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Palominos & Buckskins:
Both of these colors are caused by the cream gene, generally denoted by the letter C ("Cc" for heterozygotes / single dilutes and "CC" for homozygotes / double dilutes). Palomino is cream acting on a chestnut base coat, and buckskin is on a bay base coat. Black horses with the cream gene are termed "smokey blacks," but there is little, if any, visually detectable difference between a non-dilute black and a smokey black. The cream gene dilutes only the red, or chestnut, pigmentation in a horse's coat, which is why buckskins retain their black mane and tail and why blacks are not affected at all. This gene is incompletely dominant, meaning it takes two copies of the gene to reach its full expression. Buckskins, palominos, and smokey blacks carry only one copy (Cc).
Double Dilute
Perlinos & Cremellos:
A chestnut horse with two copies of the cream gene (CC) is called a cremello, and is much lighter than a palomino. A bay with two copies of the gene is called a perlino, and the color difference here is even greater than between palominos and cremellos. Unlike smokey blacks, black double dilutes (called smokey creams) do have a diluted appearance. The cream gene in its homozygous state (perlino/cremello/smokey cream)dilutes not only red pigment, but black as well. Two key differences between single (palomino/buckskin) and double dilutes (cremello/perlino/smokey cream) are that all double dilutes have blue eyes (the eyes of single dilutes are not affected by the gene), and all double dilutes have pink skin (single dilutes retain dark skin). The creme gene does not affect roan. But will dilute the base color of a roan horse.
Cremello Perlino
Smokey Cream
*above pictures and some information on this page was taken from A beginners guide to equine color genetics
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Your
Mare |
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Perlino
Poco Jessie JB |
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Sorrel |
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Buckskin, Palomino, Smoky Black |
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Bay |
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Buckskin, Smoky Black, Palomino |
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Black |
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Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino |
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Palomino |
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Palomino, Buckskin, Smoky black, Cremello, Perlino, Smoky cream |
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Buckskin |
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Buckskin, Smoky black, Palomino, Perlino, Cremello, Smoky cream |
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Smoky Black |
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Smoky Black, Buckskin, Palomino, Pelino, Smoky cream, cremello |
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Cremello |
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Cremello, Perlino, Smoky Cream |
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Perlino |
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Perlino, Cremello, Smoky Cream |
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Smoky Cream |
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Perlino, Smoky Cream, Cremello |
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The Perlino stallion at The Lewis Ranch, Poco Jessie JB also carries the dun factor. He has the sweetest, most gentle personality to go with his powerful foundation bloodlines.
(97% foundation bred) Poco Tivio/Jessie James top and bottom.
Poco Jessie JB
http://doubledilute.com/is a link to some more information as well as the chart above in full.
Duns & Grullas:
Dun (and grulla - also spelled "grullo", which is dun on black) is also a diluting gene that acts mostly on red pigment (though black is slightly diluted, as can be seen with grullas). Unlike cream, however, dun is completely dominant (i.e. only one copy of the gene is necessary for full expression), and there is no difference in appearance between heterozygotes (Dd) and homozygotes (DD).
Duns, especially bay duns, are often mistaken for cream dilutes (buckskins), as their coloring is similar (to make things ever more confusing, a horse can possess both the dun gene AND the cream gene - see examples below), but there are certain distinct traits that set duns apart. These are known either as "dun factors" or "primitive markings." The most easily recognizable is a distinct dorsal stripe. While any horse can have a dorsal stripe, the dorsal stripe of a dun tends to be very dark and have crisp, hard edges, giving it a "painted on" look. This can be seen in the lower picture to the left. A second dun factor, sometimes difficult to see depending on how much black there is on the legs, is leg barring. Duns have several horizontal stripes across each of their legs, usually ranging from slightly below to slightly above the knee area. The third dun factor is shoulder baring or shoulder "masking," which is not always present. Often a dun will have one or two short vertical "bars" radiating down from the dorsal stripe over the shoulders.
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