# Grey or Blue Roan?



## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

He is a Grey. He has grey breaking out on his face- a blue roan would have the dark face mask.


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## Sassyfaith00 (Aug 25, 2017)

Dehda01 said:


> He is a Grey. He has grey breaking out on his face- a blue roan would have the dark face mask.


See that what’s I thought, but I’ve done some research and have seen blue roans and know someone that has had one with a roan face, not the black mask you normally see. I’ve also found pictures of blue roan mustang stallions with a light face.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I'm going with grey.


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

Sassyfaith00 said:


> See that what’s I thought, but I’ve done some research and have seen blue roans and know someone that has had one with a roan face, not the black mask you normally see. I’ve also found pictures of blue roan mustang stallions with a light face.


You would need to reference a picture. I would guess that it was not truly a blue roan or someone was making the mistake about the grey gene being there. 

Genetically/phenotypically, a roan horse requires the mask. That is what the gene creates.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

What does a roan face mask look like? Moonshine is a roan but I don't really see any markings on her face that make me think mask.

OTOH it's still winter, and she always really roans out in the spring / summer. Now she just looks like a dusty dark horse.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Some roaning genes allow for roaning on different parts of the body. They are not from the roan (Rn) gene. The roan gene basically puts white on the body to varying degrees. Roan and grey can also occur on the same horse. Roan will leave an inverted V on the leg and the face dark. Mane and tail are not affected. Roan also does not change. It stays the same year to year. There may be seasonal differences but the horse will not progress beyond what they have and grey horse will continue to progress until the horse is white.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

He looks grey to me.

@ACinATX Mask mean the face stays dark, like your horse.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

He is grey. Not because of his face but because of his tail. The lighter end screams grey.

He also has a total lack of inverted V's on his legs whereas a roan (even one going grey) would have those. See below (a blue roan, not a roan going grey, but the best example I could find for you):


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Some people also call sabino roan, "roan." So I can understand the confusion about the white on the face. 

BUT those horses have extensive white markings. 

The OP's horse looks grey to me too. White on the face, white in the tail, looks like a grey to me! The first place my foal showed grey was at the roots of his tail.


I frequently see horses on Craigslist listed as "roan" when they are clearly greys. Sadly, the average horse seller doesn't seem to know the difference. :shrug:


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## Sassyfaith00 (Aug 25, 2017)

Well even if he is grey, I’m still super excited to watch the transformation over the years! I love a good dappled gray!


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I too would say grey.

Most greys are born chestnout or black/brown and usually show signs of greying out within the first couple of years. 

There are exceptions though! We bred a filly out of a bay mare by a grey stallion. She was registered as bay/brown and stayed that way for five years. 

Her fifth summer she started to roam out, and within three years was definitely going to be a grey.


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