Color Gurus... Please tell me about Liver Chestnut

[baywithchrome2]

Curious about how this form of chestnut comes about. I have a mare who has had two chestnut offspring by two different stallions. The first turned a fairly dark liver chestnut and her latest is shedding out to a black looking liver. Her other two foals were a very deep red bay (almost burgundy-ish in color) and a black looking bay.

I’ve not had the mare color tested, but here is what I know of her with respect to color in her pedigree:

1. The mare herself is a black looking bay.
2. Her sire was the same color black looking bay.
3. Her dam was an ordinary colored chestnut.
4. And not sure if it’s relevant, but her full sister is ordinary chestnut.

The sire of the first liver foal was bay. The sire of this most recent liver foal is ordinary chestnut.

I adore this latest filly and the color is just the icing on the cake. So, if I bred this mare to the same chestnut sire, do we know my odds of getting liver again?

TIA!

[horsechick]

know nothing about it except that I love it!!

[VirginiaBred]

All I can tell you is:

It’s my FAVORITE color.
AND
It’s the hardest to actually get.

[not_again]

Love Liver Chestnut!

[Kwill]

We will all cross our fingers for you that you get another one! Sounds like a genetic roll of the dice!

Wikipedia says: “Liver chestnut or dark chestnut are not a separate genetic color, but a descriptive term. The genetic controls for the depth of shade are not presently understood. Liver chestnuts are a very dark-reddish brown. Liver chestnuts are included in the term “dark chestnut.””

[back_in_the_saddle]

My FAVORITE color of all time as well!

[RanchoAdobe]

I have an Apiro colt out of a seal bay mare with a bay dam and bay stallion who is shedding to a dark (almost black) liver chestnut. I was shocked when the first chestnut let (after the white socks) came out!

[madamlb]

Cool that people like it so much, cos I have two! My beautiful mare is a ‘true’ liver, almost violet coloured in the summer, she is by a black stallion out of a liver mare who is by a liver stallion who is by Donnerhall. So that’s where it comes from in her I am relatively sure. Her son by Don Frederico (black) is also liver. From what I can surmise, it’s pretty obvious from birth, chestnut foals tend to have opaque looking legs where as liver foals are the same colour the whole way down the leg, and when they start to shed out chestnut foals will look liver but liver foals will look BLACK.

As far as I know my liver mare when bred to black stallions will only produce liver or black? I might have that wrong.

My liver foal at 9 weeks, shedding.

[TatteredDaydreamer]

It’s also my favorite cover, hands down. Liver Chestnuts are just so stunning. Those of you lucky enough to have one (or two!), please post pictures so we can drool!

[2tempe]

I had a “true” liver colored mare years ago - looked like a hershey bar color- not quite dark chocolate, blaze and a sock or two. Loved it!

Current mare is registered liver, though she is a very red color - don’t know where that came from…

Other horse in the barn is registered liver; he is a brownish color, less red than my current mare, not as dark as my first mare above, maybe a bronze type color. Lots of dapples.

I guess its like some other things in life - you know it when you see it.

[chemteach]

I love liver chestnut. Decades ago I had a dark liver chestnut mare with a very light flaxen mane and tail. Thank goodness she was as sweet as she was stunning.

[JB]

Best odds - breed liver to liver.

Very unpredictable, even in that situation.

MOST chestnut foals - heck, most red-based foals - shed the first time very dark. Very, very common for regular chestnut foals to shed to “liver” the first time, very very common for palomino foals to shed “black” the first time.

Don’t put any faith in that first foal shed

Most chestnuts are not liver. Most chestnut foals shed “liver” - that oughta tell you something

[RanchoAdobe]

 is the black color around his eyes look like a liver chestnut to you? His body is now turning a black color as well. Here is hoping
[IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii536/akannow/7f0ab14c.jpg)

[MyssMyst]

I love them! Such a stunning color (esp when there’s chrome).

[clint]

[QUOTE=JB;6516804]

MOST chestnut foals - heck, most red-based foals - shed the first time very dark. Very, very common for regular chestnut foals to shed to “liver” the first time, very very common for palomino foals to shed “black” the first time.

Don’t put any faith in that first foal shed

Most chestnuts are not liver. Most chestnut foals shed “liver” - that oughta tell you something :)[/QUOTE]

Interesting. I have been breeding for a long time, had lots of chestnut foals, and for the first time this year I have a foal who shed out liver. Hopefully she stays that way, because it is a beautiful color, but I do question you saying most chestnut foals shed out dark for the first time. That isn’t true in my experience, or that of my breeder friends.

[chemteach]

[QUOTE=RanchoAdobe;6516821]
 is the black color around his eyes look like a liver chestnut to you? His body is now turning a black color as well. Here is hoping
[IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii536/akannow/7f0ab14c.jpg)[/QUOTE]

He is stunning!

[Kwill]

I like the idea of calling it “chocolate chestnut” so much better! :yes:

Liver chestnut is descriptive but not so nice as chocolate!

And your colt looks to have a heck of an engine back there! Nice!

[quietann]

Liver chestnuts are beautiful… My mare’s sire is a liver chestnut, not super-dark but definitely liver. And there is a Arab/Hanoverian cross mare where I board who is a very dark liver chestnut. Both these horses have a little “bling” which enhances the liver even more.

[MsM]

Would you consider him Liver?
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/msmavron/stevie-e1.jpg

[Sunnydays]

Yes, RanchAdobe, I think he will turn out chestnut (nice foal!).
I have a Rubignon colt this year from a liver chestnut dam. Started out golden.
Last year another golden one turned liver on shedding out. Grandson of the liver chestnut mare, he was by Sir Donnerhall (bay) by a Contendro (bay) mare - so the liver seemed to be from grandma.
Here is this year’s http://www.sunnydayshanoverians.com/young/RocketmanAug23.jpg
and his dam http://www.sunnydayshanoverians.com/brood/Ester2.jpg