Chestnut or Dark Palomino? also Satin Gene??

Chestnut to me.

I agree with NdAppy.. After seeing the other pictures I'm positive your horse doesn't carry a cream, champagne, or "satin" gene. Chestnuts come in MANY different shades, there is no one color fits all. Some chestnuts are also known to have scattered white hairs throughout their body, mane, and tail..My mare is a light chestnut with a lot of white ticking (lighter color and more white hairs than your mare), and I know that's she's nothing special color wise, even though she's really shiny.. A horse can be really shiny from just a good diet, the way the light hits the horse, and a lot of imagination..It doesn't have to be a lot of grooming, supplements, show sheen..Just love your horse for who she is, not wanting to think she may have a gene that doesn't even exist..Color doesn't make a horse, neither does shine..

I agree with everyone else, she's chestnut and a beautiful one at that! Welcome to the forum!

Thanks, its wonderful to see everyone's opinions, and I love my pony and I would never change a thing about her.
Although I am 99.9% sure that she has the cream gene as she smutts up when fed molasses and only ponies/horses that have the cream gene in them smutt up. I know its smutting as it only appears when fed molasses and its not dirt or mud as it won't come out even when bathed and groomed.
I'm just worried because if I bred her with a cremalo I would get a 50%+ chance of getting a cremalo if she was a dark palamino and therefore I would need to breed her with a palomino, however if she was a chestnut I could then breed with a cremalo and get 100% chance of getting a palomino
Although I think the best thing to do is to get her tested

Does anybody have any experiences with testing?

Just pull some tail hair and get her tested. It's simple, inexpensive and then you have no questions.

Just looking at her though I predict it will be:
Red/Black Factor: ee
Cream Dilution: nn (meaning no)
Champagne Dilution: nn
Pearl Dilution: nn
Agouti: AA

If you go to Animal Genetics website, you can print out a test form and you tell them what you want her tested for and enclose the tail hairs. Just make sure you get the root (clear/white bulb at the end of the hair nearest the tail). Send it off and in a few weeks you'll get your response and you will KNOW for sure, not be guessing.

They can also tell you if she carries any frame, splash or other color marker genes.

Even chestnuts and sorrels can have sooty going on. I'm pretty positive that if you tested her she would come back negative for cream. UC Davis and Animal genetics are places I would go for testing.

She doesn't look anything other than a chestnut/sorrel to me. Are you talking about dapples? Im not familiar with the smutty part, but I'm sure its just good feed. =) She is a pretty mare.

I have no doubt in my mind that your mare is chestnut. I also don't understand the molasses point you're trying to make. Yes, some foods can affect the coat color, such as paprika, but just because your chestnut has the same reaction to molasses as some other horses of a different color does not mean she is also that color.

If you want to be 100% sure, test her. The cream test is $25.

BTW it's spelled cremello, not cremalo. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but can't cream not hide in chestnuts? I recall reading that the cream gene can visually hide in black, since smokey black looks close to regular black, but if the cream was on a chestnut it'd be a palomino. Also are you confusing the "satin gene" with the pearl gene possibly?

You're spot on about cream BT.

Pearl does not act unless there is cream present or unless it is homozygous. In homozygous form on a chestnut it makes them appear an "apricot" tone of color and in play with cream it mimics double dilutes in appearance.