# Does mule colours work the same way as horse colours?



## muumi (Oct 17, 2011)

This is my guy... I think he is bay. Am I right? I don't know anything about mules, as they are very very rare here. In fact, I don't know about another one at all...

He's got a lot of the mealy going on, and in fact underneath his tummy he is pure white (although now I think about it, I think he may have a bit of a black line on his tummy, he grows really long black hairs among the white in winter. But I will have to check to be sure.)

But mealy-ness is standard for mules right?

As you can see on the pic, the top third of his neck is much darker than his body colour, and he has dark hair coming down his shoulder from his whither (but no stripes).

He has a dorsal stripe, a pretty dark, distinct one, which you can't see in the photo unfortunately... is this pretty standard for mules to have?

He has black points: black to the knee, black main and tail, ears are not black but rimmed in black.

Are all these things just the normal 'mule' expression of bay? Or do mules express colours in a similar way to horses?


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## AnnaHalford (Mar 26, 2012)

I know nothing about mule colours  But he is very pretty! How old is he? And whereabouts are you?


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## muumi (Oct 17, 2011)

I just googled the words 'Bay Mule'... and these are some of what came up...
They do look quite similar in terms of having a lot of the same markings as I described above... But they don't look bay to me at all!

My dude looks a lot bay-er to me, ha!


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## muumi (Oct 17, 2011)

AnnaHalford said:


> I know nothing about mule colours  But he is very pretty! How old is he? And whereabouts are you?


Thanks! I also think he's gorgeous. He's 8 years old and 10hh, and I got him from the SPCA because I just couldn't resist that face!

We live in South Africa.


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## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

Mule colors can be similar, but not completely the same (for example mules can't be overo). Because of the dun factor I'd probably call him a bay dun (or either would be correct), alot of mules are duns because most donkeys are. There are non dun mules and donkeys, they just aren't as common. And yes the 'mealy-ness' is also quite common. He's adorable!


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## MakeYourMark (Feb 10, 2012)

They get the "cross" across the shoulders from the donkey side of the family.  The bay mules you see in that picture are actually often referred to as "seal brown," which is a common color among mules. But then you have to remember that with a mule, you're crossing two different species: _Equus caballus_ and _Equus asinus_, which can cause mule colors to differ from horse ones, and obviously from donkey ones.


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