# What color is my appaloosa? Picture heavy



## kjr5horses (Dec 21, 2011)

Looks like a black appy who fades when left in the pasture  But I could be wrong its kind of hard to tell in the indoor pictures


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## lucky2008 (Aug 17, 2010)

Taken October 24th


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## kjr5horses (Dec 21, 2011)

Still say black blanket appy  She just fades when out in the sun for too long. 

Gorgeous girl BTW!


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

But it has a mealy muzzle, blacks don't...I'd say it's a Brown, or what is lovingly referred to on HF as "Bad *** Brown." They can get dark like a black but the muzzle stays a mealy brown color... the outdoor pic def shows a mealy muzzle.


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## kjr5horses (Dec 21, 2011)

But his brown muzzle was only brown when he was faded the rest it is black.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Need better pictures where the horse is not in shadows


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

kjr5 - you can't tell that from these pictures. These are not pictures I would use to determine base color. White pattern? Possibly, but not base color.


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## lucky2008 (Aug 17, 2010)

kjr5horses- He is not black that fades he is a roan


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

In blacks that fade (my horse is a fading black) the legs usually stay black too, especially near the hooves...I see brown there in the pics... I still say "bad *** brown"


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

I love the dams coloring


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

he looks like blue roan to me 
either way he's handsome


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## lucky2008 (Aug 17, 2010)

Country Woman said:


> he looks like blue roan to me
> either way he's handsome


Don't blue roans usually turn blackish in the winter?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

lucky2008 said:


> Don't blue roans usually turn blackish in the winter?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Some do, some don't. However, your boy isn't 'classic' roan, which on a black base is called blue. Your guy is a 'varnish' roan, which is being cause by the appaloosa genes. 

Better photos would be a side on shot of him in good light (not too late in the afternoon tho), a close up of his face side on, and maybe one of his lower leg too. I am inclined to think that he is a black based appy, and that his hair is just really thin over his muzzle area. It just doesn't seem right for brown mealyness to me. However, without photos that show these areas really well, it is really hard to tell.


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

I'm thinking "bad *** brown" varnish roan
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

don't browns usually have black manes and tails and black on their legs? looks like a really dark liver chesnut to me. a Liver chesnut, Varnish roan blanket appy.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

MangoRoX87 said:


> I'm thinking "bad *** brown" varnish roan
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Glad someone finally agrees with me on the "bad *** brown" LOL.

If you want more examples of "bad *** brown" there is a whole "bad *** brown" thread with a lot of pictures of examples 

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-colors-genetics/badass-brown-92038/


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

The problem is the 'varnish' part. Varnish roan likes to do weird things to all sorts of colours, but mostly it loves to play with black. As I said, better photos of the 'indicator' areas may help, however, testing would be the only way to know for certain with this one I think.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

lilkitty90 said:


> don't browns usually have black manes and tails and black on their legs? looks like a really dark liver chesnut to me. a Liver chesnut, Varnish roan blanket appy.


Bays usually have the black legs, black manes and tails.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> Bays usually have the black legs, black manes and tails.


Brown can and does have black 'points' too.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

Chiilaa said:


> Brown can and does have black 'points' too.


Yes I know, but her question implied that browns MUST have black legs and therefore the horse in question can not possibly be a brown because it doesn't have black legs, mane, tail..... which is untrue. Most browns do not have the black, some do, but most do not.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

well i know bays have black points too. i was just under the impression that brown is basically like bay, but instead of a red color with black points it was a darker almost black color. i still kind of stick with liver chesnut though. in one of the photos that shows the muzzle up closer. it kind of looks like the "mealyness" of the muzzle could be caused by the mottling of the appy color. most darker appies have lighter noses because the hair on the nose is thinner and the mottling shows through alot more giving it a pinker hue.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Browns do the not have any different of points than bays do. They are both black based with agouti restricting black I the different ways.

The horse in the op is not liver chestnut. It is black based. It has to be with the sire homozygous black. This is a good example of what LP and PATN can do to a base color.


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## Faceman (Nov 29, 2007)

I believe the official ApHC designation for your Appy would be Funky Sienna Varnish Roan Blanket With Spots...:rofl:


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

NdAppy said:


> Browns do the not have any different of points than bays do. They are both black based with agouti restricting black I the different ways.
> 
> The horse in the op is not liver chestnut. It is black based. It has to be with the sire homozygous black. This is a good example of what LP and PATN can do to a base color.


I like the explanation, that makes sense. I don't know much about the color genetics except for my own horse ha ha. So what color would you call the horse, I don't think you stated an actual color guess....


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

haha i didn't even consider the fact that the sire was homozygous.. lol! i posted a thread a good while back of an appaloosa sport horse. that was born grulla. and is genetically grulla. but at 2 years old her color turned palomino. even though she was STILL genetically grulla. it is crazzy what Lp can do.


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