Gray

Other names: Grey

Variants: dapple gray flea-bitten gray
iron gray rose gray
Genotype
Base color: Any
Modifying genes: Graying gene (G) dominant
when single allele present
Phenotype
Body: Born any color, progressively
lightens with age until
completely white, flea-bitten
form may develop red hairs in
a freckling pattern throughout
coat, sometimes increasing
with age
Head and Legs: May not gray at same rate as
body, head may be first part of
body to lighten, legs may be
among last parts of body to
lighten
Mane and tail: May not gray at same rate as
body, lighter or darker
Skin: Usually black, except under
white markings present at
birth
Eyes: Usually dark brown, unless
base color affected by other
genes which lighten eye color
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by
progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat.
[1]
Most
gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many
depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye
color
[1]
Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white
intermingled with hairs of other colors. Gray horses may be
born any base color, depending on other color genes present.
White hairs begin to appear at or shortly after birth and
become progressively lighter as the horse ages. Graying can
occur at different ratesvery quickly on one horse and very
slowly on another.
Gray horses appear in many breeds, though the color is most
commonly seen in 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 Welsh
pony, and the most famous of all gray horse breeds, the
Lipizzaner.
People who are unfamiliar with horses may refer to gray
horses as "white." However, a gray horse whose hair coat is
completely "white" will still have black skin (except under
markings that were white at birth) and dark eyes. This is how
to discern a gray horse from a white horse. White horses
usually have pink skin and sometimes even have blue eyes.
Young horses with hair coats consisting of a mixture of
colored and gray or white hairs are sometimes confused with
roan. Some horses that carry dilution genes may also be
confused with white or gray.
While gray is commonly called a coat color by breed
registries, genetically it may be more correct to call it a
depigmentation pattern. It is a dominant gene,
[1]
and thus a
horse needs only one copy of the gray allele, that is,
heterozygous, to be gray in color. A homozygous gray horse,
one carrying two gray alleles, will always produce gray foals.
1 Prevalence
2 Changes in the color of gray horses
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
1 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
Other notes: Dominant over all other coat
colors, when gray gene is
present, horse will always
become gray, may be masked
if horse's base color is white
This Andalusian horse has a
completely white hair coat, but the
underlying black skin still confirms
that the horse is a gray and neither
white nor sabino.
2.1 Young gray horses
2.2 Dapple gray
2.3 The "flea-bitten" gray
3 The genetics of gray
4 Horse coat colors sometimes confused with gray
4.1 White Horses
4.2 Roan
4.3 Diluted colors
5 Mythology
6 References
7 See also
Gray is common in many breeds. Today, about one horse in 10 carries
the mutation for graying with age.
[2]
The vast majority of Lipizzaners
are gray, as are the majority of Andalusian horses. Many breeds of
French draft horse such as the Percheron and Boulonnais are often gray as well. Gray is also found among
Welsh Ponies, Thoroughbreds, and American Quarter Horses. All of these breeds have common ancestry in the
Arabian horse. In particular, all gray Thoroughbreds descend from a horse named Alcock's Arabian, a gray born
in 1700.
[3]
The gray coat color makes up about 3% of Thoroughbreds.
[4]
Gray also occurs in spotted horses such as pintos or Appaloosas, but its effects wash out the contrast of the
markings of these patterns. For this reason, some color breed registries refuse or cancel registration of gray
horses.
A gray foal may be born any color. However, bay, chestnut, or black base colors are most often seen. As the
horse matures, white hairs begin to replace the base or birth color. Usually white hairs are first seen by the
muzzle, eyes and flanks, occasionally at birth, and usually by the age of one year. Over time, white hairs replace
the birth color and the horse changes slowly to either a rose gray, salt and pepper (or iron gray), or dapple gray.
As the horse ages, the coat continues to lighten to a pure white or fleabitten gray hair coat. Thus, the many
variations of gray coloring in horses are intermediate steps that a young horse takes while graying out from a
birth color to a hair coat that is completely "white".
Different breeds, and individuals within each breed, take differing amounts of time to gray out. Thus, graying
cannot be used to approximate the age of a horse except in the broadest of terms: a very young horse will never
have a white coat (unless it is a true white horse), while a horse in its teens usually is completely grayed out.
One must also be careful not to confuse the small amount of gray hairs that may appear on some older horses in
their late teens or twenties, which do not reflect the gray gene and never cause a complete graying of the horse.
This change in hair color can be confusing. Many new horse owners, not understanding the workings of the
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
2 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
A gray mare with suckling foal. The
light hairs around this foal's muzzle
and eyes indicate that it will gray like
its mother. Not all foals show signs of
graying this young.
This yearling Arabian horse
originally chestnut or bay, could be
misclassified as roan. This stage is
often called rose or iron gray.
The dapple gray coat of this mature
Mangalarga Marchador is becoming
white, and the horse will eventually
be completely white-haired.
gray gene, are disappointed to discover that their dapple gray horse turns
completely white a few years later. Other times, people traveling with
gray horses who have a pure white hair coat have encountered problems
with non-horse-oriented officials such as police officers or border guards
who are unclear about a horse who has papers saying it is "gray" when
the horse in front of them appears white.
To further complicate matters, the skin and eyes may be other colors if
influenced by other factors such as white markings, certain white
spotting patterns or dilution genes.
Young gray horses
An intermediate stage in young
horses that are in the early stages
of turning gray is sometimes
called "salt and pepper", "iron
gray" or "steel gray". This
coloring occurs when white and
black hairs are intermingled on
the body, usually seen in horses
that are born black or dark bay.
This is the most common
intermediate form of gray, which can give a silvery look to the coat.
"Rose gray" is a term used to describe this intermediate stage for a horse
born a chestnut or lighter bay color. While these colors are "graying
out", both red and white hairs are often mixed on the body. Thus rose
gray horses have a slight pinkish tinge to their graying coat. These
horses are sometimes confused with roan, but a gray continues to lighten with age, while a roan does not.
