# This Horses Color?



## Horses_Forever (Oct 14, 2007)

*
 I hope this is the right place to post this.... :? 

I'm very new to horses, as you can probably gather by my question, but... I was wondering what is the technical coat color of this mare? Is she just a plain old white? I was wondering if she wasn't some type of silver, because her mane looks silvery.

Just wondering if someone who is familiar with equine coat colors can help me with this. I've tried looking around on the net, but I just can't quite find it.

Thanks again!*


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## ~MavvyMyBeauty (Apr 16, 2007)

*All white horses are known as grey, but as this one has flecks on it so it looks like a fleabitten grey to me (strange name I know).

Hope that helps.  *


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## Sara (Jul 6, 2007)

She's a grayed-out something...paint, appy, or just a lot of chrome, from the look of her muzzle and hooves.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Grey horses generally have black skin. by the look of her nose I would say she is white.


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

*She is a grey.. Technically grey isn't a color, it is a modifier. She was born a "color" then she greyed out. For this to happen one parent must be a grey also. Color of her nose and hooves only indicates the color of her legs(socks) and that she had a some white on her face(blaze etc). *


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

From Wikipedia:

Gray or Grey is a coat color of horses, consisting of black skin, and a hair coat that is white, dappled, or white intermingled with hairs of other colors. Gray horses are usually born bay, chestnut, or black, then white hairs begin to appear at or shortly after birth and "gray out" the horse. Graying can occur at different rates--very quickly on one horse and very slowly on another.

A gray horse whose hair coat is completely "white" will still have black skin (except under markings that were white at birth) and dark eyes. This is how most people can tell a gray horse from a white horse. White horses usually have pink skin and frequently have blue eyes.


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## Sara (Jul 6, 2007)

Does this horse have blue eyes? They looked dark to me in the picture...maybe the op can give us some insight Also, are those spots on her muzzle?


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

Vidaloco said:


> From Wikipedia:
> 
> (except under markings that were white at birth) and dark eyes. .


Like muzzles and socks. BTW, there are better sites for color descriptions. 

Eye color is not indicitive of grey vs not grey but is linked to a gene(unknown to me) and often seen in certain pinto patterns. I've seen pinto/paints w/blue eyes, solid horses with blue eyes and other colors as well. There are very very few "white" horses. Often they are high sabino to show a solid or a nearly solid white coat. 

This mare is grey, she was born a pinto and greyed out young.. She was very white at age 5 and by age 8 was getting lots of fleabits. They only show up on the "colored" part of the coat, never on the white based areas. Yes her muzzle is black, but she has a white/pink nose as well. Not my best shot of her for color.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

The main point of my post was that grey horses have black skin except under white marking. Thats how I always thought you ascertain whether a horse is grey or white. What color would this horse be? would she be considered grey even though she does'nt have black skin except on the nose? I'm not trying to start an argument just curious. I always wondered what she should be concidered on color.


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

Vidaloco said:


> The main point of my post was that grey horses have black skin except under white marking. Thats how I always thought you ascertain whether a horse is grey or white. What color would this horse be? would she be considered grey even though she does'nt have black skin except on the nose? I'm not trying to start an argument just curious. I always wondered what she should be concidered on color.


I never heard of the white/black skin thing concerning greys before. I'm not sure on your mare as I am seeing a possibility of varnish roan. Is she an appy? Do you know what her sire and dam were, breed or color? Does she have mottled skin on her muzzle, around her eyes, or under her belly. Are her hooves striped? All appy heredity signs. 

This is a pic of my varnish roan appy. He used to have more "varnish" markings but as they age they "grey" out in that respect. But it isn't a grey gene. He's not usually this dark, I think he was dirty. lol Oh his skin is white but he has small black spots that you can see when he's wet.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

She is a registered TB no mottling. I always thought she was grey but since she didn't have black skin I wondered. I read a few more horse color sites and didn't see anything about black skin, wonder where that came from :?


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

Oh, it's probably just one of those old tales that get started when someone does their own "study" lol I like Wikpedia but I also take some things posted there with a grain of salt. 

I believe the Jockey Club registers greys and roans in the same category. That seems odd. lol Yet a roan is born roan and a grey is born solid. Both must have a parent with the respective gene tho. Now I'm curious tho and shall have to go check the color of all my horses skin. 

I do think there is a ton of info to be learned about colors in horses. New testing is available for things that used to be a coin toss. It's not so simple anymore. lol 

Btw, can someone tell me how to get pics into my gallery. I am not finding a way to upload. When I click on the upload button I am sent back to the photo page.. Did I miss a hoop? lol


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

Grey is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a pattern. More accuratly Grey is a modifier. This is because Grey an ongoing process of depigmentation of the colored hairs. Grey slowly removes the pigment from the base color, other modifiers (such as Mealy & Sooty) and dilution genes (such as Cream & Dun) that make up the original color of the horse. Grey has the unique ability to mask everything including any Pinto or Appaloosa patterns. No color is safe when Grey is present, as all horses that carry the Greying gene will end up a shade of grey or white. For this reason some breeders do not like to have mares or stallions in their breeding herd.[/img]


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