What Color is My Mare?

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Well I purchased this mare is May of 2009 and as many of you know, she is expecting a foal from my main man this spring/summer. I was informed she was a Palomino Pinto with one blue eye and in fact that is what her papers said. My girl is a beatiful girl bred by Hephziba Hobby Horse Farm and I am her third owner. In all her pictures, you would think a normal Palomino Pinto but I have discovered something quite unusual. . .

I was inspecting her today and feeling for foal movements when I discovered a HUGE (don't know how anyone could miss it) clump of BLACK tail hair

!!! I was dumbfounded! So obviously she is no longer a palomino, correct? I was thinking maybe a silver buckskin or smokey cream? I don't have her papers on me right now as they are at the AMHR headquarters getting transferred into my name and brought permenant but her registered name is DILLARDS HHH CLOSE ENOUGH TO PERFECT if anyone wants to look up her parents colors.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on this mare? Below are pictures and information. Thanks guys!

PLEASE ESCUSE HER BEING STRAIGHT FROM THE PASTURE AND NOT ALL "DOLLED UP". ALSO, THE BLACK TAIL HAIR IS MIXED IN WITH THE WHITE!

SUMMER 2009

JANUARY 13TH 2010

FEBRUARY 4TH 2010

FEBRUARY 4TH 2010

FEBRUARY 4TH 2010

 

[chandab]

She is very pretty. She sure looks palomino, but it looks like she has white legs, so it would hard to tell if she was a silver something without being able to see if she has silvery lower legs or even buckskin pinto (with white mane and mostly white tail as thats where pinto marking are). If I'm not mistaken, Sooty can cause black even on red-based horses. [she'd have to have two blue eyes and pink skin to be smokey cream. At least one eye looks dark in the pictures, and her muzzle is dark, so not double cream.]

You can always color test to find out. As she sure looks to have cream, you could start with just the red factor and agouti tests to see if she is red or black based and with or without agouti.

Oh, I'd she could live in my herd any day, she's just lovely.

 

[Katiean]

If I am seeing right she is a pinto. Right? With her legs being white (because of being pinto) she does have the black in her tail. I would say Bay or silver bay. I am not good with pinto patterns so you will have to get that from someone else.

 

[wrs]

She looks palomino pinto to me. Some palominos get black hairs in there mane & tail.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

She is a beautiful llittle girl isn't she?

She's only 31.25" tall but she's beautifully proportioned.

Yes, she does have a solid white mane and four solid white legs. She has one solid blue eye but it's on her left side.

I thought that Palominos couldn't have the black in their tails? I seriously doubt she is gentically a palomino now. . .so I am going to have her color tested. . .

WHICH COLOR TESTS SHOULD I RUN ON HER? I'm already sending in for LWO since she is a pinto but I need to know which base color tests to run.

Thanks!

 

[Matt73]

Like wrs said, some palominos will have those black hairs in their tails. My palomino mare had dark hairs in the center too...

 

[Karin - NaKar Miniatures]

I would say that she is a palomino pinto who probably has a touch of the silver gene.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

WOW - Really? Palomino's with black hairs? That's weird! Her's aren't just here and there - it's a nice big fist full of these pitch black hairs.

I am going to test her for LWO, Red/Black Factor & Agouti. . .anything else that I should test her for? I am debating on whether or not to do Cream. . .I mean isn't it kinda obvious she has a cream gene?

I hope no one minds but would it be possible for you to post pictures of your true palominos with black mixed tails?

THANKS!

 

[Flaxenacres]

Yes some palomino's have black or gray hairs in their mane and tail. I also have a 17 year old stallion that has dark hairs in the inside of his legs.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

It really does look as if she is Palomino pinto.

Test for Silver as well as the other things, BTW.

I have known many, many big palominos with far more black in their manes and tails than that, if you are a Palomino "purist" it is a fault, but, then, so are blue eyes, and neither stops a horse being pretty!!

 

[ohmt]

I have a few chestnut mares that have a lot of black/gray hairs mixed into their manes and tails...i still think your girl is palomino but i suppose testing her would clear up any of your ponderings

 

[Miniv]

I bet she has the silver gene in her.......Which means she's got a black gene working too.......This should be an interesting color test.

What is her color pedigree ?(like that is going to be accurate. LOL!)

 

[~Amanda~]

I would test for LWO, Red/Black, Agouti, Cream, and Silver.

To me, she looks Palomino Pinto. She can't be a double-dilute as she has one dark eye. Double dilutes always have blue eyes. I don't see any dark "smudges" or anything that says buckskin or silver bay to me. Her coloring seems very "red/yellow" to me.

She might have some Sooty. Sooty can make darker hairs in the mane and/or tail and darker shading in general, though her Tobiano markings could cover it. This is Mr Yella Fella. He's definitely a palomino, but you can see how Sooty has made his mane and tail darker: http://www.fossilgatefarms.com/mryellafella.html He genetically cannot be anything but a palomino or a cremello(both parents are palominos).

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

I say sooty palomino, two of my favorite big horse stallions are sooty palomino, they've got the golden body but the 'off' colored darker mane/tail:

Chex Nu Jewel, he's got the blonde tail but the darker mane:

Chex 1

Chex 2

and Mr Yella Fella

Yella 1

Yella 2

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I bet she has the silver gene in her.......Which means she's got a black gene working too.......This should be an interesting color test.
What is her color pedigree ?(like that is going to be accurate. LOL!)

No, it doesn't work that way.

If she had a "black gene" she would be Buckskin, if she had Silver +Black+Cream she would be Silver Buckskin.

Black is always dominant over Red.

 

[Getitia]

Here you go Katie - this is our DNA color tested palomino stallion - he is negative for silver - has two red & 1 creme - We had him tested as every one thought that he was a silver buckskin.

The sooty gene in Palominos often result in the addition of dapples/dark hairs in the mane/tail ( his tail is about 1/2 black) and dark legs. Dream is a good example of the impact of the sooty gene.

I suspect your mare is a palomino pinto

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Here you go Katie - this is our DNA color tested palomino stallion - he is negative for silver - has two red & 1 creme - We had him tested as every one thought that he was a silver buckskin.
The sooty gene in Palominos often result in the addition of dapples/dark hairs in the mane/tail ( his tail is about 1/2 black) and dark legs. Dream is a good example of the impact of the sooty gene.

I suspect your mare is a palomino pinto

Did you test for Dun, by any chance??

I LOVE this horse, BTW!!!