Horse Talk

[ShrekDawg]

I'm pretty sure it's color genetics. Gray is so weirdly awesome 

Ohhh okay. Yeah, it seems like there's so many different greys

 

[PeepersMama]

Ohhh okay. Yeah, it seems like there's so many different greys

I know right!!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I know right!!!

Hard to keep track sometimes lol

Also i admit i didn't realize they had so many different names, i always just said grey lol

But of course im not that involved in horses

 

[res]

Yes, Lancer, Khenny & Oran are all Arabs. My family is deeply rooted in Morgans... but I had to be a rebellious teen and get an Arab instead, and have stayed with Arabs ever since. Well, except Rascal.

Gray horse genetics always start out "dark" and get lighter and lighter as they age. They don't all progress to fully white, and they don't all go through a rose gray stage. None of the stages last long... I typed wrong on my original post... Lancer was born BAY and was BLACK at ~2 yrs of age, and had progressed thru rose-gray by 6 years and lost all his dapples by his late teens. His mane & tail stayed black until his late teens, also, but turned 100% snow white by his early 20's.

People don't always realize what a lifelong commitment horses can really be... and that they get EXTREMELY expensive to keep, the older they get. Rascal and Lancer have been "toothless" for almost a decade now, and rely on more and more and more soaked feed to keep their weight up. A $25 bag of feed (50lbs) barely lasts me about 2 days. So ~20 bags of feed a month = $500 in feed. And then there are supplements...

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: Actually, there's only one. A genetic gray horse is born with the cells that put color in its hair on overdrive, so foals are usually born with unusually intense color (a normal black foal is born a sort of dark gray color, and it turns black when it molts out its foal coat. A black-based genetic gray horse is born a deep, intense black). As the gray horse ages, the color producing cells burn out, and the horse starts getting white hairs intermixed with whatever color it is. A gray that is homozygous (inherited two copies of the gene for gray) may turn completely white by the time it is 4 or 5 years old, though most horses take longer than that. Most of the "dappled gray" horses that you see are genetic grays, and eventually will turn completely white, or maybe fleabitten gray (white with little reddish freckles).

There is one other color that can sometimes look like a dappled gray; that's a color known as a silver black. Silvers usually have very light (almost white) manes, and their bodies most of the time are chocolate colored, but occasionally they may be more gray than brown. If in doubt, look at the mane. A gray horse with a dark mane is a genetic gray, and it will be turning whiter and whiter as it ages. A silver black will have a whitish mane with a colored body, and will stay more or less that color all of its life.

 

[abigalerose]

Oh my goodness. The oldies pull at my heart strings. I can't handle it.
And 40 is amazing! He looks great.
I'm so sorry about Khenny, he was absolutely beautiful. Not fair at all that he had to go that young.
Here's my grey, well not mine anymore, but he was dark when he was young then a beautiful dapple, so very typical.
And now I'm sad

Sometimes I think about June being old one day and I cry lol same with my dog

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes, Lancer, Khenny & Oran are all Arabs. My family is deeply rooted in Morgans... but I had to be a rebellious teen and get an Arab instead, and have stayed with Arabs ever since. Well, except Rascal.

Gray horse genetics always start out "dark" and get lighter and lighter as they age. They don't all progress to fully white, and they don't all go through a rose gray stage. None of the stages last long... I typed wrong on my original post... Lancer was born BAY and was BLACK at ~2 yrs of age, and had progressed thru rose-gray by 6 years and lost all his dapples by his late teens. His mane & tail stayed black until his late teens, also, but turned 100% snow white by his early 20's.

People don't always realize what a lifelong commitment horses can really be... and that they get EXTREMELY expensive to keep, the older they get. Rascal and Lancer have been "toothless" for almost a decade now, and rely on more and more and more soaked feed to keep their weight up. A $25 bag of feed (50lbs) barely lasts me about 2 days. So ~20 bags of feed a month = $500 in feed. And then there are supplements...

