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Appys changing colors?

20K views 83 replies 29 participants last post by  roxxy 
#1 ·
So I'm aware that Appys can change colors as they get older, and their patterns can somewhat change. But there's a girl who is saying that she has this 2 year old Appy colt. She showed pictures of him from earlier this year, and it's a totally grey horse, no leg markings or blanket or anything, and you can barely see a face marking. Now she's posting pictures of this light chestnut colt with a blanket, leg markings, and a blaze, and she's trying to pass it off as the same colt. Someone asked her about it, asking how he could changes colors that dramatically in such a short period of time, and she said that he was originally born chestnut, and then he turned grey, and now he's getting his color back.
They greying out part I can halfway believe, but I always thought it couldn't happen in horses as young as 2? But it's not possible for a greyed out horse to gain their color back, is it?
 
#62 ·
Hmm.. something makes me want to say smoky brown, but that's just based off of that picture. Appy genes a known for messing up color anyway. Do you have any more pictures, or a pedigree? I'd make it easier to tell if there was any cream in the lineage. I agree with you though, I don't see anything that hints towards the dun gene.
 
#63 ·
Well, here's another picture, unfortunately she's already growing in winter coat. I don't have her actual pedigree, her mom was of unknown ancestry and her dad was Caliente Kohoutek, out of Alyce Zing by Caliente Revel. And that's all I know.
 

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#64 · (Edited)
Absolutely looks like the same colt in all three photos to me too. Another factor (besides app roaning) I believe is coming into play is winter vs. summer coat-- he is darker in the earliest photo midwinter, and at his lightest midsummer. Then in Sept. when the winter coat grown back in, he is dark again.

It could that his hair is actually growing in darker in the winter, and also could be that his summer coat starts out darker but sun-fades out in the summer heat and sun.

It will be interesting to see how he looks when he sheds out next year-- If you can share photos then I would love to see!
 
#65 ·
Well this has been an interesting post! I've only had one appy, he started sorrel w/ a white blanket, and by the time I sold him (around 7) he had mostly roaned out all except his legs. Appys do seem to go through the crazy changes! I have a friend that raises miniature apps, you can see them after a year or so and wonder if you are seeing the same horse, I guess that's just the fun of it!

The cremello foal's mom looks buckskin to me, and since buckskins already carry one creme gene it's completely believable that she'd have a cremello foal, all she has to do is mate w/ another horse that carries creme (palomino, buckskin, smokey black, etc). I guess it is just different terminologies, there are alot of people that interchange dun and buckskin. Really dun can be on any color, typical dun is generally dun on bay or buckskin, but it can also be on sorrel (red dun), black (grulla), palomino (dunalino), etc.

It does look like that poor cremello is having trouble w/ the sun, I hope he manages to adjust. I've only had one cremello and she never sunburn or had trouble because of her light coat.
 
#68 ·
>>>>> Don't know if this helps or not. But if I look back on the dam's mother's side (way back) the gray seems to win out:

Dun + Gray = Gray
Chestnut + Gray= Gray
Gray+Gray= Gray
Black+Gray=Gray

Remember that in each instance where a horse inherits grey, it also inherited a base color and whatever other color modifiers. In these cases grey did not "beat out" or replace dun, chestnut, or black-- the horse would be dun chestnut or black (or bay, or whatever else) and then ALSO grey. Its just that as the greying progresses, making white hairs replace the colored hairs, it becomes more difficult and finally impossible to SEE the original color-- but the horse is still possesses all the genetics that made it dun or chestnut or black or whatever.
 
