# What Color Stallion Should I breed My Mare To?



## 1997magic (Mar 14, 2012)

I have a chestnut QH mare. She is a coppery chestnut though. I would like to breed her, but I don't really want a chestnut foal. What color stallion should I breed her to for the best chance of not getting a chestnut? My horses's dad was Whiskey Zipped, a bay, and her mom was a chestnut, I think. Her mom was out of The Investor.


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## tempest (Jan 26, 2009)

Are you breeding only for a color?


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

You shouldnt pick a stallion based on color. It should be based off of comformation, bloodlines, genetic diseases, show record etc. You mare seems to have decent bloodlines, but is she really a horse that should be bred? Does she have a show record? Hows her conformation? Has she been tested for genetic diseases?

What are your goals for the foal? And what color are you thinking you want? Anything but red leaves alot of options.

Id first look for stallions that compliment your mare very very well, and then choose based off of color last.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

The stallion's zygosity matters more than his color does.


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## Casey02 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh boy here we go.... dont breed your mare because you want to, or want a specific color. Have a reason to, and dont pick a stallion because of its color...


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

OK, let's stop the criticism before it gets out of hand. There is no reason why she can't breed for a specific feature. The feature can be a shorter back, a better shoulder, or any other reason the OP feels important to her. If color is wanted, and all other conformation traits are fine - there is no reason what so ever not to breed for color.

There are a lot of things to consider to help in your selection that many of our members who are proficient in genetics will give you advice about. You may have to do a genetic test on your mare first.


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## cmarie (Dec 19, 2011)

here is a color calculator it's kinda fun to play with, it will give you a idea of what you could possibly get.


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## cmarie (Dec 19, 2011)

sorry it would help if I attached it.
Color Calculator


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

I agree with Iride, we don't know that she's just going to pick any stallion because it's a certain color... She may be looking first at this other traits then looking at his color..Just because she's looking for a color doesn't mean it's awful..It's only awful when they breed for JUST the color, and as if nothing else matters...

OP, here is a link to a color calculator, you can see what your mare MAY produce with different color stallions.
Color Calculator

ETA - Whoops..posted before I saw cmarie's post..


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## WalnutPixie (Oct 15, 2010)

While I do agree that another horse shouldn't be created only for color, I think we should give the OP the benefit of the doubt. What if this is a nice mare and they just want to know how to avoid another chestnut before they start looking for stallions? Everyone always seems to jump to conclusions on here...

OP, the good news is that it is very easy to avoid getting another chestnut from your mare. You should have plenty of good stallions to choose from. Black is dominant, so if you can find a stallion who is homozygous for black you will have %100 black based foals. That would be the easiest way to avoid a chestnut. A black based horse can be black, bay, brown, etc. so you'd still have lots of possible colors.

Dilution genes can change a chestnut into another color, like palomino (with the cream gene) or red dun (with the dun gene). Classic roan would turn a chestnut into a red roan and grey would give you a grey horse, or course  Actually, grey would be another easy way to go, because even if the foal was born chestnut, it would turn white eventually. 

Just remember that to have a guarantee that your foal would get a copy of a particular color gene the stallion must be homozygous for it (that is, have two copies of the same gene). Many stallions will be a guarantee of a nice color but also have awful conformation and temperaments, so be sure not to let the promise of color interfere with your choice.


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## Kawonu (Apr 24, 2011)

Many creatures are bred for colors. Conformation and genetics are far from the only thing people breed for, and I'm honestly one to support color breeding. If color breeding didn't exist, a lot of exciting colors wouldn't exist in the world of horses. As others have said, I'm sure she's already considered other things of her mare, and what does it matter, since it sounds as though she plans to keep the foal.

If you're not worried about breed, see about joining her up with a colored breed with strong color genes.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Stoddard said:


> Many creatures are bred for colors. Conformation and genetics are far from the only thing people breed for, and I'm honestly one to support color breeding. If color breeding didn't exist, a lot of exciting colors wouldn't exist in the world of horses. As others have said, I'm sure she's already considered other things of her mare, and what does it matter, since it sounds as though she plans to keep the foal.
> 
> If you're not worried about breed, see about joining her up with a colored breed with strong color genes.


Seriously? So you'd rather breed two really crappy horses because of color than horses that are well conformed and able to do something other than breed? Interesting....


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## Cowgirl140ty (Jan 7, 2010)

If you breed to a cremello, you will get a palomino.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

^ As with any flashy-colored stallion, you need to be especially careful in checking the horse out to make sure he's still a stallion for reasons other than color. It's easy to overlook an unproven stally because he's colored.


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## 1997magic (Mar 14, 2012)

I'd just like a general color idea, but I wouldn't choose only based on color I know a lot of good stallions of many colors. I'd just like some ideas on what would give me the most striking coat.


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## tempest (Jan 26, 2009)

Okay, I was just curious. You can search "horse color calculator" online or use this one to see all potential colors for every, or almost every, color combination out there.
Color Calculator


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

What color foal is your "ideal" foal? Buckskin? Palomino? Blue Roan? etc? We should be able to narrow it down better if we have an idea.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

Stoddard said:


> I'm honestly one to support color breeding.



I can't believe anyone would admit to that! The only way color would be important is if you were breeding horses to make horse-fur coats :lol:


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

ponyboy said:


> I can't believe anyone would admit to that! The only way color would be important is if you were breeding horses to make horse-fur coats :lol:


That is an opinion. Now let's move on.


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

Colour can increase the price as much as having registrtion papers.
I have seen many horses that were equally bred and trained yet the "pretty one" brings more.
There is a market for certain colours. To each his own. We as members really have no say in the process. 
If colour is that important to the OP then I would find a Stallion that was homozygous for the colour they disire. Shalom


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

OP has stated that color isnt the only thing they are looking for. But it is up there on the priority list. There are plenty of color producers that have nice conformation.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

NdAppy said:


> Seriously? So you'd rather breed two really crappy horses because of color than horses that are well conformed and able to do something other than breed? Interesting....


You say that like they are mutually exclusive to one another. You CAN have COLOR and QUALITY, ya know .. 

I dislike certain colors and if I'm going to breed a mare, spend close to a year waiting on a foal, etc., I'm likely to choose a stallion that won't give me a chestnut... and definitely not a grey.

Doesn't mean I'm looking at "crappy horses" .. only that color is a big consideration when looking at stallions that are up for consideration.

Make sense?


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## Susan Crumrine (Oct 5, 2009)

I think with the genetic testing these days, it isn't unreasonable to expect to get a colored foal.
I just don't have the patience to breed and wait four years to ride.
The horse market is such, I can buy horses that were before out of my price range, and get whatever I want.
Welcome to the forum...Susan


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

I really do hope you look for good conformation and temperment first. 

However with that said - as the original question of color - if you find a horse that is homozygous black - the foal will be black based despite the chestnut mare. Now if the mare carries for bay you may end up with bay or black. 

If you breed to a perlino or cremello or smokey cream (black with 2 creams) the resulting foal will either be palomino, buckskin or smokey black. So there are a couple options for you in your search.


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