# Hes bay, right?



## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

I read a forum earlier and it was talking about how bays can look like browns. ( I have no idea on colors, other than what some look like and what can sometimes breed what.) 
But brown confuses me. Alot. My boy is a bay, right? 
(the first two are from august, at our week long fair and the last two are from april, when I first got him. )

































thanks.


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## jess93 (Oct 14, 2010)

yup hes bay. Hes bay because he has black points and black mane and tail
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

On the one forum it said browns can have same characteristics, and it had pictures of browns that had black points too..
unless I misread it..


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## LovesMyDunnBoy (Aug 11, 2011)

No, browns can have dark points too. But it's usually in certin seasons. I THINK he's brown, but not positive.
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## Britt (Apr 15, 2008)

I agree with jess93 and think he's bay.


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

i'd say brown but that's me. there is brown going all through the black on the legs and the ears/points themselves don't appear black - they're brown with black edges which imo doesn't really count as black points. 

i'm, of course, not an expert in any way.


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## LovesMyDunnBoy (Aug 11, 2011)

No, browns can have dark points too. But it's usually in certin seasons. I THINK he's brown, but not positive.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Wow. You're horse looks just like a horse I know. Crazy!


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

I have a horse with the same exact coloring and he is registered as a bay. His color does not change. I have heard that bays do not have to have solid black legs. My horses registry agreed he is a bay so.....interesting subject though.


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

Being in the sun would make the black darker than normal, right? 
Cause hes literally been out every day this summer and weve had barely any cloudy/rainy days. 
And yeah, he only has trimming on his ears. 
;_; i know nothing.


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

yeah, ive heard that too, because of wild bays and the different shades of bays. 
I was told by his past owner that he was mahogany, but I know hes not that, ive seen a few in person and they are beautiful.
oh and his mane/tail lightens out to a lighter brown ( kinda rusty looking), would that help?


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## Bridgertrot (Dec 2, 2011)

Do you have any pictures of him in a full winter coat? Judging by the last pics I'm leaning a little towards brown. Yes Bays do not have to have black legs, those are called wild bays. I would also not completely rely on the opinion of registries on color because they are way behind the times and don't recognize a large number of them. For instance a brown roan would be lumped under blue roan. The sun will not make dark points darker. I think you are confusing it with sun bleaching which will lighten the coat and make it a rust color.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Browns and bays are both modifications of the same gene which restrict *black* to the points of the horse. Each do it in different ways. *BOTH* bays and browns can and do have black points.


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

goneriding said:


> I have a horse with the same exact coloring and he is registered as a bay. His color does not change. I have heard that bays do not have to have solid black legs. My horses registry agreed he is a bay so.....interesting subject though.


most breed registries are only now just starting to recognize brown as a color separate from bay so that doesn't necessarily mean they're right. :/


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

oh ok. ive been told it can make the skin look darker around the points, so I was just thinking that. 
No, I dont have any of him in full winter coat, I just got him in april, sorry. :/


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## MelissaAnn (Aug 26, 2011)

If your horse looks brown in the winter and bay in the summer, its a brown. Bays are bay all year long.


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## SplashedOvero (May 16, 2012)

Im going with brown as well his ears just dont look like they have black on them & like a bay should have. bays ears are outlined LOL :lol:. & they stay bay all year round


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## DriftingShadow (Jun 4, 2012)

ok now I have to get up all in this discussion because it's peaked my interest. I have always considered Drifter to be a bay, because of the black 4 legs and the black mane and tail.However his ears are not really black. There is maybe the faintest outline of black around the edge, that is it. So would he be considered a brown as well? I would have originally thought the OP's horse to be bay as well.So I am no longer trusting my judgement ha ha! (the one pic is to show the outline of black around his ears)

Also what is meant by "stay a bay" all year round? The only thing that changes aobut Drifter's color is he is more bleached out on his mane and tail in the summer and his coat is faded. He is more "Blood bay" in winter...


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Whether a horse's ears are "outlined" in black or not is not one of the indicators of whether a horse is bay or brown. 

Browns get lighter in the soft points and can really have a dramatic color change between winter and summer coats. 

Bays tend to only have minor color changes between summer and winter coats.


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

So everyones going with brown? 
Once he gets his winter coat ill be posting them. Hes already shedding into it. I'm so excited for him to get fluffy. Lol.


