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Genetic Symbols Explained
Note:
We recommend the UC Davis for genetic
testing. Feel free to use the table below to interpret your horse's
results. With the rising importance of knowing your horse's genotype, many people are having their horses genetically tested. This can be useful when breeding for a particular color. For example, when breeding for buckskins you would want the sire or dam to be black based and preferably homozygous for the agouti. However, if you were breeding for silver dapple, you would want to avoid horses with the agouti and try to find them homozygous for black instead.
E
Black Factor |
EE - homozygous black. Horse has ability to form black pigment in
skin and hair. Black pigment in hair may be either in a points
pattern or distributed overall. |
|
Ee - heterozygous black. Same appearance as EE. |
|
ee - red. Horse has black pigment in skin, but hair pigment appears
red. |
A
Agouti |
AA - homozygous for agouti. If horse has black hair (E), then that
black hair is in points pattern. A has no effect on red (ee)
pigment. |
|
Aa - heterozygous for agouti. Same appearance as AA. |
|
aa - If horse has black hair (E), then that black hair is uniformly
distributed over body and points (No agouti). A has no effect on red
(ee) pigment. |
Cr
Cream |
CrCr - Homozygous for cream. Both red and black pigments are diluted
to pale cream. Skin and eye color are also diluted. |
|
NCr - Heterozygous for cream. Red pigment is diluted to yellow;
black pigment is unaffected. |
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NN - Horse is fully pigmented (no cream gene). |
CH
Champagne |
CHCH - Homozygous champagne. Red pigment is diluted to gold and
black pigments are diluted to chocolate. |
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CHCh - Heterozygous champagne. Same appearance as CHCH |
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ChCh - Horse is fully pigmented (no champagne gene). |
TO
Tobiano |
TOTO - Homozygous tobiano. Horse is characterized by white spotting
pattern knoiwn ads tobiano. Legs are usually white |
|
TOto - Heterozygous tobiano. Same appearance as TOTO. |
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toto - No tobiano pattern present. |
D
Dun |
DD - Homozygous for dun. Horse shows a diluted body color to
pinkish-red, yellow-red, yellow or mouse gray and has dark points
including dorsal stripe, shoulder stripe and leg barring. |
|
Dd - Heterozygous for dun. Same appearance as DD. |
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dd - Horse has undiluted coat color. |
G
Gray |
GG - Homozygous gray. Horse shows progressive slivering with age to
white or flea-bitten, but is born any non-gray color. Pigment is
always present in skin and eyes at all stages of silvering. |
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Gg - Heterozygous gray. Same appearance as GG. |
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gg - Horse does not show progressive silvering with age. |
Z
Silver Dapple |
ZZ - Homozygous silver dapple |
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Zz - Heterozygous silver dapple |
|
zz - no silver dapple |
Rn
Roan |
RR - no roan. |
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RRn - Heterozygous roan. |
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RnRn - Homozygous roan. |
Sb
Sabino |
SS - no sabino pattern. |
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SSb - heterozygous sabino. |
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SbSB - homozygous sabino |
Ff
Flaxen |
FF - no flaxen. |
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FFf - heterozygous flaxen. |
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FfFf - homozygous flaxen. |
Genetics
Color "Recipes"
The
first layer is the basecoat. EVERY horse is either red based
(chestnut/sorrel) or black based (black/bay):
-
Red is "ee" (homozygous
recessive). Red can carry the agouti, but not show it.
-
Black can be "Ee"
(heterozygous black) or "EE" (homozygous black). Black can not carry the
agouti and not show it...if it had the agouti, it would be bay.
-
Bay is really a black horse
("Ee" or "EE") with the agouti (one or two copies).
Those are the "basecolors"
that are the first layer to any color. Here are some examples:
|
Color |
Recipe |
| Amber Champagne |
black + agouti +
champagne |
| Bay |
black + agouti |
| Bay Roan |
black + agouti + roan |
| Bay Tobiano |
black + agouti +
tobiano |
| Blue Roan |
black + roan |
| Buckskin |
black + agouti + cream |
| Chestnut Tobiano |
red + tobiano* |
| Classic Champagne |
black + champagne |
| Cremello |
red + 2 cream* |
| Flaxen Chestnut/Sorrel |
red + flaxen* |
| Gold Champagne |
red + champagne* |
| Ivory Champagne |
any basecolor + cream
+ champagne* |
| Palomino |
red + cream* |
| Perlino |
black + agouti + 2
cream |
| Red Roan/Strawberry
Roan |
red + roan* |
| Smokey Black |
black + cream |
| Smokey Cream |
black + 2 cream |
| Silver Dapple |
black + silver dapple |
*Remember, only red can "hide" the agouti.
A red-based horse may have one or more copies of the agouti.
|
Color of Horse |
Number of Horses Registered |
Percent of
Registrations |
|
Bay |
30,862 |
18.69% |
|
Bay
Roan |
3,864 |
2.34% |
|
Black |
5,844 |
3.54% |
|
Blue Roan
|
3,747 |
2.27% |
|
Brown |
7,660 |
4.64% |
|
Buckskin |
8,811 |
5.34% |
|
Chestnut |
13,256 |
8.03% |
|
Cremello |
741 |
0.45% |
|
Dun |
5,945 |
3.60% |
|
Grey |
11,659 |
7.06% |
|
Grulla |
1,693 |
1.03% |
|
Palomino |
13,022 |
7.89% |
|
Perlino |
234 |
0.14% |
|
Red
Dun |
4,855 |
2.94% |
|
Red
Roan |
5,852 |
3.54% |
|
Sorrel |
46,976 |
28.45% |
|
TOTAL |
165,114 |
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Gordon, TX 76453
raisinroansranch@live.com
Copyright 2010-2022 Raisin Roans Ranch |