Can my baby horse turn black or bay?

Question

The stud is a bay, and my mare is a dark chestnut, not liver, but dark. The baby was born very chestnut. He has a bright red mane and tail with a red dorsal stripe, his coat overall is very bright red. But here recently, I have noticed black patches of hair on him. His ears get blacker everyday. Not dark brown, black. On his hocks also there is a black "slash" if you will, about an inch long and a centimeter wide. When I first noticed one of them I thought he had rubbed his hair off, but he had it on the other side to in the same place. When I got closer, I realized that this was black hair as well. Also, the roots of his mane and tail under the baby stuff is turning black. What do you think? Is it possible for him to turn bay, or black when he was born chestnut? All I know is that it is def black hair, not dark brown, but black.

Answer 1

Yes! It is very possible!

Answer 2

A baby horses hair changes about twice during being a foal.....so it can turn almost any regular horse color....hope this helped..

Answer 3

in short- yes it is possible for a supposed "chestnut" foal to turn bay. genetically the only colors your foal could be are bay, black or chestnut. statisically you were more likely to get a bay from this cross followed by chestnut then black. you cannot have a dun with that cross unless your mare had a visit from the mailman *wink wink* most bay foals are not born with black legs and some bays only exibit black around the pasterns ( wild bays), the black comes in later for 90% of bays. i am inclined to think your foal is bay rather than black because 1- i have never seen a black horse born any color other than some shade of mousy brown , black or smoky grey looking, 2- the "dorsal stripe" is most likely countershading which is very common in bays, and 3-  the rapid turning of the bay points ( ears, legs and mane/tail)  also what color was the foals skin and eyes at birth? chestnuts normally have pinkish skin for the first 6-72 hours and many have hazel looking eyes at first. bays and blacks have black or chocolate colored skin at birth and the eyes are dark brown to a very deep amber. if you are seeing this dark fur coming in on the body ( chest, neck, barrel) then i would wait till after it sheds again to see what color it is- it might be a very dark liver chestnut going through a very rich deep stage.  if the body does not turn then you most likely have a bay

Answer 4

I have had foals change untill 3yr or so. Here are a few sites for you to read on color & what gets what & how. Way tooo much to type, so here are some to read. Hope this helps!

http://www.equinecolor.com/color.html

http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/colors/...

http://dreamviewfarm.com/genetics.html

http://www.mustangs4us.com/Horse%20Color...

Answer 5

To me it seems like your foal is going to be a dun :) The mane and tail may turn black or have black in them if you can already see it. So I think your foal is going to turn out as a  medium light ( almost like a buck skin ) color with black mane and tail.. You never know black socks could even show up...

Answer 6

it could go black as the chestnut Gena and black Gena are the closer but it is most likely going its mother colour of dark chestnut that is almost black.

Answer 7

It seems as though your colt is actually dun, more specifically red dun since you say he has reddish tones. It's perfectly normal for horses to change coat colours, especially at a young age.

Black points, such as ears, mane & tail etc. indicate bay or dun horses. But you say he has a dorsal stripe, which is a trademark characteristic of dun horses. The black slashes on his hocks also indicate he is a dun, it's a primeval colouring detail. You may find this striping on his forelegs as well, or across his whithers as he begins to shed out. Dun horses also often have a darker 'face mask'.

Here is an example of a strong dorsal stripe on a foal:

http://www.horsecareonline.net/images/Co...

Here is an example of very evident leg barring:

http://www.aaanativearts.com/spanish-hor...

Here you can see shoulder stripes:

http://www.grullablue.com/colors/grulloc...

Here you can see the darker face mask:

http://www.grullablue.com/colors/grulloc...

This website has excellent information and picture examples about dun colouring and characteristics.

http://www.grullablue.com/colors/dun_fac...

Answer 8

Use this calculator. The results are for the final color.

http://www.animalgenetics.us/CCalculator...

Answer 9

Well, if the majority of the new hair you are finding is black, then I'd say its a good chance he will be black when his baby hair falls out.

Lucky you! I'd love a black colt!.....

But I still love my bay baby anyday x

Answer 10

If she is a poa, she will change. If not no probably not! Sorry.

Answer 11

Sounds like it could be any colour but black fur is underneath the baby fur then it's likely he will stay black, or dark. He could be brown and black which is rare, but from what you've said I think he will turn out a nice colour, judging by his parents.

You're so lucky to have a colt =D

Answer 12

A chestnut horse cannot turn black. A bay can't become a chestnut, etc. However, it is possible that your foal is a dun. A dun has a chestnut body with a dark dorsal stripe, and can have a dark mane, tail and legs.

Answer 13

well he may turn grulla or or dun but a dark variation

http://www.mountaincreekmoriesians.com/i...

Answer 14

it might just be some baby stuff like my little sis had brown hair when she was little and now blond. iif his dad is a black he might be a black

Answer 15

horses don't have a permanent color til they're around 4 or 5 yrs old. my mom has horses and she's had some surprises over the years. personally i hope it'll be black for ya :)

Answer 16

You said he was born with bright red mane and tail.  Unless the mane and tail turn black, then he won't be considered a bay.  Bays usually have black legs as well.  Could you post a picture of him so we can see him?