# Blue roan or grey?



## MacabreMikolaj

http://winnipeg.kijiji.ca/c-pets-livestock-for-sale-3-yr-old-registered-blue-roan-mare-W0QQAdIdZ404985754
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## smrobs

I would say 100%, without a doubt, gray.


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## texasgal

I would say gray also .. could be gray on blue roan, but the result is the same .. she's gray.

She's very cute!


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## MacabreMikolaj

I really liked this mare and let them know that but that she was grey and they literally freaked out on me just because she's "papered" blue roan. I don't think I even see roan UNDER the grey.
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## texasgal

The papers are only as good as the person who fills out the form. I have a BROWN gelding registered as blue roan. They "thought he would roan and he never did".


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## MacabreMikolaj

I know, people are dense. It's not like AQHA is that good with colors or actually checks. I told the owners they could email me and apologize when she's blatantly grey in a year or two.
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## CLaPorte432

MacabreMikolaj said:


> I know, people are dense. It's not like AQHA is that good with colors or actually checks. I told the owners they could email me and apologize when she's blatantly grey in a year or two.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That is hilarious. 

I can imagine how dump theyll feel in 2 years when shes so grey shes white.,
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## MacabreMikolaj

That's kind of what I thought. I wish I was there to see their faces when she's so obviously a grey they feel like a jerk for calling me names and swearing 50,000 people would call her blue roan. *rolls eyes*
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## smrobs

Well, it is nice to know that it's not just _my_ area of the boondocks that "gray" and "blue roan" are interchangeable until the horse is about 6 or 7 :lol:.


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## texasgal

I went to their website. I suspect the intellectual horse knowledge of any breeder that thinks how a horse is built is their Confirmation.


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## MacabreMikolaj

Bahahaha that's awesome. I didnt even check to see if they had a site. I've never heard of them so obviously that says something. Not that I'm an expert or anything but you know the well known barns in your area. It's a shame though because I REALLY liked this filly. I guess you don't necessarily require intelligence to breed.
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## texasgal

I like her too. Even gray!


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## MacabreMikolaj

Yeah I went and checked out the barn and sure enough, none of their horses have done diddly crap but breed. I dont know why I'm surprised. They seem to have more accomplishments training dogs.
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## verona1016

It would be pretty easy for them to prove she's roan instead of gray if they wanted to. They don't even post her name, so you can't check her pedigree to see if either parent was gray or roan. Even a baby picture could prove it (if she were in fact roan)


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## MacabreMikolaj

That would involve actually understanding how roan and grey work, LOL.
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## Blackburn

Grey.
The best way to tell the difference between a roan and a grey is that greys get grey heads roads have the solid base color head.
So a red road horse would have a chestnut head starting at the throat latch it will road out. So a blue roan will have a black head this mare has a grey head.


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## MacabreMikolaj

Yeah I know that's what I told them.
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## xsnwzyr

there is no doubt that I would say gary


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## LuvMyPerlinoQH

LOL Oh the AQHA does check just ask the owner of Spooks Gotta Whiz when she tried to register one of his foals it had excess white **** of course it does look at baby who btw is dna'ed color and all on file with the AQHA but she fought with them for months with this finally just got the foal reg.


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## Saddlebag

Looks roan to me. She may have started out with a darker head but a grey's mane and tail is close in color to the body color. This filly's are much darker as are her lower legs.


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## Chiilaa

It is very, very common for at least the horse's mane to remain dark, or even go darker as they grey. This mare is definitely grey. She doesn't have any indication of roan at all IMO.


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## verona1016

It does throw me off a bit that there's no gray evident in the filly's tail. She almost looks grulla. I don't think I could say for certain what color she is without knowing what color her parents are, or baby pictures, or genetic testing...


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## texasgal

I still think she could have roan and gray. That may be why her body is so light so young. But the outcome is the same .. she's gray.


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## MacabreMikolaj

Shes blatantly grey. The only question is whether she was roan under the grey. She doesn't even have a trace of the actual blue tinge you'd see on roan - I have routinely seen this shade of grey mistaken for roan due to the dark mane, tail and legs. However her face is a dead giveaway that she is greying. Grulla doesnt appear to be an option, there is no dorsal stripe or leg barring. Even if she was greying over grulla, you would still see the dun evidence at this stage.
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## ThirteenAcres

My grey's mane is getting darker and darker with age as Chiilaa said. Her body is MUCH lighter than her mane/tail. In fact, her mane and tail are just about the only things that no longer show any of the sorrel she once was.Greys. So weird.


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## HorsegurlHR

Remember, the main difference between blue roan and grey is what color the horse was when she was young (between 1 and 6 years). If she had all white hairs and black skin then she is grey. If she had white hairs on her darker base coat and unroaned legs she is considered roan. Correct me if I am wrong but this is what I was taught


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## verona1016

No, gray is a progressive lightening of the base coat color that eventually ends up in an all-white or fleabitten horse. The horse is born with his base color and may or may not show signs of graying as a foal (though most do after shedding their foal coats).

Roan is white hair interspersed throughout the base color (for blue roan, the base color is black). The foal is born roan. The roan pattern may change season-to-season and year-to-year, but doesn't progressively lighten to white.


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## Joidigm

One Spotted Walker breeder I know always said you know it is a grey when the new born foals are black as velvet. You know it is a black, when it is dark grey or brown. Weird, but true. All of that breeders grey babies started black as black could be, but they never stayed black.

I will put one vote down for grey.

My wild card would have been black champagne, but taking a second look at her, probably not. She's already to steel grey to really have any cream or champagne in her. She would have stayed a mousey brown/grey if she did.


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## MacabreMikolaj

What happens if they aren't born black or brown?
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## Joidigm

MacabreMikolaj said:


> What happens if they aren't born black or brown?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Haha I honestly have no idea, I'm not a breeder. Although I have seen his grey babies and his black babies, so I understand the difference. I do not know about dun's or chestnuts that go grey, although they never look like a "standard" grey does to me either. Like.. there is grey (which started as black or near black), and then there is color that has gone grey, and you can always tell what the color is underneath until they fully white out. But a black horse that has gone grey is always incredibly striking with the dark steely color and the outstanding dapples. Those are the greys I am used to seeing. That funky greyish looks like it might be a roan but really isn't a roan (like the OP posted)? I don't see them very often to be honest.


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## texasgal

I think grey babies are typically born with a more "adult" coloring. They are BLACK .. instead of the normal mouse grey -- BAY complete with black legs .. instead of the normal foal bay with tan-ish legs -- a deep chestnut, legs and all.. instead of the normal foal chestnut with all the light shading.

Don't know why, but it is.

Then by the time they are shedding their foal coat, you can see white hairs on the face and eyelashes ...


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