# Black, Brown or Smokey Black?



## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

So after being lied to about Jynxy's parents and assuming they were both black, I just figured Jynx was a fading black. Jynx is ONLY ever black in winter - even with a rain sheet on 24/7 after having a winter blanket on 24/7, her flank spots have faded to a rich mahogany color.

Turns out her dam is actually buckskin - which obviously opens the possibilities. So now I've found myself wondering if smokey black isn't an option only because most smokey blacks I've seen tend to fade a lot more then blacks.

Or she could of course just be brown, but her head almost always stays black with no sign of mealiness. Again, with all the white I'm sure it's hard to tell!

Any opinions? I will have her tested eventually because the not knowing is going to drive me crazy.

Oh and meet her new (real) family! After seeing these photos, it's a bloody miracle she turned out as nice as she did!!

Pics of Jynx:









Dead of winter - black as night









Spring - flank starting to go slightly brown already









Last spring/summer - quite brown in the flank, and yet black in the head.









Two summers are - EXTREMELY faded flank, and yet still almost jet black head. She was not blanketed this year.

And her parents:









Her lovely sire...god I really hope he's like a yearling in this photo :shock:









With her dam and showing the brownish flank with mostly black head









Jynx as a youngster, showing the same browning on the flank

I guess I understand that blacks fade, just really not sure why her head almost always stays black and that flank can fade so much even under a blanket!


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

She isn't brown. Other than that, I won't try a guess. Cream on black is a pain in behind


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

ROFL, well if YOU won't even take a guess, I just throw up my hands and I'll let you know when her testing comes back! :lol:


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

****! I hate black with cream. Always so fun.... NOT!

I would test her. When I finally get a horse, the poor thing isn't going to have any mane left at all. I can't stand not knowing lol. Of course, chances are good I will be getting a TB or an Arab. Lots of interesting colours there, right???


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I know! If I'm requesting a test for cream, I may as well do her LWO at the same time, and now as I don't know buttkiss about her bloodlines, I want her done for HYPP and HERDA as well. Not that I ever really plan to breed her, but if she's ever sold, I need to be able to tell her new owners about any potential breeding issues.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Plus HYPP can be a problem with one copy 

Also, I bet she has frame. Just something about the way her blaze spreads on top of her head whispers softly to me. And now I sound crazy lol.


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## AnnaHalford (Mar 26, 2012)

It was all so simple when patchy colour horses were either piebald or skewbald (purely UK, obviously). Anyone else pine for those days?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

LOL, as a color genetics enthusiast, I can't say I do! I've been obsessed with color genetics as a kid, so I probably would have been one of the first to start pointing out that piebald and skewbald CLEARLY didn't explain all the color variations. :lol:

Me and Shay-la are looking into getting our Instructor of Beginners certification, and part of the written test is generic horse stuff. The study booklet is SO off about the colors, I was having a minor apoplectic fit. I'm going to be like Sheldon at the DMV (Big Bang Theory) correcting my tester if they actually expect me to answer "true" to the question "Blue roans consist of black and RED hairs." Not even joking. And they still apply the piebald and skewbald terms in that booklet as well. Shay-la moved away a couple inches when my eye started twitching...


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Oh god. There is no way I would be able to sit that test without killing someone.


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## Rascaholic (Oct 4, 2010)

Sorry, totally nothing to do with the horses color, but this just cracked me up:lol:


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I'd venture to say smokey black. If the sire were homozygous black, she'd get a copy of the cream gene from mama. My buckskin baby is by a homozygous back tobi and out of a perlino mare  He's a darker buckskin, he's got raccoon eyes and a really dark muzzle. Your girl is gorgeous!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

No, she only has a 50% chance of getting the cream gene unless dad was smokey black too (highly doubt it). Buckskin is only one copy, so only a 50/50 chance it's passed on. With cremello, perlino and smokey white the foal is guaranteed at least one copy of cream, potentially two.


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