# Jess Louisiana Blue, QH stallion - is he just a brown?



## eolvera09 (Oct 14, 2010)

Sorry another edit! Just asking this bc of the hazel eyes. Plus a lot of their offspring have those eyes. I thought hazel usually happened in creme or champagne horses but these don't look like either. Thanks 
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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Mr Jess Perry is chestnut. And the dam, is brown...Out of a brown and a chestnut. So...Yes. I would say that he is "just" Brown. But he is incredibly handsome.

I am quite familiar with AQHA race lines, and I have not heard of him. I'm bummed that I hadn't as i am in LOVE with his pedigree.

And In one of the headshots, I was thinking how much he looked like Seattle Slew, my favorite TB, and low and behold...It's his Great Grandsire. Go figure.

The eyes are quite striking but I see no evidence of a hidden cream gene anywhere in the pedigree. I think he's just one of the rare ones. And if you look at Seattle Slew's eyes, I'm thinking that's where this incredible gene comes from.


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## eolvera09 (Oct 14, 2010)

I guess he is one of the rare ones! Though, he seems to pass this on to his offspring. I've seen quite a few with those eyes. Maybe it won't be as rare anymore? Lol.

On another note, his half sibling, The Louisiana Cartel, is in his 3rd year at stud and all of his babies I've seen (about 20) are dark. No sorrels. I had read somewhere that Seattle Slew could only produce dark colored offspring. Guess that was passed down?
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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

eolvera09 said:


> I had read somewhere that Seattle Slew could only produce dark colored offspring. Guess that was passed down?
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That would all depend on the underlying genetics and what he was bred to mare wise. He could have been homozygous black (never producing sorrel foals) but...After 2 generations that can easily be bred out if you know what your doing...And get lucky.


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## eolvera09 (Oct 14, 2010)

That's true. I wonder what causes the hazel eyes though...
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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

Looks like a champagne gene in the woodpile.
Here are some of their eyes


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## eolvera09 (Oct 14, 2010)

KigerQueen said:


> Looks like a champagne gene in the woodpile.
> Here are some of their eyes


Right? Could be. Wouldn't it effect their coats too?
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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Champagne doesn't just change eye colour though - it is a dilution gene, so it has effect on the coat colour as well, diluting it to a different shade. Champagne is very easy to see on the darker base colours, and can be less easy to see on the paler ones such as palomino. 

Here is a black champagne (classic):









And a bay champagne (amber):









As you can see, very conspicuous on the darker base colours. As well as that, champagne also causes mottled skin, which is visible on the muzzle and around the eyes, which the stallion in the OP is clearly missing.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

I think in the case of the stallion in the OP, the eyes are just unusual, not caused by champagne. The rich, golden tone to his coat is coming from two things - the time of day that the photo is taken at, and a bit of post-shoot artistry. 

This photo is the same shot, just taken at different times of day. See what a huge difference just changing the lighting can do to colour?


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

The eye thing must be from the dam side. Here is a maternal half sister named This girl is Special, with the same pale eyes:


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

My smoky black gelding (black + cream) has amber eyes similar to that. That would have been my guess seeing the pictures but it doesn't look like cream was present in the pedigree.


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## eolvera09 (Oct 14, 2010)

Thanks everyone 

Yeah I agree chiilaa on the time of day when pics are taken. That changes coats a lot. 

Tryst, yeah I'm pretty sure it is from the dams side. I also seen his half siblings from the dam and most have those eyes.
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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Seattle Slew was EE. He is listed as black but with the orange at the muzzle in many pics I always wondered if he was bay (brown) but never looked into it. I have a friend with a "black" (EE) thoroughbred mare that is registered black with the typical brown indicators.


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