# Dun or Buckskin?



## Dressage10135 (Feb 11, 2009)

Ah, the age old question :lol: I got a new horse a couple weeks ago and I always get the markings between duns and buckskins confused. So any help would be appreciated! 

This is Peanut, he is a Belgian/TB cross (I'm not the one riding him in these pictures): 

224 Kelsey Lindstrom on Southern Flyboy - Troutstreaming outdoor and sports media - photography by J. Andrew Towell

Those pictures are from the spring. And this one is from a couple weeks ago:


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

He's a dun. Duns have markings like a dorsal stripe, zebra barring on their legs, a sort of shading mark on their withers (this isn't as common as barring or a dorsal stripe. I've never seen it on a horse in person, only in pictures). And they're usually kind of a duller colour compared to a buckskin that has yellow tints to it. But he's sure a pretty boy and hugeeeee. 

Buckskins don't have any of those markings. They have black points on their legs, but no barring and no dorsal stripe. My avatar is my mare, who is a buckskin.

ETA: I looked at the pictures again, and he has a bit of of the wither shadowing. (I'm not sure its actual name..)


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Poseidon - Shoulder barring.  That is the term you are looking for. lol


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## Gizmo (Dec 19, 2010)

Dun, but it is hard I know.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

NdAppy said:


> Poseidon - Shoulder barring.  That is the term you are looking for. lol


Thank you! I can never remember what it's called.


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## Dressage10135 (Feb 11, 2009)

Thank you all! His shoulder barring is a lot easier to see in person.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Well duns & buckskins are very similar. However to be a true dun, the horse has to carry the gene meaning one of the parents should have been a dun.
Though you can find the dorsal in buckskins, you don't typically see the leg or shoulder barring. 
Very pretty horse btw!!


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

He looks like a dun to me. If it's important to you, you could always DNA test for Buckskin (it's $25) as it's possible he could be a Dunskin. He's very pretty


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## DunOverIt (Dec 14, 2010)

He looks like a dunskin. 

I can see the shoulder but also his neck is shadowed. And he appears to have a bit of a mask, too. All dun factors.


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## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

He's not buckskin, he looks like a dun, his dorsal stripe does not look like counter shading in those pics (other then they usually run through the tail), BUT are you sure of his breed? Because if I'm not mistaken neither of those breeds come in dun, and you have to have it to get it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

haviris said:


> He's not buckskin, he looks like a dun, his dorsal stripe does not look like counter shading in those pics (other then they usually run through the tail), BUT are you sure of his breed? Because if I'm not mistaken neither of those breeds come in dun, and you have to have it to get it.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


He may not be 100% half and half. I mean if one of his parents is say, 3/4 TB, 1/4 QH, maybe she just bought him as a part TB, rather than saying he's 1/8 QH. Because a QH easily could be dun. Just an idea.


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## shesinthebarn (Aug 1, 2009)

He looks like a buckskin with dun factor to me. Do you know what colour his parents are?


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I don't think he's a dunskin. He's more orangey than golden. I still say just dun.

But it would definitely help if you knew anything about his parents or grandparents.


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## anshorsenut88 (Dec 27, 2010)

I agree with some of the others. He is definitely dun...on the dunskin... I don't know. I don't think he is dunskin because the the coloring just doesn't seem right to be that. If you know the parents color that would greatly help. Because if there is not a parent with a dilute color like Palomino, Buckskin, Perlino, or Cremello. I can see all the indications of dun though so I am sure he is at least that! I have to say ... he is a very handsome boy!!!!  The DNA testing is a good route if you don't know the dam and sire and is not very expensive. Good luck with your new horse and congratulations! He is a very pretty horse.


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## anshorsenut88 (Dec 27, 2010)

Here is the website of a Dunskin stallion. You can see he is more of a yellower (creamier) color with the dun factor. If you scroll down to the body shots you can see some better fuller pictures.  Hope this helps. 

NewGallery


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

With the first mention of a Dunskin I didn't know what it referred to, but looking at the link of the Dunskin Stallion ,FormulaOne I now understand the term. The OP's horse, Peanut could be a Dunskin. He has a dorsal stripe.

Here is a picture of the POA I bought for my Grandkids. She is POA, because she has the striped hoofs, the sclera of her eyes show and her nose is mottled as well as under her tail. She just had no spots on her rump or anywhere else. 








She is a Dun, because she didn't have the black mane or tail or black on her legs. The coloring on her legs is called varnishing.