Oh wow, kind of funny it started as just a little rebellious but now I bet you love the breed! Although in a way Morgans are somewhat similar to Arabs right? Or completely different? I just mean like in terms of the lighter face/build and they both seem to have a somewhat more spirited temperament? But I don't know much about either so could be way off.

Thanks for the info on the color genetics and Lancer, I had no idea that happened but I find it so interesting.

Wow, they really are expensive! I didn't realize it. Do they just eat more or soaking the feed uses more feed or both? Good for you for taking such good care of them though

Actually, there's only one. A genetic gray horse is born with the cells that put color in its hair on overdrive, so foals are usually born with unusually intense color (a normal black foal is born a sort of dark gray color, and it turns black when it molts out its foal coat. A black-based genetic gray horse is born a deep, intense black). As the gray horse ages, the color producing cells burn out, and the horse starts getting white hairs intermixed with whatever color it is. A gray that is homozygous (inherited two copies of the gene for gray) may turn completely white by the time it is 4 or 5 years old, though most horses take longer than that. Most of the "dappled gray" horses that you see are genetic grays, and eventually will turn completely white, or maybe fleabitten gray (white with little reddish freckles).

There is one other color that can sometimes look like a dappled gray; that's a color known as a silver black. Silvers usually have very light (almost white) manes, and their bodies most of the time are chocolate colored, but occasionally they may be more gray than brown. If in doubt, look at the mane. A gray horse with a dark mane is a genetic gray, and it will be turning whiter and whiter as it ages. A silver black will have a whitish mane with a colored body, and will stay more or less that color all of its life.

Wow, that's so interesting and more complicated yet also incredibly simple than I would have thought. Thanks so much for explaining it. Interesting about the foals too

Oh my goodness. The oldies pull at my heart strings. I can't handle it.
And 40 is amazing! He looks great.
I'm so sorry about Khenny, he was absolutely beautiful. Not fair at all that he had to go that young.
Here's my grey, well not mine anymore, but he was dark when he was young then a beautiful dapple, so very typical.
And now I'm sad

Sometimes I think about June being old one day and I cry lol same with my dog

Your dapple is/was beautiful! What happened to him? :/

 

[I Love Layers]

Old horses are always the best! An old friend of my grandpa's had a horse who was 36 and could still he ridden hard, I've heard it was a fiesty horse even through its old age.
I think my aunt has a horse how is 33ish he used to be a jumper if i am correct.
When our older mare is ready to go i will do the right thing. The best thing for a horse in its last few years is to let it go out to pasture. I felt so guilty when i had to ride her at our branding. I know she enjoyed chasing cows, but shes not physically able to do that anymore, and now she hates me for it.

 

[PeepersMama]

Old horses are always the best! An old friend of my grandpa's had a horse who was 36 and could still he ridden hard, I've heard it was a fiesty horse even through its old age.
I think my aunt has a horse how is 33ish he used to be a jumper if i am correct.
When our older mare is ready to go i will do the right thing. The best thing for a horse in its last few years is to let it go out to pasture. I felt so guilty when i had to ride her at our branding. I know she enjoyed chasing cows, but shes not physically able to do that anymore, and now she hates me for it.

Poor old girl. I'm gonna keep my stubborn old lady til she dies - which will probably mean I'll have to get a house when I move out

 

[henny1129]

@res, you have beautiful horses! Khenny seemed pretty amazing too!

A few years ago I rode a pretty amazing horse named Teddy. (This was at one of my old barns by the way.) He was a Quarter Horse and was pretty amazing. I think he was 28 years old, but I was pretty young so I can't be for sure. Unfortunately he had (I believe, like I said I was pretty young) Cushing's Disease. He helped me a lot with some trust issues after being thrown off a pony three times. He taught me how to lope and ride Western correctly. And he became a really good friend too. One week he just went downhill really fast. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get up. Unfortunatley my riding instructors decided the best thing would be to euthanize him. I remember my mom picked me up from school and said that Teddy was really sick and was probably going to die. We went and visited him and then he was out to sleep about 3 days later. I don't have a picture of him, but he was black with a white blaze and a white coronet on his right front leg.