Word of the Week - Gray
Tuesday April 10, 2007
This gray mare has a chestnut foal by her side. When this mare was young she would have been very dark with only a few flecks of white. There are many variations of gray. Do you have a gray horse? What color was it when it was born? What colors were its parents? Click 'comments' below to tell us about your gray horse.
Comments
“Gray” is not a true color. It is a dilution of a base color. Often horses do not begin to change until they are 2 or older. The first place you will see the change will be white hairs around the eye.
Umm this isnt really a ‘comment’ but im not sure if it’s different in the country that your in but it’s spelt ‘grey’ in Australia.
The foal and it’s future offspring will always carry the grey gene, causing a likelyhood of developing melanoma’s, lack of pigmentation - pink skin or mottling. As expressed in the first comment by Laura, grey isn’t a true colour but rather lack of it, Greys usually do not turn until they are around 3 - 4, some not till over 5. More information can be collated by contacting the Appaloosa Project in L.A.
Well I keep Connemara and I think it is different with each and every pony because I have a mare that for the last 3 years has had foals that were grey at birth I know it’s not all that common but it does happen. but in saying that I also have a 6 year old steel grey Connemara pony stallion who wont be light grey until he is at least ten.
The Fairfax Old Morocco Barb was imported to England in 1637 at 3 years of age; ALL modern Thoroughbreds can trace their ancestry back in an unbroken grey line to this horse. I found this out tracing the pedigree of my 22-year-old Thoroughbred who was blue roan at birth. He had at least one grey in each generation back to that true gentleman, Native Dancer. I then followed Native Dancer’s line back to “Fairfax Old Morocco Barb” (which I think is just way too cool). As a sidenote, I know a grey Welsh/TB cross who is actually a white and grey paint…which you see very clearly when she’s wet..
Is it true that there is only one real breed of white horse in the world.