# Satin Gene?



## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

As far as I am aware it is called 'irridescence' and is mostly linked to Akhal Tekes.


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## JustLeaveIt2Mya (Jun 6, 2009)

cool, I'm curious if this boy may have it? 
He doesn't get supplements, and no speacial feed...


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Eh. There is a colossal difference between the metallic sheen that an Akhal Teke may have and a shiny coat. MOST horses should have ridiculously glittering coats - just feeding mine grass produces an almost blinding sheen on all of our horses. We always get asked what supplements we feed, and it's nothing but 100% natural healthy diet.

My Arabian mare Zierra:










And an actual Akhal Teke with metallic sheen:



















It's a huge and very blatantly obvious difference in my opinion. I also don't think it's ever been observed outside the Akhal Teke. It's a very glinting shade all of itself as opposed to an illustrious shine we may induce on "normal" breeds.


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## thunderhooves (Aug 9, 2009)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Eh. There is a colossal difference between the metallic sheen that an Akhal Teke may have and a shiny coat. MOST horses should have ridiculously glittering coats - just feeding mine grass produces an almost blinding sheen on all of our horses. We always get asked what supplements we feed, and it's nothing but 100% natural healthy diet.
> 
> My Arabian mare Zierra:
> 
> ...


Mine get shinyyyy on just grass,too! lol! *high five*! lol 
Those are so BLINDINGGG Akhal-Tekes! woa, ude! they are unbeleivably metelic!
OP- You have avery prety horse, but those pics don't show shinieness very well,lol. Gorgeous horse,though!


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## Gidji (Dec 19, 2008)

Whilst I find the whole horse genetic thing fascinating, those Akhal Tekes are freaky.


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## NittanyEquestrian (Mar 3, 2009)

Aren't they desert breeds and it helped them survive in the deserts and extreme sun? (I may be mistaken but I think I remember reading something about it). Anywho...a healthy horse should be "shiny" and horse that naturally has a little longer hair is going to be "shinier" than a very short haired horse as well. So glad you have a "shiney" horse, it's the sign of good care and management but I doubt it's genetic in the sense that you're talking about. Although some horses just simply pass on better quality coats to their babies than others, it's mostly nutrition.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

The Satin gene is found in rabbits I know. Satinizing basically makes the cornified layer of the hair shaft clear rather than pigmented, with a core of concentrated pigment instead of pigmentation spread through the entire hair shaft. Basically the same effect as painting clear nail polish over colored nail polish. It increases the shine.


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


>


That is absolutely incredible. I had never heard of that gene before, so thank you guys for giving me some knowledge!


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Buckskins and Palominos will get a sort of metallic sheen to their coats if well fed, groomed, and cared for. My palomino pony is still shedding out right now, but looks like polished gold all along her topline and rump, though her sides are less so because she has a randomly manifesting sooty gene. It's not the same as the actual genetic metallic coat on an Akhal Teke, and it's not a special gene, it's just good care. Congrats. :lol:


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

My horses are all glossy too, except the fleabitten grey. His coat doesn't look glossy so much as it just looks incredibly healthy with a nice sheen. 

No supplements except for the MSM I have the older gelding on for his arthritic hocks. 

I think we over supplement our horses. SmartPak is making a fortune selling supplements that horses don't really need, to people who think they're not good owners if they don't stuff this junk into their animals.


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## JustLeaveIt2Mya (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks guys, but he's not mine wish he was!
he's a stallion, used at a ranch :]


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## LilacsGirl (Jul 14, 2010)

wild_spot said:


> As far as I am aware it is called 'irridescence' and is mostly linked to Akhal Tekes.


None of the horses depicted above are Akhal Tekes, though they clearly exhibit the iridescence. The satin gene is known in rabbits and other species, but has yet to be isolated in horses - anyone who has owned one of these horses knows it is totally different from any normal shine, and is very difficult to photograph. It's almost an optical illusion - and is so spectacular, I call these "satin" horses Sparklers!


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

There is the Pearl gene, but that acts as a further dilute on already cream-diluted horses.

However, I think you just have a very shiny horse. There's on that looks like that at my barn. She's black, so she looks wet all the time. It's so pretty.


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## LilacsGirl (Jul 14, 2010)

Poseidon said:


> There is the Pearl gene, but that acts as a further dilute on already cream-diluted horses.
> 
> However, I think you just have a very shiny horse. There's on that looks like that at my barn. She's black, so she looks wet all the time. It's so pretty.


We are talking here about the GENETIC causes of a particular metallic shine which is difficult to capture in photos. This is not 'shiny' - meaning a white gleam caused by sunlight. The horses irradiate a glow the of same color as their hair coat. You will never get a gold (or red, depending on the horse) glow from brushing.


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## LilacsGirl (Jul 14, 2010)

Poseidon said:


> There is the Pearl gene, but that acts as a further dilute on already cream-diluted horses.
> 
> However, I think you just have a very shiny horse. There's on that looks like that at my barn. She's black, so she looks wet all the time. It's so pretty.


Note the golden glow in her throatlatch. This is the SAME horse seen from the rear in the other photo.


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## LilacsGirl (Jul 14, 2010)

JustLeaveIt2Mya said:


> cool, I'm curious if this boy may have it?
> He doesn't get supplements, and no speacial feed...


It's difficult to see properly because your horse is so dark. The metallic glow represented by "satin" is usually not a white reflection - like the shine from good brushing, but an iridescent _glow_ which is of the same color as the horse's coat ... yellow, or red, or whatever - it looks like an optical illusion and is hard to capture on film. Your horse has a blue eye, and that makes me suspect that the apparently diluted hair around his face may be caused by the same thing (sabino? - I don't know) that is causing his blue eye. As I say - it's hard to see if there is a metallic glow happening here because the horse is dark (just because I can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there)  He is very pretty.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

My mare has a copper shine year round, even when she is in her winter woolies, its toned down a bit but still there. 
It is hard to capture on film, you mainly see the white sine relfected, but the copper really pops out at times.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

The horse pictured above appears to just have golden hairs mixed in with the dark, which would be responsible for the shininess. I don't see anything special with it.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

Froggy is satin and a spring time brindle? Say it isn't so!


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## SaddleDragon (Sep 20, 2010)

LilacsGirl said:


> None of the horses depicted above are Akhal Tekes, though they clearly exhibit the iridescence.!


Thats funny, thats the pic they use for the breed in all the breed books. 
What is it then?

There was a sooty buckskin mare at a farm I rode at. Pretty no matter what, but when bathed with plain old shampoo she glistned like someone dumped glitter all over her. She was amazing.


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## EthanQ (Sep 5, 2011)

Yes, desert bred horses usually do have the satin gene to help block the sun


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