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## SplashedOvero (May 16, 2012)

DriftingShadow said:


> ok now I have to get up all in this discussion because it's peaked my interest. I have always considered Drifter to be a bay, because of the black 4 legs and the black mane and tail.However his ears are not really black. There is maybe the faintest outline of black around the edge, that is it. So would he be considered a brown as well? I would have originally thought the OP's horse to be bay as well.So I am no longer trusting my judgement ha ha! (the one pic is to show the outline of black around his ears)
> 
> Also what is meant by "stay a bay" all year round? The only thing that changes aobut Drifter's color is he is more bleached out on his mane and tail in the summer and his coat is faded. He is more "Blood bay" in winter...


Your horse is bay He seems to look the same in the pictures just some hes been sun bleached.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

my Vote is Bay


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

Heres some winter coat pictures. And found a baby picture on his pedigree. 
His hair is a dark brownish color with lighter at the roots. 








His face did turn 'mealy' on his nose and behind is eyes, it did a little bit on his flank but not as dramatic as we blanket them too often. 
























(sorry for poor quality. All were taken with my phone)


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## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

He does look to be a brown to me, with the mealing.

Though there's a horse here with mealing that's been tested and came back, to my current knowledge, as AAt (bay carrying brown) so now I'm more confused than I ever was XD


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## MelissaAnn (Aug 26, 2011)

the new pictures confirms brown. and i cant believe in my previous post that i didn't mention how adorable your show outfit is. and your saddle is beautiful!


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

Thank you. I was thinking he was brown, now that I know what to look for but i second guess myself a lot.


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## Inedine (Dec 17, 2012)

Jip that's as bay as they come


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## OutOfTheLoop (Apr 1, 2012)

I'm just not seeing the characteristics of the horse being brown. I'm going to jump off and call him bay.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

Im even more confused now. ;_;


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Bay. i am not a color expert, and since he is a gelding, and you are not breeding for color, I would say bay. If you want to know the exact color have him color tested. Personally I think its a waste of money.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Bay. Mealing is a different gene. He has an even coat color. There is no lightening behind the elbows, on the bottom of the barrel or under the eye as is consistent with brown. The lighter areas are present summer and winter. Bay is to the left back, brown in the middle and sooty bay on the far right.


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## SunnyMeadeFarm (Sep 3, 2012)

I own a classic brown, but your horse says brown to me. The only reason I say that is the fact that he has a orange muzzle on the pictures where he has a thicker coat. That is what happens to my boy, he gets bright copper on his nose in winter. But I wish I could see his legs in his summer coat, sometimes browns get more noticeable dark legs in winter, his are pretty dark in the thick coat.


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## Spirit Lifter (Apr 23, 2012)

He's Brown but only way to 100% verify it is color testing. You'll have a hard time convincing most folks that he is not a bay. Generally speaking, most people associate the black points with being a bay although it is not always accurate. Just like most people call a Red Dun with the dorsal stripe a Buckskin. It's what folks have always been associated with or familiar with. Before color testing horses came into being, your horse would have been unarguably a bay.


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

Yep. He looks like he's either a mahogany bay or a dark bay. 

but Brown bay seems to fit him better.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Actually, I would call him a pretty typical bay. There is no significant color difference between his summer and winter coats, and he doesn't have the pronounced lightening of the soft areas (behind the elbows, in the flanks, and on the butt below the tail) that brown horses have, especially in winter.

Oh, and just for everyone's information, whether the horse is brown or bay has absolutely no bearing on how pronounced the dark points are. So, because his legs aren't jet black all the way up or he doesn't have obvious black all the way around his ears doesn't tell us anything about whether the horse might be bay or brown.

Of course, like others have said, the only way to know for certain would be to have him tested for which type of Agouti he's carrying, but I'm fairly convinced he's just a regular bay.


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## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

smrobs said:


> Actually, I would call him a pretty typical bay. There is no significant color difference between his summer and winter coats, and he doesn't have the pronounced lightening of the soft areas (behind the elbows, in the flanks, and on the butt below the tail) that brown horses have, especially in winter.
> 
> Oh, and just for everyone's information, whether the horse is brown or bay has absolutely no bearing on how pronounced the dark points are. So, because his legs aren't jet black all the way up or he doesn't have obvious black all the way around his ears doesn't tell us anything about whether the horse might be bay or brown.
> 
> Of course, like others have said, the only way to know for certain would be to have him tested for which type of Agouti he's carrying, but I'm fairly convinced he's just a regular bay.


True XD

We have two browns at the farm where I board. The BO's mare is your typical seal brown, very dark with light tan muzzle, around the eyes, and flanks. My boy looks convincingly bay in the warmer month and when his winter coat comes in he shows his colors. He *only* meals out around his muzzle and a liiiiiittttle bit around the eyes though, not his flanks, not his elbows, not his butt. But he's brown as far as I know.


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