Roaning also causes fewer white hairs on the legs and head, giving the horse the appearance of dark points,
which is usually not true of gray.
Dapple gray
"Dapple gray" is an intermediate stage not seen on all grays, but often
considered highly attractive. It consists of a dark hair coat with
"dapples", which are dark rings with lighter hairs on the inside of the
ring, scattered over the entire body of the animal. It is another possible
intermediate step in the graying process of the horse. Dappled grays
should not be confused with the slight dappling "bloom" seen on horses
that are very healthy or slightly overweight, as "bloom" dapples
disappear should the horse lose condition.
The "flea-bitten" gray
A horse that has completely changed its base coat will either be pure
white or "flea-bitten" gray. Flea-bitten gray is a color consisting of a
white hair coat with small speckles or "freckles" of red-colored hair
throughout. Most horses who become flea-bitten grays still go through a brief period when they are pure white.
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
3 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
This Arabian mare is a "flea-bitten"
gray. Note red speckles on white hair
coat.
Perianal gray horse melanoma
Perianal gray horse melanoma,
histology of tumor
The flea-bitten 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 or even a type of sabino. One unique
form of flea-bitten gray is the "bloody shouldered" horse. This is an
animal that is so heavily flea-bitten on certain parts of the body, usually
the shoulder area, that it almost appears as if blood had been spilled on
the horse, hence the name. Arabian horse breeders hold the view that
traditions of the desert Bedouin people considered the "bloody shoulder"
to be a prized trait in a war mare and much desired.
[5]
The flea-bitten pattern comes about because of somatic loss of the
duplication that causes Greying with age, enabling normal pigmentation
to be reestablished. Generally only occurs in heterozygous Greys.
The gray gene (G) is an autosomal dominant gene.
[1]
In simple terms, a
horse which has even one copy of the gray allele, even if it has a gene for
another coloring, will always become gray. If a gray horse is homozygous
(GG), meaning that it has a gray allele from both parents, it will always
produce gray offspring. However, if a gray horse is heterozygous (Gg),
meaning it inherits one copy of the recessive gene (g), that animal may
produce offspring who are not gray (depending on what color gene an
offspring inherits from its other parent). Conversely, a gray horse must have
at least one gray parent. Genetic testing is now possible to determine
whether a horse is homozygous or heterozygous for gray, or if it does not
carry the gene at all.
[6]
The gray gene does not affect skin or eye color, so
grays typically have dark skin and eyes, as opposed to the unpigmented
pink skin of white horses.
[1]
In 2008, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden identified the genetic
mutation that governs the graying process. The study also revealed that gray
horses carry an identical mutation that can be traced back to a common
ancestor that lived thousands of years ago.
[2]
The discovery that gray can be
linked to a single animal provides an example of how humans have "cherry-
picked" attractive mutations in domestic animals.
[7]
Gray is controlled by a single dominant allele of a gene that regulates
specific kinds of stem cells.
[8]
The identification of the gray mutation is also of great interest in of medical research since this mutation also
enhances the risk for melanoma in horses; About 75% of grey horses over 15 years of age have a benign form
of melanoma that in some cases develops into a malignant melanoma. The study of gray genetics has pointed to
a molecular pathway that may lead to tumour development.
[9]
Both STX17 and the neighboring NR4A3 gene
are overexpressed in melanomas from gray horses, and those carrying a loss-of-function mutation in ASIP
(agouti signaling protein) had a higher incidence of melanoma, implying that increased melanocortin-1 receptor
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
4 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
signaling promotes melanoma development in Gray horses.
[7]
White Horses
Many people who are unfamiliar with horses refer to a gray horse as "white." However, most White horses have
pink skin and some have blue eyes. A horse with dark skin and dark eyes under a white hair coat is gray. That
said, a gray horse with an underlying homozygous cream base coat color may be born with rosy-pink skin, blue
eyes and near-white hair. In such cases, DNA testing may clarify the genetics of the horse.
Roan
Some grays in intermediate stages of graying may be confused with a roan or a rabicano. Some heavily
fleabitten grays may also be confused with a roan. However, roans are easily distinguishable from grays: roan
consists of individual white hairs on a dark base coat, usually with the head and legs of the horse darker than the
rest of the body. Rabicanos also have intermixed white hairs primarily on the body with a dark head. 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.
The varnish roan is another unusual coloration, sometimes seen in Appaloosa horses, that, like gray, can change
with age, but unlike gray, the horse does not become progressively lighter until it is pure white. Varnish roans
are created by action of leopard complex within breeds such as the Appaloosa and are seldom seen elsewhere.
Diluted colors
The dilution genes that create dun, cream, pearl, silver dapple and champagne coloring may occasionally result
in confusion with gray.
Some horses with a particular type of dun hair coat known as a "blue dun," grullo, or "mouse" dun appear to be
a solid gray. However, this color is caused by the dun gene acting on a black base coat, 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.
Horses who are a light cream color are also not grays. These are usually cremello, perlino or smoky cream
horses, all colors produced by action of the cream gene. However, if a gray parent passes on the gene, the gray
gene will be dominant over cremello. Another cream-colored dilition, the pearl gene or "barlink factor," may
also create very light-coated horses. Similarly, the champagne gene can lighten coat color, often producing
dappling or light colors that can be confused with gray.
In spite of its name, the silver dapple gene has nothing to do with graying. It is a dilution gene that acts only on
a black coat, diluting the coat to a dark brown and the mane to a flaxen shade. Horses that express the silver
dapple gene (and do not have the gray gene) are born that color and it will not lighten. However, again, if one
parent passes on the gray gene, the gray gene will again be dominant.
Throughout history, both gray and white horses have been mythologized. As part of its legendary dimension,
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
5 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
the gray horse in myth has been depicted with seven heads Uchaishravas or eight feet Sleipnir, sometimes in
groups or singly. There are also mythological tales of gray horses which are divinatory, who prophesy or warn
of danger.
^
a

