All the Components That Make a Horse Bay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Equine experts confirm that all horses have two base coat colors, i.e., red or black. The horse’s coat color is created when other genes influence these base genes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this regard, for a horse to be considered bay, it must have an “E” Alle gene and an agouti gene. Additionally, there are two types of agouti genes– the dominant “A” and the recessive “a.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A horse must have at least one “A” gene to have a bay coat. The “A” gene controls the black points on a horse. This gene is responsible for restricting the black points on the horse’s legs, tail, and mane. It is dominant over the black gene “E.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, some bay horses have two copies of “A” or an “A” and an “a.” Therefore, a horse that gets two “a” copies from its parents will be black and not bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In short, a bay horse will have one of the following genetic makeups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- EE\/AA<\/li>
- EE\/Aa<\/li>
- Ee\/Aa<\/li>
- Ee\/AA<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
If you think that is complicated, then the red bay horse gene is even more complicated, i.e., ABCee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One interesting fact about horse coat color genetics is that the chestnut horse cannot have black points. This is so because its base color is red. Therefore, even if a horse gets an “A” gene from one of its parents, it will not have black points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see, the “A” agouti only influences black hair. Therefore, if there is no black hair to transform, the gene becomes redundant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What about wild coat markings? These are patterns that are usually associated with primitive horses. They come in the form of black markings such as a dorsal stripe and leg strips. You will most likely see these patterns on dun horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A dorsal stripe is a dark stripe that runs over the spine from withers to the head of the tail. The primitive markings typically provide a disguise that helps the horse blend in with its environment to make it challenging for predators to spot it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The “A” agouti gene also controls these markings. Additionally, the “B” and “C” genes also affect the patterns. On the other hand, Essential “A” is a wild pattern gene that influences bay horses. The “A” gene that bay horses carry has evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this regard, the bay horses don’t express the wild pattern, but the agouti still restricts black to certain parts of its body. The primitive patterns have been inherited from prehistoric wild horses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some horses cannot produce bay, which is down to their genetics. For example, it would be impossible to get a bay foal if you breed a chestnut sire and dam. Why is it so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two chestnuts can only produce a chestnut horse color because they pass on “ee” and a red base color to their offspring. However, if you breed a chestnut to a bay horse, it can produce a bay, black, or chestnut. This will only occur if the two horses have a black horse in their family tree. On the other hand, breeding a bay to a gray would result in either color in the ensuing foal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"portrait](\"https:\/\/thehorsesguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/portrait-of-a-bay-horse.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Different Shades of Bay Coat Colors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As established earlier, bay horses come in different shades. All the shades fall into a sub-category that has a unique name<\/a>. The different shades of bay coat colors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blood Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The blood bay horse is not very common. It is mainly mistaken for the standard bay. Nevertheless, with some understanding, you can tell that the blood bay horse is reasonably distinctive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how will you distinguish the blood bay from the standard bay? It gets its name from its color, which is full of red tones. It is nearly like a reasonably dark chestnut. Sometimes, the red tint blended with brown can result in a blood bay a purple sheen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The equine community generally agrees that blood bay is one of the most fine-looking coat colors. However, all bay horses come with black points, meaning a bay horse has a black mane and tail. It also has black on the legs. The blood bay has very distinctive black points, making it even more attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standard Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Just as its name implies, the standard bay is the most common shade of bay. Some people refer to it as the classic bay. Its coat is usually a medium shade that is lighter than a dark bay. Moreover, it has a less deep red than the blood bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its hair is a blend of red tones and brown. It also has black points, with the main coat having the same shade without variations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dark Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The dark bay shade is the second most common bay coat type. These horses come in very dark coats that appear black. It also has black points; however, it is hard to differentiate them from the body coat color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are likely to come across different shades of dark gray. This means you might have to take a closer look for you to tell the difference between dark and black. For example, suppose the horse has red tints and lighter hairs on its body, then it is a bay horse. You will mostly see these features around the muzzle and eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, you can tell whether the horse is bay by pushing the hair up and taking a closer look at the skin, and you will notice the shade changes from summer to winter. During the winter, the coat appears darker because the hair is longer, making the red tone more hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this regard, when you body clip a dark bay horse during the winter, it will appear lighter. The dark bay horse’s coat will darken as its hair grows. It is also common for dark bay horses to have dapples. This is mainly because they usually have two-toned hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dapples appear in the form of lighter brown shaded rings on the body. These features are mainly found on the back, upper sides, and haunches. Dapples could be genetic or a sign that the horse is healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bay Roan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The bay roan is among the rarer colors you will encounter. Horses having this color have been influenced by the roaning gene. The base coat is bay in these horses, but they also have a dominant roan gene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the bay roan comes with black points similar to other bay horses. On the other hand, if it is a red roan, it will have reddish points instead of black. Interestingly, when a bay roan or any shade of roan gets a cut, the hair that grows back is black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not so for a regular bay, chestnut, or black horse. This is because when their hair gets damaged, it grows back in white. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Copper Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It is easy to confuse a copper bay with a blood bay. But, there are apparent differences between the two when you take a closer look. For instance, a copper bay is usually lighter than a blood bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, the copper bay horse also has a high concentration of red tones. However, it is not as deep as that of the blood bay. The copper bay usually has a more orange, rust color instead of a near mahogany shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sandy Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sandy bay is another exciting color that you will rarely come across. As a matter of fact, you would have to take a closer look to discover it is a bay, as you might think it is a buckskin horse at first glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sandy bay horse also has black points on its legs and a black tail and mane. They also have a lot of dappling. However, what makes this shade of bay unique is its coat color genetics that the horse possesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The horse’s color is light, with a nearly yellowish tone. This is because the horse does not have the bay gene only. It also has a dilution gene– the crème gene, to be specific. It is the crème gene dilutes the coat, making it significantly light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bay Dun<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The bay dun is similar to the sandy bay in that you can easily confuse it with a genuine dun. However, the bay dun has a bay gene and a dun gene. Furthermore, the bay dun will sometimes exhibit some features that differentiate a bay dun and a dun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the distinctive features include a dark dorsal stripe and leg stripes. Moreover, its coat is usually duller than a genuine dun and comes in different shades of tan and yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Champagne Bay Horses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Champagne bay is a gorgeous uncommon coat color. A horse must have a black base and the champagne modifier gene to get this color. There are also different types of the champagne bay horse color. The other shade is the outcome of a horse having a red base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wild Bay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A wild bay is a light shade that nearly looks like the chestnut. What makes this bay coat type unique is its black points. For example, the black points usually reach up to the knees and hocks on the other bay horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the black points only reach the fetlock on the wild bay. The wild bay also has a somewhat different agouti gene – the “A+.”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown Horses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Technically speaking, there is no official brown color for horses. But it is easy to make this assumption by simply looking at the horses. Whenever you see a brown horse, it could either be a shade of chestnut or bay, particularly a liver chestnut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perlinos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Perlinos are double diluted crème bay horses. This means that they have two crème genes, unlike the sandy bay, which only has one crème gene. Additionally, the double dilution results in the horse’s coat becoming very light crème and sometimes almost white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perlinos are very similar to people with albinism in that they have pinkish skin and blue eyes. It also has points coloring like those of a Buckspin. But, on the Perlino, the points are orangish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"bay](\"https:\/\/thehorsesguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bay-horse.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Bay](\"https:\/\/thehorsesguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bay-horse-run.jpg\")
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