# Grey horses... Homozygous and Heterozygous trends?



## Fiyaero (Dec 11, 2010)

I've just made the observation that it seems like homozygous grey horses seem to grey out a lot faster than heterozygous grey horses.

Does anybody have any input on this?
Show your grey horses and how fast they've greyed out.


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

I haven't had a chance to observe homozygous/heterozygous grays to much. I can tell you from personal experience though.

BLACK Gray Mare (MFT I think) - Started to show noticeable lighting in the face and body by five. She got progressively lighter, but 'gray gray' didn't start showing up until about five years old.

BLACK Gray Colt - Son to the mare. Noticeable graying by two years, born true black.

BLACK AND WHITE TOBIANO Gray Colt - Son of the black colt, by a black Tobiano filly. Noticeable graying by one year old, he pretty much showed real graying after he shed his baby coat. Born black and white Tobiano. 
September '10. He turns two in March I believe. 

























Unfortunately, no baby pictures  I have a few pics of his dam, but none of his sire or granddam. I think his grandsire is Dusty, sire of my Loki and Redman. Not sure though, I'll have to check when I pick him up. He's been gelded, so theres no telling how fast _his_ offspring would gray out


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

This is the first I've heard, I don't own any grays and haven't known any since they were young, but I know it varies by horse, by melanin production, I'd be interested to see if the Gray gene is in fact an incomplete dominant


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## Strange (Jan 11, 2009)

The grey gene can't be incomplete dominant because the phenotype of the heterozygote is indistinguishable from the dominant homozygote. If grey were an incomplete dominant then it wouldn't fully mask the base color. It would simple result in something of a lighter color, similar to the cream gene. With snap dragon flowers you can have red, white, or pink. The pink is merely a result of incomplete dominance of red over white (I believe it's red over white, could be the other way around). I've never seen a marked difference in a homozygous grey and a heterozygous grey when it comes to the speed of greying out. I wish I had some pictures of one of the Thoroughbreds I know. I do have some of two other greys I know though. 









7 y/o (I believe, she may be 6 going on 7) Arab/Hanoverian mare.









6 y/o Holsteiner/Thoroughbred gelding.


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

Could it be that the farther down the line, the faster the gray gene reacts? Then it slows down or....

That doesn't make any sense, does it?


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

To be honest, there has to be more at work than just the grey gene. Some homozygous greys do grey very quickly, but then so do some hetero greys. I hope they figure this all out before I die, otherwise I will be wandering around the afterlife with lots of questions lol.


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## Fiyaero (Dec 11, 2010)

twogeldings said:


> Could it be that the farther down the line, the faster the gray gene reacts? Then it slows down or....
> 
> That doesn't make any sense, does it?


I think it makes sense!
Ooh, and gorgeous greys everyone!


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

LP tends to make greys grey faster when LP is present.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

ND LP makes pretty much everything go whacky


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

That it does! lol


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

twogeldings said:


> I haven't had a chance to observe homozygous/heterozygous grays to much. I can tell you from personal experience though.
> 
> BLACK Gray Mare (MFT I think) - Started to show noticeable lighting in the face and body by five. She got progressively lighter, but 'gray gray' didn't start showing up until about five years old.
> 
> ...


It's interesting to see that your colt has white hairs sprinkled on his face, but no noticeable white hair around his eyes. My colt is doing the same thing!

It kind of frustrates me though, because nearly everything you read on the internet says they get these white "goggles" around their eyes, like that is always the FIRST place to gray out, and look for, if they are a gray. 

I have decided that my colt is in fact turning gray, even though he doesn't have goggles. He has lots of sprinkling on the bridge of his nose like your guy. And white hair sprinkled throughout his coat. But still no major noticeable white hair around his eyes. 

So why does everyone insist they must have "goggles" when they don't all gray out in that fashion? Isn't that kind of misleading to someone who is trying to figure out if their colt is a gray? 

I suppose there is a chance my colt could not be gray, but if he isn't, he's a funny looking roan. :lol:


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

trailhorserider said:


> It's interesting to see that your colt has white hairs sprinkled on his face, but no noticeable white hair around his eyes. My colt is doing the same thing!
> 
> It kind of frustrates me though, because nearly everything you read on the internet says they get these white "goggles" around their eyes, like that is always the FIRST place to gray out, and look for, if they are a gray.
> 
> ...


He NEVER had the goggles!  Nor did his granddam or sire. When he was born, he looked like a perfectly normal little Tobiano. Once he shed out his foal coat the edges of his markings began to fade and recess. He has general graying in the black areas. It's so strange, a true 'fading black'! :lol:

His granddamn did start graying mostly in the face first, but it was more like a 'sprinkled' graying. I think she'll be one of those grays with the black manes and tails that turn white last. 
I can't remember for the life of me if they still have her or not. I'll have to ask, they might even have his Great-Great Granddam. Do they have two gray mares? I thinkkkk so..... 
/can't keep all these horses straight


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

Every gray tends to gray a little differently faster or slower and not all get goggles but it is common but more for the faster freight ones in my experience
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

Here's an example of LP acting on grey-- this filly was born bay dun with LP characteristics (both parents colored Appaloosas), and is heterozygous grey (from her dam.) Here is the progression from birth to long weanling--

--------12 hours-----------------------------6 days------------------------28 days----------------------45 days---------






























-----------------------------110 days-----------------------------------






























-----------------------------9 months-------------------------------------------


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

Wow she greyed out FAST!


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## Fiyaero (Dec 11, 2010)

wakiya said:


> Wow she greyed out FAST!


Wow that is incredible!
This is my own girl (I'm the OP sory for not posting this first)
3 year old Polish Arab, getting her "grey gene tested" within the next couple of weeks!

I'm guessing Hetero, but we will see!

Fiyaero:


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

I would get my colt tested (he's a gelding now anyways) but my dad would give me a "You are so out of your frikkin mind" look :lol:


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