I have a 7 year old bay thoroughbred that since he was 3 (probably before that too but thats when I bought him) would get grey hairs in his coat during the transition from summer to winter coat and winter to summer but now the grey is staying. Does this mean he is a roan and will continue to get more grey as he ages?
Well… he isn’t roan-going-grey. I know that much. Could he be roaning though, yes that’s possible. I had a chestnut Arabian with a roan spot on one hind pastern and his flanks and neck got more white hairs, but he was not going grey.
Gray horses are often born not gray. I think 7 is a bit old for a bay to start turning, but maybe not. Roaning is also possible but, again that seems a bit old. Sadly, I have no real expertise in color genetics and really don’t care to acquire any!!! 
G.
I had a grey horse previously so I shouldn’t say he is turning grey but clearly getting grey hairs. I’ve never owned a bay so didn’t know if some grey was normal. After looking up roan that seems to describe what happens but wasn’t sure if it was like a grey thing where they start darker (sometimes almost look black) and the hair gets lighter as they age. Do roan horses start bay or are they always roan?
Roaming out. I’'ve had friends who told me their 4 and 5 year olds were chestnut when I saw lots of grey hairs. A few years later, they claimed their horses were grey. One woman had a “black” paso at one barn that had lots of grey hairs. He later was represented by her as a grey. No one every says “roan” around here for some reason.
But then the same people claim that my grey horse is now a “white” horse. Even when he’s dirty. My bay never turned grey, except for a few random mane hairs.
Not that this is an answer to your question, but I had a chestnut Saddlebred mare that had chestnut parents. Although she was chestnut, she had silver streaks running through her mane and tail (from birth). Her chestnut parents also had two grey colts, that are not very common in the Saddlebred world. We figured there must have been a recessive gene in there somewhere.
Roan horses start roan. Grey horses start going white in the face early. I don’t think you will see a big change in your horse. There is a sabino pinto pattern that involves roaming mostly on the belly but again I think.present from birth
That said there are all kinds of soeckles and spots that turn up over time for which the researchers haven’t yet looked for genes. These speckles are more visible with summer hair.
Some limited scattering of white hairs on a dark horse is not uncommon. Neither are Ben d’or spots or smoky patches on a lighter horse. People tend to attribute dark hairs on chestnut or palomino horses to good nutrition or feeding alfalfa, don’t know if that’s true, but there is a link between nutrition and coat condition and pigment.
I believe true roan is not found in TB breeding except in some offspring of Catch a Bird. I am sure there are some folks in the Breeding forum that can discuss color and coat more wisely than I
Whats the deal with all the roan ponies? I feel like I see tons of them but rarely a roan horse. Does a roan mean they have they grey gene in them somewhere? I guess that would make sense why there are so many roan ponies because there are even more grey ponies
Roan is a totally separate gene from gray. Roan horses have a roughly 50/50 mix of base (chestnut/bay/black/etc.) hairs and white hairs spread evenly throughout their coats, except that their points (head, mane/tail, & lower legs) are darker. Other than the foal coat and some slight seasonal variation, the horse stays roughly the same color throughout its entire life. Thoroughbreds don’t carry the roan gene, so your horse cannot be a true roan (nor does he have enough white hairs to be a roan). The roan gene is dominant; a horse must have one or more true roan parents to have a chance of being a roan.
Gray horses are born looking like whatever their base color is. As they age, they get progressively more white hairs. Some horses do this VERY slowly; some do it very quickly. Gray is also a dominant gene; the horse must have at least one gray parent in order to be gray. @Gainer, there is no possible way for two chestnut parents to produce a gray foal; either one of those Saddlebreds was incorrectly registered or the foals were not actually gray.
Lots of horses of all colors have white hairs sprinkled throughout their coats; most of these are probably caused by some variation of a white pattern of some sort, most of which we are just starting to identify.
This^^^^^!!
I was just about to post virtually the same info.
Roans are common in QH lines and also Appaloosas can present as roans (varnish Appaloosa pattern) so if you are in an area with lots of POA or small qh used as kids ponies that could account for the colours. I don’t know a lot about other Pony breed colours, don’t see a lot of purebred ponies here. I dont associate roan with the British native Pony breeds, but haven’t seen tons of them. Roans are also present in the American gaited breeds.
Are the grey hairs only in the flank region? Rabicano is a specific roaning pattern. Usually starts at the base of the tail (skunk tail), but it’s really common to radiate out from the flanks.
Thanks for all the great info! I’m actually a little relieved he isn’t a roan. I think it looks weird that their head is a different color. Interesting stuff though!
I had a dun filly born here and her first year she was solid ( no white) with each year she added more white hairs to her coat. By the time she was in her mid teens she was about a 50/50 mix of dun hairs and white. It was mostly from the lower neck/ chest area, over the back , shoulder, sides and over her rump. Legs, upper neck & head were solid. Very pretty and seemed to stop at that.
Her sire was a red roan. I would suggest you look up his pedigree as they usually have the color on there too. If he has roans/ grey in his ancestry, he just might be roan or grey himself.
Our bright sorrel gelding is rabicano - has a white patch at the top of his tail, though it is not very noticeable. As he ages (he’s now 18), he gets more and more gray hair flecking his loin area and into his hips. It looks very much like what you’ve posted.
OP, I’m in Texas and you see roan horses all the time, I suppose because quarter horses are the dominant breed. In fact, lotsa folks breed for roan; it’s seen as desirable by many. If you see two horses for sale of equal quality, one brown/bay/sorrel and the other a roan, most folks around here would pick the roan.
As a couple people have said thoroughbreds can’t be a true roan so its unlikely his is roan. @rockymouse I think your right about the rabicano. He also has a little bit of white at the top of his tail but never really gave much thought to it
Sabino and rabicano genes are lighter roaning in some areas of the body.
A true roan will have a self colored head and the roaning starts after that and down the body.
A gray will be self colored when young and will start greying all over to eventually being all gray, on any color or white skin.
Grey paints will become white with age and when you bathe them, you can see clearly the base skin color where when young they were another color and the pure white skin patches.
Horse color genes are not quite sorted out yet, your horse may have some other combination that is affecting his roaning.
I think UC Davis has genetic testing for color that could help you determine what you have there.
I had a bay roan appendix QH who was a flea bitten roan in the summer, but in the winter you couldn’t see a white hair on hin. All his roan hairs were in his undercoat and his outer coat was all bay. The transitional seasons, particularly spring, showed all the white hairs after the guard hairs all shed out.
I figured this was advantageous in that he was darker in winter when he wanted to absorb more heat from the sun and lighter in the summer when he wanted to reflect the sun instead of absorbing it.
@ All Ya’ll - yes you - no fair posting about your unusual colored horses without photos.
I know there are TBs registered as roan - anyone know the JC criteria for “roan?”
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