was getting lighter in color. 

This fall, his face and neck changed drastically:



























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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

He looks grey but it might just be my iphone screen doing that.
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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Yes it does seem like the rest of him is becoming a light gray. I just thought it was weird that his face got so dark.
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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

Varnish roan at work, the white on his butt is a blanket. He'll continue to lighten up on his body throughout his life. The body areas such as on his face and legs will retain some color however.


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

He looks smokey brown varnish to me.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I lean more toward sooty buckskin rather than smoky brown simply due to the lightness of his summer coat, which looks more like a pretty type-y buckskin.

HOWEVER, LP can do some pretty funky things to the base coat to make it look totally different than horses of the same color that are non LP carriers.

As for the appy genes at work, I completely agree with varnish and that's about the only one that I can differentiate. I'm not familiar enough with the other patterns to pick a snowcap from a blanket from a whatever else puts white on their rump LOL.


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## Peppy Barrel Racing (Aug 16, 2011)

Smokey brown varnish blanket Appaloosa. I disagree that sooty is at work.
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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

So if he stays grayish in color, he is no longer a buckskin, right? Even if he was before? Or was he really a buckskin before?
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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Appaloosa patterns do very strange things to base colors. I'd guess OP's was originally either buckskin or brown-based buckskin.

This horse was color tested as grulla (black + dun)









ETA- linking to the photo seems broken:?:; look at Ava Minted Design on this page: Sport Horse & Utility Standard 2008


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

here you go < that is a link to the small photo of the horse Verona is talking about.

As stated she is genetically tested grulla but obviously doesn't look it!


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## Peppy Barrel Racing (Aug 16, 2011)

Appaloosa bronzing 
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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

usandpets said:


> So if he stays grayish in color, he is no longer a buckskin, right? Even if he was before? Or was he really a buckskin before?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


A base color is still a base color even if it gets covered over by more varnish, so if his base is buckskin (smokey brown IMO) then buckskin/smokey brown will always be his base color, you just might not see it as well as you could when he had less varnish.. Most Appies change color every single year in how much white hair they have, most continue to get progressively lighter and lighter, but with the hard points (hips, lower legs, bridge of nose) losing color very last. Most appies never reach total gray before death, but will have at least some residual color in those places. 

Also were these photos taken at the same time of the year? Often the winter coat is different than summer coat on many colors, not just appies. He may well shed next summer and be the same or only slightly more varnished than he was this summer, or he may be much more varnished (really won't know until he sheds). That is one of the fun things about Appies... A different color horse every year!


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

I am inclined to think that classic roan might be at play here as well as varnish. Do you have summer pictures?


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