# Foal colour classification - STUMPED



## EponaLynn (Jul 16, 2013)

SO cute is what I'd call her! I'm no color expert.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I think a cute chestnut.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Is it possible she has the silver gene?

I think she is going to turn chocolate brown... her foal coat is shedding and you can see her adult color on her face.

I was able to tour a tb breeding farm. One of their foals had stripes on his legs where his light brown coat was shedding to black. He was turning into a bay, but it looked like someone drew a line down his legs. Half was foal colored, the other half pure black. Pretty neat looking!


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

4horses said:


> Is it possible she has the silver gene?
> 
> I think she is going to turn chocolate brown... her foal coat is shedding and you can see her adult color on her face.
> 
> I was able to tour a tb breeding farm. One of their foals had stripes on his legs where his light brown coat was shedding to black. He was turning into a bay, but it looked like someone drew a line down his legs. Half was foal colored, the other half pure black. Pretty neat looking!


She could have the silver gene but do not know enough about her lineage to be sure.. Her Sire has never thrown one like her.

She is her Dam's second foal- first was a chestnut/white pinto filly. 

Makes me think her Dam possibly could carry the silver but I'm no colour expert either


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

Kora @ 15wks


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Have you got a newborn picture? To be honest, that will be a lot better for us to look at if we want to identify her colour


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

Chiilaa said:


> Have you got a newborn picture? To be honest, that will be a lot better for us to look at if we want to identify her colour


Couple pics on day she was born..


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

Black foals can get very sunburnt, particularly with their foal coat. But I wonder if she is a buckskin, and her sire is not black but a smokey black, which can look very similar to black in some cases.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Gah, she's adorable <3

I don't suppose grulla is an option (?)


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Based on the newborn pictures, I think she is black with a lot of bleaching, and baby flaxen in the tail causing the "blonde" look.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I definitely think she is a silver!

Look at the foal at the bottom of this page. Looks familiar!
Black Silver - Silver Equine

All these pictures are of the same horse expressing the silver gene!
Silver Fox | Color Genetics

Looks like you will have some interesting color changes in the future!


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## Exotic (Dec 29, 2014)

Looks like a dark color will result. Black, Bay, or black bay maybe.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

4horses said:


> I definitely think she is a silver!
> 
> Look at the foal at the bottom of this page. Looks familiar!
> Black Silver - Silver Equine
> ...


I see absolutely no sign at all of silver to be honest. I would expect to have seen some sign of silver eyelashes by now, but they are not present at all. I would also expect some striping of the hooves, but that doesn't seem to be there either. Mostly, though, I would expect the roots of the mane to be paler too - remember, this is a pony, and ponies tend to express silver in a different, more extreme way than big horses do. There is little doubt in my mind that the OP's horse is a black that is fading. It is particularly common for black foals to bleach heavily, and being located in Australia, it is likely the foal has no restriction on it's access to sunlight (foals are very rarely stalled in Australia), and it is currently the height of summer here, so plenty of sun time.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Chiilaa said:


> Based on the newborn pictures, I think she is black with a lot of bleaching, and baby flaxen in the tail causing the "blonde" look.


Yeah I was thinking black with the initial pictures and the baby coat just backs it up.

That's some pretty extreme fuzz and unusual coloring on a newborn!!

Remember in the more recent pics she is clearly shedding..

I'm assuming dad is a true black and not a pseudo-black (smokey black, very dark buckskin, etc). Either way I think it's likely the foal is black.


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## millymei36 (Jan 24, 2015)

I would actually call her a bay roan or strawberry roan. If you google these coloured horses, you may find some surprisingly similar results


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

millymei36 said:


> I would actually call her a bay roan or strawberry roan. If you google these coloured horses, you may find some surprisingly similar results


For roan of any type to be a possibility, one of the parents would have to be roan. Since neither parent is (not even sure minis carry roan), the foal cannot be roan.

Foal coats can change drastically before the adult color is apparent. 

I agree that she is most likely black.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Not a roan. I would say black , and depending on how the foal finishes shedding out dark brown. Mom is a sorrel pinto. If the foals mane was lighter i would say silver.


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## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

millymei36 said:


> I would actually call her a bay roan or strawberry roan. If you google these coloured horses, you may find some surprisingly similar results


Beware of googling horse colors, you get many results that are a different color. Many colors are mislabeled or misidentified. 

Saw a horse ad for a "blue roan" and all the pictures were of a chestnut. Seller said both parents were blue roan and that is why he was brown colored but still a blue roan *head desk* this yearling they were selling didn't even have any roaning and was a bright chestnut

Foal coats are always tricky and can trick even the experienced color guru as they can go through drastic changes until they are in an adult color which may not be until they shed their first winter coat, if this foal was this color as an adult I would want color testing because it would be very odd lol


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

SunnyDraco said:


> Foal coats are always tricky and can trick even the experienced color guru as they can go through drastic changes until they are in an adult color which may not be until they shed their first winter coat, if this foal was this color as an adult I would want color testing because it would be very odd lol


Haha yep! She's definitely in the 'tricky' colour category at the moment.

Thanks everyone for your brainstorming. I've just gotten home after 5 days away from home with no computer access. 

I'll have to take a pic or two tomorrow to upload. Her fuzz is almost completely off her legs and she most certainly looks different again. Only peeked in over the stable door.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I had a colt that was very similar in colour when he was born and I called him Dusty because of his colour. He turned out to be a dark brown with lighter on the muzzle and flanks.
Some days his name was Dusty - other days his name was MUD!


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

Couple pics from today.. Tried to catch eyelashes, all legs, face, mane, tail etc


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## Louise01 (Jan 20, 2015)

I get a bit trigger happy sorry ;P


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## lovelyStory (Oct 2, 2012)

my heart! She Exploded from the Cuteness!


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