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Grey is a coat color of horses, consisting of black skin, and a hair coat that is white, dappled, or white intermingled with hairs of other colors. Grey horses are usually born bay, chestnut, or black) but white hairs begin to appear at or shortly after birth, and "gray out" the horse. Graying can occur at different rates--very quickly on one horse and very slowly on another.
A gray horse whose hair coats is completely "white" will usually still have black skin and dark eyes. This is how most people can tell a gray horse from a white horse.
Many breeds of horses may have individual animals that are gray, though the color is most commonly seen in horse breeds descended from Arabian ancestors. Some breeds that have large numbers of gray-colored horses include the Thoroughbred, the Arabian, the American Quarter Horse, the Percheron, the Andalusian, the Lusitano and the most famous of all gray horses, the Lipizzaner.
Changes in the color of gray horses
Graying in horses follows this process:A foal born black, bay or chestnut, changes slowly to a rose gray, salt and pepper, or dapple gray, which then lightens to a white or fleabitten gray hair coat.
Therefore, the many variations of gray coloring in horses are intermediate steps that a young horse takes while graying, as it changes hair color from a birth color of chestnut, bay, or black to gray. When gray (actually white) hairs have completely replaced the base coat color, the gray horse will have a pure white hair coat or a fleabitten gray coat (a white coat with tiny speckles of red hairs dotted randomly on the body). Many new horse owners, not understanding the workings of the gray gene, are disappointed to discover that their dapple gray horse turns completely white several years later!
The fully mature gray horse
A horse that has completely changed its base coat will either be pure white or "flea-bitten" gray. Fleabitten gray is a color consisting of a white hair coat with small speckles or "freckles" of red-colored hair throughout. Most horses who become fleabitten grays still go through a brief period when then are pure white.The fleabitten pattern, like freckles on a human, can also vary: Some horses may appear almost pure white, with only a few speckles observed on close examination. Others may have so many speckles that they are occasionally mistaken for a roan. One unique form of fleabitten gray The genetic process that causes the fleabitten color pattern is not well-understood at present.
The genetics of gray
- ''see also Equine coat color genetics
White Horses
For information on horses that are white-colored and are NOT gray, see White (horse).
Horse coat colors sometimes confused with gray
Some grays in the "salt and pepper" stage of graying may be confused with a blue roan. A horse who is "rose gray" (having the red hairs of a chestnut base coat turning white) may be confused with a strawberry roan. Some heavily fleabitten grays may be confused with a red roan. However, roans are distinguishable from grays because roan consists of individual white hairs on a dark base coat, usually with the head of the horse darker than the rest of the body. With gray horses, the head is often the first area to lighten, especially around the eyes and muzzle. Also, roans do not lighten with age, while grays always do.
Some horses with a particular type of dun hair coat known as a "blue dun" or a grullo or grulla, appear to be a solid gray. However, this color is caused by the dun gene and horses who are dun have all hairs the same color; there is no intermingling of white and dark hairs. Also, dun horses do not get lighter as they age. This particular color is most commonly seen in the American quarter horse, and because Quarter Horses can also be born gray or roan, there is sometimes a bit of confusion amongst afficianados of the breed.
Horses who are a light creme color are also not grays. These are usually cremello or perlino horses, colors produced by action of the Creme gene or a Dilution gene. However, if a homozygous gray is bred to a cremello, the gray gene will be dominant.
See also
"Gray (horse)"