#70 ·
I believe there can be a huge difference from a foal to when they grow up! Here's an exemple with my mare :)

As a foal, a chestnut color with spotted blanket in 2007


Then a little older color darkened and has black hair! Prob 2008 or 2009? not sure how old she was there


and here this was in May 2012 the first day i got her


Now that is from this summer, july or august 2012


And finally, this winter, december 2012


There's a huge difference from a foal to all grown up! I swear than when i saw those pics of her as a foal i had to really look at the shape and place of the spots to really know it's really her :) And yep it's the same horse :D
 
#72 ·
And here is greying gene example.. which really annoys me! why you'd want to cross an appaloosa to a grey I don't know i see too many people buying this 'appaloosa' going on about it's colour not realising it's highly likely to fade!




This horse will probably end up being a full grey..
 
#76 ·
I don't have pics of my mom's Appy mare, but i remember looking at them so vividly as if yesterday. Magic was registered Appaloosa, both sire and dam were too (i don't recall their names anymore). Magic was born solid black with a star and two socks on her hinds, out of a chestnut leopard mare, i never met the stallion. At 6mos Magic has started to grey, at 1yr she turned chestnut roan. At 2yrs she turned grey again, but with dark mane and tail and lower legs. Then 3 she had some leopard spotting, but was still mostly grey. By the time she was four she was totally grey with some light chestnut points, and a 'bloody shoulder marking'. At 5 she was totally white, no other colors on her but her 'bloody shoulder' marking on her right shoulder. She never changed after that. I never knew a horse could change so many colors. And all of her foals did the same no matter what color, they ALL greyed out. It was quite interesting to watch them grow up and change colors, and guess what they would look like by the next year. :)
Wish i had pics to show ya'll LOL
 
#77 ·
I have a friend who previously bred Apps and I have heard of Appy's roaning out. As in they are a chestnut with a blanket, then they turn to a leopard App or they loose some of the chestnut coloring. I have only heard of it happening in a horse that was at least a few years old. From what I have heard it doesn't usually happen in a colt like that.
Hope that helps :)
 
#78 · (Edited)
Horses can grey out that fast, not common, but they can, so the horse Rayzee saw could actually be the same grey'd out.

Appys and change in pattern, so a leopard can loose spots, appearing almost white, and at times, these changes can still be seen mid-shift in a different coat (summer or winter). So the spots may only be visible in the winter, and appear white in the summer or visa-versa.
 
#79 ·
Roxxy - Warrior (the black leopard horse you have pictures of), is not grey, nor does he have grey heritage. Warrior is a Friesian appaloosa cross (3/4 Friesian). He has the leopard gene, and therefore is loosing spots with age. He will likely be solid white in his 20s, but it is not a grey gene. You see his pink nose, he is actually going white, not grey.
 
#81 ·
No appaloosa looses it's spots with age unless it carries the greying gene... the spots can 'roan' in an appaloosa but they will not disappear..

The Friesian will end up grey (you don't get 'white' horses), his mum carried the 'grey' gene which then got passed onto him, each year he gets lighter and lighter, just like a grey horse would, but with him his spots get lighter and lighter and eventually it's highly likely his spots will disappear completely
 
#80 · (Edited)
Lol when i got my appy mare she was a solid bay with one tiny spot, now she is all different colors, her entire body is covered in spots from head to toe. she has black spots dark brown spots caramel spots white spots and she is like a reddish bay color but is starting to turn white. her hooves also have stripes in them.
 
#82 ·
Warriors dam was/is a grey Appaloosa. That is where he received the grey gene from. Which is a pity as his color was so pretty as a foal.

Varnish does not roan out spots. Vanrish will roan out any solid area of the coat revealing "holes" aka spots in the pattern that would have been visible if the horse were fully blanketed/"leopard."
 
#83 ·
Warriors dam was/is a grey Appaloosa. That is where he received the grey gene from. Which is a pity as his color was so pretty as a foal.

Varnish does not roan out spots. Vanrish will roan out any solid area of the coat revealing "holes" aka spots in the pattern that would have been visible if the horse were fully blanketed/"leopard."
Correctamundo...if an Appy's spots color out it is grey - or very, very, old, but rarely will they color out all the way due to old age type greying...in fact I have never seen one grey out all the way due to age...
 
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