Bay (horse)

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For the community in England, see Bay Horse.



Color variations and terminology[edit]









Ambiguity of "brown"[edit]



Effect of gray gene[edit]


A very dark bay horse might appear to be almost black

Colors confused with bay[edit]

For description of other coat colors, see Equine coat color.
  • Chestnuts, sometimes called "Sorrels," have a reddish body coat similar to a bay, but no black points. Their legs and ear edges are the same color as the rest of their body (unless they have white markings) and their manes and tails are the same shade as their body color or even a few shades lighter.
  • Black are occasionally confused with dark bays and liver chestnuts because some black horses "sunburn," that is, when kept out in the sun, they develop a bleached-out coat that looks brownish, particularly in the fine-haired areas around the flanks. However, a true black can be recognized by looking at the fine hairs around the muzzle and eyes. These hairs are always black on a black horse, but are reddish, brownish, or even a light gold on a bay or chestnut.

Bay-family colors[edit]


  • Buckskin horses have a black mane and tail, but instead of a red or brown coat, they have a cream or gold coat. Though once called a "Sandy" bay in older texts on horse color, the genetic distinction created by the cream gene is significant. They are a bay horse that is also heterozygous for the dominant creme (CCr) allele. The black pigment remains largely unchanged, but any red pigment in the coat is diluted to gold. Buckskins are seldom mistaken for bays because their coats are significantly lighter and have no hint of a red or orange tint.
  • Perlinos are bay horses who are homozygous for the dominant creme (CCr) allele. Both black and red pigment are diluted to some shade of creme, though the formerly black points often have a stronger reddish cast. The skin is a slightly pigmented pink and the eyes are blue.
  • Bay duns are bay horses with at least one dominant dun allele. Red and black pigment at the extremities remains largely unchanged, but on the body, black pigment is diluted to slate and red pigment is diluted to a dustier shade. The effect is similar to buckskin, but the coat of a bay dun is a flatter tan rather than bronze, and all duns have some form of primitive markings that include a dorsal stripe along the backbone, and sometimes faint horizontal striping at the back of the front legs.
  • Amber champagne refers to a bay horse with at least one dominant champagne allele. Black pigment is diluted to warm brown and red pigment to gold. The effect is similar to buckskin, but the points of an amber champagne do not remain black, and the skin is mottled. Amber champagnes also have hazel eyes rather than brown.
  • Silver bays are bay horse with at least one dominant silver (Z) allele. Red pigment is unaffected, but black pigment in the short coat is diluted to dark, flat, brown-gray while the longer hairs are diluted to silver. The overall effect on a bay is that of a chocolate-colored horse with a pale mane and tail.
  • Bay Roan horses are bays with at least one dominant roan (Rn) allele. The roan gene creates an effect of white hairs intermingled with the red body coat. This color was formerly lumped together with chestnut or "strawberry" roans and called "red roan."
  • Bay pintos are bay horses with any number of white spotting genes, including but not limited to tobiano, frame overo or splashed white, and so on. The pattern has no bearing on whether or not the horse is bay. Pinto horses also may have a bay base coat overlaid by white spots. Sometimes the term "skewbald" or "tricolor" is used, especially in the UK, to refer to bay pintos.
    • Sabino is a color pattern in the pinto family, but in some cases, the gene may be minimally expressed in the form of very bold white markings or slight body spotting and such horses will be registered by their owners as "bay," particularly in breed registries that do not have a category for pinto.
  • Bay Leopards are horses that carry the leopard (Lp) gene or gene complex characteristic of the Appaloosa and other breeds. This gene also produces secondary characteristics that include mottled skin, a white sclera around the eye, and striped hooves.
  • A few bay horses may carry the rabicano gene, which either produces faint roaning on only some parts of the body or can cause some white or cream hairs to appear in the mane or tail, sometimes creating a "skunk" effect. Most bays with rabicano are registered as either bays or as bay roans.






Inheritance and expression[edit]








  • a, the least dominant, must be homozygous to be observed and is responsible for unrestricted black coat (non-agouti black),
  • At, only visible in the homozygous form or when paired with a, is responsible for the black-and-tan seal brown coat,
  • A, visible when homozygous or when paired with a or At, is responsible for the standard bay coat,
  • A+, dominant, is responsible for the wildtype wild bay coat.[3]






See also[edit]


  2. ^

External links[edit]