In the picture of the POA that's my sister and her Grandson on her. The Dalmation colored dog is one we did have. The bottom picture is one of me and my QH. I put both pictures together to scan them for my photo album site.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

candandy49 said:


> With the first mention of a Dunskin I didn't know what it referred to, but looking at the link of the Dunskin Stallion ,FormulaOne I now understand the term. The OP's horse, Peanut could be a Dunskin. He has a dorsal stripe.


A dorsal stripe does not a dun make. Non duns can and do have dorsals. They are normally referred to as counter shading, but they can and do mimic a true dun dorsal very well.



candandy49 said:


> She is a Dun, because she didn't have the black mane or tail or black on her legs. The coloring on her legs is called varnishing.


This part makes no sense. If she has no dun characteristics she was/is not a dun.


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

^^^^^She certainly is not a Buckskin.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

he looks like a dun. but does he have pangare? that usually comse from belgiansa nd he loosk to have that. which i love on really deep colored horses, he's gorgeous for sure! not matter what color he is classified as.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

candandy49 said:


> ^^^^^She certainly is not a Buckskin.


The first picture looks to be a buttermilk buckskin. From that picture, I can't see any dun factors. Do you have any others? Or any information on her parents? If one of her parents was a dun, we could more easily determine if she is a buckskin or a dunskin.


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## Dressage10135 (Feb 11, 2009)

Hey everyone, thanks for all the opinions! I don't know what color his parents are.. I was told from the seller that he is half Belgian and half Thoroughbred (potentially some Quarter Horse). Lilkitty, he does have pangare for sure.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Mmmm, he could very easily be dunskin. Don't base the idea of a color off one or two horses - shading can come in such a wide array, look at chestnuts or even black duns. Dun typically stays the same shade, however buckskin most definitely does not which results in dunskins being a wide variety of shades.

The intensity of his black markings makes me think buckskin - dun's tend to be much more "primitive" with almost shaded black legs with zebra striping. Of course, this isn't a rule, but you cannot rule out buckskin being under there. Here are some examples of dunskin to show the wide range:









Dunskin stallion









Dunskin gelding

And for example, these are standard bay duns which I REALLY do not think this horse looks like at all:



















Definitely he *could* be, but the shading and the intensity of his black points indicate some cream at play to me!


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## justjump (Jan 18, 2011)

Dun! But is he LOVELY! I love the big ones Especially since he's thick, that just adds onto the prettyness of him!


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## HalieBaby (Jan 21, 2011)

With the dorsal stripe and shoulder barring he's a Dun,very handsome boy!


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## Dressage10135 (Feb 11, 2009)

Thank you for all the compliments! I'm starting to think Dunskin might be what he is.. his coloring is very similar to that stallion MM posted (its easier to see all of his markings in person, I'll try to get better pictures tomorrow). 

His previous owner said that while he is fairly dark now, he gets almost a buttermilk color in the summer and his black points really stand out. He does have some of the "zebra striping" on his legs.. can dunskins have that too?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Typically you would expect to see some zebra striping on the upper legs, but with dunskins it IS possible for it to be "hidden" by the darkness of the black legs. His dorsel stripe is intense enough that I would say he is definitely dun - countershading can produce a dorsel stripe but it is almost always quite wide and faded, more of a shadow then an intense black line. It's just the intensity of his black markings and shade of coat that make me really believe he's got buckskin in their to! Not to mention, the pangre cis helping to produce a slightly different shade as well!

So I would say he's definitely 100% dun, with the potential to also be buckskin.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

year Dressage10135, essentially a dunskin is a just a buckskin colored dun so it is possible if he is a dunskin to have all the primitive markings but have a buttery color. (like spirit!)


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## anshorsenut88 (Dec 27, 2010)

I agree lilkitty90. It is a lot of the time a buckskin that has the primitive markings. My pic I used was more of just a reference of a horse I had saved on my computer as a possible stallion to breed to. They can range in a lot of colors.  If you really want to know about him having a cream gene I would have him tested. It's only like $25. Other than that everything is just a guess. More importantly, he is a good horse and handsome to boot!


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## anshorsenut88 (Dec 27, 2010)

I meant to add that the reason for all the different shades are because of the kind of dun the parent was. In other words, zebra dun, lobo dun, gold dun, coyote dun. These can essentially make different shades of "dunskins" when bred to a cream parent. This is where knowing the parents can be useful. Other modifiers like sooty or pangare can make a different look also. If you look at the horse in my "barn" named Duke, he is extremely sooty and it almost makes him look black at times.


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