IRL color genetics

so my Icelandic is bay, obviously. but do you think he's sooty, too? no matter the time of year his head is always darker than the rest of his body, and his neck appears to be as well. i'd say pangare, too, because of his muzzle, but he's not lighter at all around his flanks. just curious for opinions :)

(feel free to add to this thread with pics of other horses as well)

not sooty, and not pangare. bay is one of those rude colors that comes in all different shades and colors. i had a bay that had a liver chestnut head and neck, but black legs and a brown body. i also had another bay that looked very similar to your horse, though her whole body was a super dark shade and her legs were pitch black, but her head was also darker, and she had that super bright muzzle and flank.

sooty would exhibit itself over the neck, back, ribcage, and the top of the butt. the darker head and neck is actually common of your boy's breed, and his lighter muzzle is just a nice expression of bay's way of lightening sections of the body.

you've got a beautiful horse! i love his conformation.

gotcha. i know Iceys come in pretty much every color of the equine rainbow so i wasn't sure (i'm not really that familiar with how things like sooty and pangare are expressed IRL).

and thank you! he's a super nice horse (his sire is a first prize stallion and was 3rd at the world championships in four-gait, and his dam is a second prize mare) and i'm really lucky to have him :)

Potentially bay or brown.

I was going to hold a study on how phenotypes within agouti vary depending on their genotype (bay A, brown At, and non-agouti a). However, the only lab that tested for the brown mutation shut down that particular service due to ongoing research on a potential link between the brown and non-agouti alleles. *sigh*

Bay typically doesn't produce mealing around the squishy soft parts of the body - which would be the muzzle, eyes, elbows, flanks, inner thighs, and buttocks. There is dispute even among genetics enthusiasts about bay vs brown... but honestly most of what is said is conjecture and not based on any studies on how the genetics affect phenotype, which is why I wanted to host the definitive study.

Sooty is not a one-expression type thing. It doesn't just cover the dorsal area like Elegant said. That is countershading and could be an expression of sooty. Sooty can also present as full-body darkening (liver chestnuts, chocolate palomino, etc.), dappling, freckles or dark spots (possible cause of grease and bend or spots), and even brindle or just a random dark patch or entire mane or tail on lighter horses.

Vos, he does have a counter shading stripe down his back. you can kinda see it in this pic (it's not a great pic and the lighting is weird because indoor arena, but you can see the stripe on his bum)



Last edited on 2016-04-28 at 14:54:45 by C.razy A.ngel

my other dude (Arab x QH) has a bend spot. i assume the white on his right hip is an old injury that grew in white rather than a weird sabino spot (also, i can promise he's not that fat anymore, lol)

I just wish science would hurry up so I can do my study XD

Yes, injuries can sometimes grow back white hair (oddly enough in roans it's the opposite, they grow back dark).

Get a picture of his belly? He might just be a super understated mealy.

(I also am no expert on horse genetics, just a thought.)

omg keep posting pictures of him he's so precious ahhh!!!

the Fidelius picspam that no one Elegant asked for











with his boyfriend Þokki

Aww! *dies* Can you give him carrots for me please?

Misty, i will as soon as i can! i had to leave him behind with my trainer when i moved to another state, but he's on the pending list for the shipper and should be here within a week or two!

@C.razy A.ngel, you might be interested to know that your Arab x QH's white markings make him a promising candidate for W20. If you're ever having him genetically tested I would recommend asking about W20 as well. There's a few labs around which can test for it.

Hmmm, might post Alex here when I come back. He has white tickling and I don't know what it causes. He has no white hairs in his tail like a rabicano, maybe three or so, but that's not very much. He does have white tickling around blaze and in his flanks. Also has three clear white spots in his flank.

Gonna look up an old picture of him. His blaze:


Unfortenately I don't have any clear pictures of his tickling in his flanks, only from when he was three, but he had less then, now it's more clear (he's nine now)
He's a flaxen chestnut with pangare.

I also know a mare with roaning on her head as well as her body, only in summer fur though, so she ain't white:


She is a flaxen chestnut roan.

Last edited on 2016-05-01 at 03:02:55 by megansparrow