Just like all other bay horses, their body is brown, their mane and tail are black, and they have all of the traditional bay ‘black points’ – ears, nose, legs and muzzle. They are the second darkest shade of bay horses. The job of the Agouti gene is to decipher whether or not the horse with a black base will be brown or fully black.Īs The University of Illinois (College of Veterinary Medicine) explains, “A dominant agouti means that the black will be restricted to the points-tail, ears, mane-and the body of the horse will likely be a brown color… If the agouti is recessive, the horse will be completely black” ( source).īasically, when the Agouti gene is dominant, the horse will look bay.Ī blood bay colored horse will have a brown body which appears as a deep blood-red color, and may even appear a deep purple or plum color in some lights. A horse’s base color determines what color coat they will have.īlood bay horses (all other bays, for that matter) have a black base, which is brought on by the Agouti gene. Whether a horse is black, white, blue, purple, you name it, every horse has either black or a chestnut ‘base color’. The shade we will focus on today is called blood bay. There are multiple different shades of bay including Mahogany bay, blood bay, copper bay, standard bay, etc. It may be easy to mistake a bay horse for a brown horse at first, but they are two distinct different colors.īrown horses have a brown body and a brown mane and tail, whereas a bay horse has a brown body but always has a black mane and tail, due to their black base. Some of those common coat colors can be broken down even further focusing on different shades, markings and characteristics.įor instance, a bay-colored horse describes a horse with a brown body, a black mane and tail, and possibly some white on his face and leg markings. Some of the more familiar colors are probably black, bay (brown with a black mane and tail), grey, chestnut (a deep orange color), and paint (white with colorful markings). There are some common coat colors, and some not so common. Think about the horses you see on television, in pictures, or close to where you live. ![]() This happens due to a “strengthened chromogenesis (pigment production) which occurs in the foal and young horse, and then gradually weakens or stops” ( sourc e).īy the time the horse is ten years old, he will have almost “whited out” completely. Many times a horse will be born black or bay and transition into a lighter color as he gets older. Believe it or not, most horses who appear white or light gray were not born that way. There are also some instances where a horse is born one color and changes over the course of his life. In the summertime, a horse who spends the majority of his time outside will begin to get sun-bleached, resulting in a different looking coat than he carries the rest of the year. If a horse is mal-nourished (or maybe getting a little bit older), his coat will appear dull and less colorful. Here’s a few examples: If a horse lives outdoors with ideal food, water, and exercise, his coat will be bright-colored, shiny, and full because he is getting everything he needs. A horse’s coat color is determined by his genes, but can change over time and depending on the conditions they live in.
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