HORSE COLOR HORSE COLOR EXPLORED Over 150 Breeds, Types, and Variations EXPLORED GET EASY COLOR BASICS AND THE LATEST IN RESEARCH AND GENETICS IN ONE BOOK Everyone stops and stares at a horse with beautiful or unusual color. So striking are the variations of bay, gray, chestnut, black, solid, and spotted that many people breed for specific combinations. This has led to a marked increase in international interest in the study of horse color genetics—as well as a need for an easy-to-use reference suitable for the layperson who also wants to understand the science behind it all. In these pages, horsewoman and genetics specialist Vera Kurskaya provides a guide that aims to not only outline basic information about horse color appropriate for a general audience, but also explore the specifics of inheritance and recent color genetics research certain to inform Over 150 Breeds, Types, and Variations 150 Breeds, Types, Over serious aficionados worldwide. With 200+ color photographs in handy reference sections throughout, as well as an in-depth look at special hair features, the evolution of horse color, and the effect of color on performance, fertility, and character, Horse Color Explored is a fascinating and valuable resource for the modern horseperson. VERA KURSKAYA discovered horses as a teenager, but at the age of 20, an injury forced her to give up riding. Horses have never left Kurskaya’s life, however. She has degrees in law (2006) and in Russian language and literature (2010), and worked as a freelance journalist for the popular Russian equestrian magazines Konnyi Mir (“The Horse World”), “My Horse,” and “Alpha Kentavra,” eventu- ally serving as editor at Konnyi Mir in 2010. Horse color was always one of Kurskaya’s greatest interests, Featuring beginning as a hobby and evolving into professional study of horse color genetics, as she first wrote Hundreds of Color articles online and in print magazines, and eventually published a book (“Horse Colors”) in Russian. In 2013 Kurskaya began researching the Silver gene in horse breeds originating in Russia and the countries Photos from Around of the former Soviet Union, and soon discovered it in Soviet Draft and Byelorussian Harness breeds. Today Kurskaya is a lecturer of social sciences at the Moscow State University of the World $34.95 USD Railway Engineering and a post-graduate student at the Russian State Agrarian University. She is finishing ISBN-13: 978-1-57076-731-9 5 3 4 9 5 Kurskaya her doctoral thesis in biology concerning horse colors, continues to research the Silver gene, advises as a consultant in Dun gene research in Russian Don and Budyonny breeds, and is working on her second book on horse genetics. She lives in Moscow. 9 7 8 1 5 7 0 7 6 7 3 1 9 Printed in China www.horseandriderbooks.com Vera Kurskaya Horse Color Full Cover.indd 1 1/5/17 2:11 PM DUPLICATION PROHIBITED by copyright holder Contents Preface ..................................................................................................... v 1: Introduction to Horse Color ................................................................ 1 What Is Horse Color? ................................................................................ 1 Color Terms .............................................................................................. 2 Classification of Colors .............................................................................. 2 A Very Basic Introduction to Genetics ........................................................ 4 2: Horse Colors ......................................................................................11 Base Colors ..............................................................................................11 Black .................................................................................................11 Bay ....................................................................................................12 Seal Brown .........................................................................................12 Chestnut ............................................................................................13 Inheritance of Base Colors ...................................................................14 Diluted Colors ..........................................................................................17 Colors Determined by Cream Dilution ..................................................17 Colors Determined by the Dun Gene ....................................................22 Colors Determined by the Silver Gene...................................................27 Colors Determined by the Champagne Gene .........................................32 Colors Determined by the Pearl Gene ...................................................36 New Dilution Genes? ..........................................................................38 Flaxen Chestnut .................................................................................39 Colors Determined by Admixture of White Hair .......................................39 Gray ..................................................................................................40 Roan ..................................................................................................43 Spotted Patterns: Characteristics and Types ..........................................45 Tobiano .......................................................................................46 Sabino .........................................................................................47 Frame Overo ...............................................................................49 Splashed White ...........................................................................50 Manchado ...................................................................................52 Macchiato ...................................................................................53 Other Colors Related to Spotting ..........................................................53 Calico Tobiano ............................................................................53 Crypt Overo ................................................................................54 Tovero .........................................................................................54 © Vera Kurskaya and Trafalgar Square Books www.HorseandRiderBooks.com DUPLICATION PROHIBITED by copyright holder Appaloosa-Spotted ..............................................................................55 Types of Appaloosa-Spotted Patterns ............................................55 Dominant White ................................................................................62 Additional Color Phenomena ....................................................................67 Shades of Colors .................................................................................67 Countershading ..................................................................................69 Pangaré .............................................................................................72 Brindle ..............................................................................................72 Rabicano ...........................................................................................74 “Catch A Bird” Phenomenon ...............................................................75 Giraffe Markings.................................................................................76 Frosty ................................................................................................77 False Dun ..........................................................................................77 Metallic Sheen ....................................................................................78 Other Horse Color Factors and Considerations ..........................................80 Change of Color ..................................................................................80 Lavender Foal Syndrome .....................................................................84 Chimerism and Mosaicism ..................................................................85 3: Markings ............................................................................................89 White Markings on the Head and Legs .....................................................89 Non-Standard Markings ...........................................................................94 Markings of Other Colors .........................................................................95 4: Hair Features .....................................................................................99 General Features ......................................................................................99 Curly Hair .............................................................................................. 100 Hairlessness ........................................................................................... 102 Pigment Distribution Features ................................................................ 102 5: The Evolution of Horse Color ........................................................... 107 6: Influence of Color on Performance, Fertility, and Character ......... 115 Regional Beliefs ..................................................................................... 115 Is There Research to Support Such Beliefs? ............................................. 116 Bibliography ........................................................................................