Color Question

[Deserae1114]

I know i havn't been on in awhile. life has been crazy... i will explain later when i have more time.

Where are Rowdy's black socks? hes suppose to be buckskin... I thought the socks were suppose to be knee high by a year old....

first one is when he was about 6 months or so.... the 2nd just a few days ago...

[AppyLover]

He does have dark legs....

There are no defined lines if that is what you are looking for; He won't have that, as he looks more of a smutty or smoky.

[Deserae1114]

they just seem like they use to be darker last summer and this summer they have disappeared.

could the smutty gene play a role?

[AppyLover]

Possibly. But I am not totally sure if smutties fade out like that or not...

[Deserae1114]

he did have a dorsal stripe this spring with has kinda faded out with the sun i think.... i'll post more pics

[livaward]

Google wild bay equine....they have minimum black points...that could be what rowdy has going on.

[Deserae1114]

that looks a lot like it but he has none of the older breeds in him. He is strictly QH/Paint. He also looks like some of the champagnes... he does have a little bit of lighter eyes compared to the other horses but super light and doesn't have the mottling on the skin.

[Deserae1114]

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/veryn1114/IMAG0260.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/veryn1114/IMAG0264.jpg
this winter he has a lot of counter shading on his face
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee196/veryn114/Rowdy/IMG_0748.jpg
you can kind of see his dorsal stripe here
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee196/veryn114/Rowdy/IMG_0761.jpg

he has no primitive markings

[spotsmom]

I've looked at his album- could he be an amber champagne or a sable ivory champagne?

[Cat]

Diet (mineral content, certain types of feed, etc) can change a horse's color - make it darker or lighter - including the points.

He looks like a normal bucksin to me - I'm seeing nothing to indicate champagne or any of those. Nor dun. However - in the first photo where he had darker socks - he also looks to have a darker all-over body color. I bet there was some sort of diet chance that caused it.

I know my boys can be on the same pasture each year but even if its a drought vs. abundant rain can cause a shade difference. I have pictures of Toby being a very pale washed-out color, while other years he is a dark golden color. Willie went from a very deep red when I first got him to a very pale blonde color. My husband's first horse looked so faded he looked like a bay one year, but the next he was about jet-black all summer.

[Deserae1114]

hes been on the same feed...i have lessened the quantity. pastures have changed, he grazes a lot more.

[TheRedHayflinger]

some bay and bay based horses can take up to 5 years or so for the black to reach knee/hock height (or close to it)

[Cat]

Its a myth that all bays have it reach that far up. Many never do and the wild bays end up having barely any black at all on their legs but are yet still genetically bay.