# What color is my foal?



## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

Possibly red run? Time will tell.


----------



## Dwarf (Jun 26, 2014)

Ditto looks like a red dun. Could possibly have a cream gene like mom, but in general looks too peachy red for palomino dun.


----------



## ChieTheRider (May 3, 2017)

What they said, but babies change color. Time will tell.


----------



## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Looks red. What color is the sire?


----------



## MerriBelle1 (Apr 19, 2017)

Possibly a red dun. Have you had a test to know the color of the sire and the dam? Are the parents registered? Their names?


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

The sire is a Hancock, blue roan stallion and the mare is from Hollywood Dun It lines and is a light dunalino. I haven't done any tests to determine the color. I was thinking red dun also, but would a red dun have the black tips on the tail and through the mane like that? It also looks black on his feet. I know that really dark red can look black, but I didn't know all of that could actually be red.


----------



## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

Do the darker fetlocks of the baby help with figuring out his color? Or is that insignificant at this age...


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

That foal is colored "cute", very "cute".


----------



## Dwarf (Jun 26, 2014)

Captain Evil said:


> Do the darker fetlocks of the baby help with figuring out his color? Or is that insignificant at this age...


What it looks like is the black legs of a bay dun, but every other bit of him is such a distinct peachy red (assuming the colors aren't distorted from the camera) I'd be surprised if it wasn't just wonky countershading that faded. Won't know for sure until he sheds though! 

Would love to see more pics as he grows OP.


----------



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Another vote for red dun.


----------



## Tlugger (Feb 15, 2017)

He looks like a red line back dun. He's gorgeous!!!


----------



## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Daylilly said:


> I was thinking red dun also, but would a red dun have the black tips on the tail and through the mane like that?


First off, I have to say he is absolutely adorable! And my mare, Tessa, is a registered red dun tobiano. She has really dark red and some black in her tail. So yes, I'd say that that's possible.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Captain Evil said:


> Do the darker fetlocks of the baby help with figuring out his color? Or is that insignificant at this age...


My thought as well. I'm not expert on baby colors and I wouldn't put too much on the black in the mane and tail but having such distinctive black on the legs makes me think bay based even aside from the red dorsal. In fact it's ONLY the red dorsal that makes me question that every single other factor is bay, even his ear tips are black and the overall tone is bay.

So cute! And what beautiful scenery you have!

ETA- further research backs me up that dun foals rarely have a black dorsals at birth and are either red or brown. So absolutely bay based imo. He 100% looks bay anyways it's really just that dorsal which is apparently common.


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

If he has what I would call blue grey eyes and his belly is completely white, would that help determine what color he will turn out to be? Is there a possibility of him being buckskin. I don't really care what color he is, but I am just curios. I didn't choose the sire based on what color I would get, but I think it is fun to try and guess what he'll turn out to be.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

His eyes look normal to me and I'm guessing by white you mean just very lightly shaded as opposed to actual white( like a spot like a pinto would have). All foals have countershading some more than others, heck some adult horses do too. So that is irrelevant.

Technically yes he could be buckskin, but I really think the dun is genetics as opposed to foal countershading so if buckskin + dun he would be dunskin at the least, which I do not think he is. He's very light but does not have the creamy look of a buckskin. You will be able to tell better when he's a little older because right now he does have a very strong "foal coat" going.


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

*Eye Color*

That is what I mean by white. His eye color could be normal, this is my first foal so I don't really know. I am not sure what you mean when you say, not a strong foal coat. Does his eye color look normal?


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

*He is so cute no matter what the color!*

I have to say we had a fun day though.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Yes his eyes look normal (cute pic)

In regards to strong color as I called it foals are born with countershading as said, can produce some primitive "faux dun" markings (same markings but not actually carrying the dun gene) and that darker on top lighter on the bottom look. Foals also have a more washed out look than an adult horse. In fact when checking if a foal is grey (when no obvious grey markers) one of the things to look for is does it have a rich adult coat (sign of grey) or a more typical foal color? Black foals for example are often a mousey grey color, that is normal for a black for and to actually be jet black as a newborn is rather unusual. Not only that but your foal is even more dramatically "washed out" than average which is why I described his foal coat as "strong" it's "very much" a foal coat as opposed traditional adult coloring. Does that make more sense? lol

His coat is so light he almost looks like mom! (Who is gorgeous by the way)


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

Thanks for explaining that. Do you think that the washed out coat could be caused by possibly being a roan? The owner of the sire said so far all his foals have roaned. So, it is very possible he is a roan.


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

He should be classified as.........completely adorable!


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Daylilly said:


> Thanks for explaining that. Do you think that the washed out coat could be caused by possibly being a roan? The owner of the sire said so far all his foals have roaned. So, it is very possible he is a roan.


As I said I'm no expert on foal colors but remember that roan isn't lighter hair it is the normal coat +white hairs mixed in. It's also NORMAL for a foal to have a washed out coat, he's just a little more extreme then some.

I *believe* that roan usually shows up in the foal shed or even later (yearling) and isn't usually seen in foal coats.


----------



## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Adorable! If it were my foal, I'd have sent in coat color panel tests yesterday


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Cynical25 said:


> Adorable! If it were my foal, I'd have sent in coat color panel tests yesterday


While I don't disagree I think this guy is going to be hard to guess at as a foal but much more obvious as an adult. Some are hard to read even as adults but I don't think this is going to be one. So waiting may be just as effective and cheaper.


----------



## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

Yogiwick said:


> While I don't disagree I think this guy is going to be hard to guess at as a foal but much more obvious as an adult. Some are hard to read even as adults but I don't think this is going to be one. So waiting may be just as effective and cheaper.


But it does give peace of mind that you are registering your foal the correct color as it is much cheaper to register as a foal versus waiting until they are an adult. ;-)


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

*Color Testing*

Thanks for all the information! I don't mind waiting till he sheds, but the color test sounds like fun if it isn't expensive. Do you recommend talking to my vet for something like that or are there recommended sites?


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

@SunnyDraco, true never bred horses myself so can't say that came to mind.

OP- you don't do it through the vet UC Davis and AnimalGenetics have testing.

Depends on the test but most are $25. I'd test for red (chestnut vs black/bay) and skip agouti as you know if black based he is definitely bay and not black. Then you can test dun if you want and cream, I'd be shocked if he was palomino but buckskin wouldn't be as surprising.


----------



## AnnaLover (Sep 27, 2009)

Dunskin (buckskin + dun). So cute!!


----------



## BeckyMMiller (May 13, 2017)

Buckskin as it has no dun parent.


----------



## Daylilly (May 6, 2017)

It is possible that you are right, I never saw my mare's parents close up. However, she does have a dorsal stripe, but it could be some countershading also.


----------



## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

I'm going with dun (bay dun), at first glance he does look almost red dun, but the black fetlocks (and you can also see some black in the bottom of his tail) are the givaway that he is black based. Hard to be 100% from these pics, but his mom looks palomino dun to me (she has that washed out look). He doesn't appear to be buckskin, and time will tell if he is also roan, although you may be able to see white hairs scattered throughout his coat if you run your fingers through it.


----------