b

c

d

e
Locke, MM; MCT Penedo; SJ Brickker; LV Millon; J D Murray (2002). "Linkage of the grey coat colour
locus to microsatellites on horse chromosome 25". Animal Genetics 33 (5): 329337.
doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.2002.00885.x (http://dx.doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2052.2002.00885.x). PMID 12354140
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12354140). "The progressive loss of colour in the hair of grey horses is
controlled by a dominantly inherited allele at the Grey locus (G^G). Foals are born any colour depending on the
alleles present at other colour determining loci."
1.
^
a

b
Edited Press Release. "Genetics of the Gray Horse Unraveled." Article #12468. The Horse, Online edition,
August 7, 2008 (http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12468)
2.
^ Swinburne, J E; A Hopkins; MM Binns (2002). "Assignment of the horse grey coat colour gene to ECA25 using
whole genome scanning". Animal Genetics 33 (5): 338342. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.2002.00895.x (http://dx.doi.org
/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2052.2002.00895.x). PMID 12354141 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12354141). "All
grey Thoroughbred horses trace back to the Alcocks Arabian (b1700)."
3.
^ Willett, P. (1989). The Classic Racehorse. London: Stanley Paul. p. 24. ISBN 0-8131-1477-2. 4.
^ http://www.babsonarabians.com/Readers_Corner/Holly.htm 5.
^ "Gray - Horse Coat Color DNA Testing." Animal Genetics, Incorporated.' (http://www.animalgenetics.us
/Gray.htm). web page accessed August 29, 2008
6.
^
a

b
Pielberg, Gerli Rosengren et al. (2008) "A cis-acting regulatory mutation causes premature hair graying and
susceptibility to melanoma in the horse" Nature Genetics 40, 10041009 (2008) Published online: 20 J uly 2008
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18641652) doi:10.1038/ng.185 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fng.185)
Additional abstract excerpts from same article at http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v40/n8/abs/ng.185.html
7.
^ Pielberg, Gerli Rosengren; Anna Golovko, Elisabeth Sundstrm, Ino Curik, J ohan Lennartsson, Monika H
Seltenhammer, Thomas Druml, Matthew Binns, Carolyn Fitzsimmons, Gabriella Lindgren, Kaj Sandberg, Roswitha
Baumung, Monika Vetterlein, Sara Strmberg, Manfred Grabherr, Claire Wade, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Fredrik
Pontn, Carl-Henrik Heldin, J ohann Slkner & Leif Andersson (2008). "A cis-acting regulatory mutation causes
premature hair graying and susceptibility to melanoma in the horse". Nature Genetics 40 (8): 10041009.
doi:10.1038/ng.185 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fng.185). PMID 18641652 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
/18641652).
8.
^ "Researchers reveal secrets of the white horse." Member States Cordis News, J uly 22, 2008 (http://cordis.europa.eu
/fetch?CALLER=MSS_NEWS_ALL&ACTION=D&DOC=1&CAT=NEWS&
QUERY=011b2b362dad:59d3:02f43178&RCN=29680)
9.
"Introduction to Coat Color Genetics" (http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/coatcolor.php) from
Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. Web Site
accessed J anuary 12, 2008
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
6 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM
Albinism
Equine coat color
Equine coat color genetics
White (horse)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gray_(horse)&oldid=613819814"
Categories: Horse coat colors
This page was last modified on 21 J une 2014 at 15:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipediais a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Gray (horse) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_(horse)
7 of 7 7/20/2014 5:09 PM