Do blue roan horses eventually turn white like grays do? I’ve only seen young QHs that were blue roan. Specifically the horse I’m looking at is a mustang, so no telling what his lineage is.
[QUOTE=Toadie’s mom;6975205]
Do blue roan horses eventually turn white like grays do? I’ve only seen young QHs that were blue roan. Specifically the horse I’m looking at is a mustang, so no telling what his lineage is.[/QUOTE]
No, only greys will eventually turn white. A blue roan is basically a black horse with the addition of the roan gene. They do, though, tend to have a much different looking coat in the summer as compared to the winter. 
Now, it is possible for a horse to inherit both the roan gene AND the grey gene from their parents. So it would be possible to have a blue roan turning grey, in which case, yes, the horse would eventually turn white…but it’s not because of the roan gene. Hope that made sense.
Thanks Daventry. Looking for a horse for someone else, and while breed or gender aren’t an issue he has said that he doesn’t want a gray. This horse meets the criteria for temperament, and size, but I wasn’t sure how I’d convince him that this is different from a gray :winkgrin:
If he doesn’t want a gray due to health issues it is different. If he doesn’t want a gray because they are hard to keep clean there is not much difference when it comes to keeping a roan clean. 
Before you try and convince him, make sure it actually IS a blue roan, and isn’t just being CALLED blue roan.
I had a TB/Tobiano paint who was a blue roan. Very cool color and look. No…never grayed.
Not all roans (regardless of color) are hard to keep clean. Some are and stay very dark, while the other end if the spectrum goes nearly white. Assuming the horse in question has fully shed out, you’re seeing what will be his general shade of black for the rest of his life. He may shed out lighter some years, darker some years, and over time, his Summer shed may get a little lighter. But if he’s fairly dark now, he’s not going to end up shedding “white” in 10 years.
Do you know this horse’s specific breeding? If neither parent is gray, then this horse cannot possibly be gray. Can you post a picture, maybe even just the head? If one parent IS gray, then it should be determined if this horse is really Roan to begin with or if he is, if he’s also gray.
If the Paint (really a Paint, the breed, or just “paint” because it’s spotted?) parent is not roan, then this horse cannot be roan because he couldn’t have gotten it from the TB side.
[QUOTE=JB;6975727]
Not all roans (regardless of color) are hard to keep clean. Some are and stay very dark, while the other end if the spectrum goes nearly white. Assuming the horse in question has fully shed out, you’re seeing what will be his general shade of black for the rest of his life. He may shed out lighter some years, darker some years, and over time, his Summer shed may get a little lighter. But if he’s fairly dark now, he’s not going to end up shedding “white” in 10 years.
Do you know this horse’s specific breeding? If neither parent is gray, then this horse cannot possibly be gray. Can you post a picture, maybe even just the head? If one parent IS gray, then it should be determined if this horse is really Roan to begin with or if he is, if he’s also gray.
If the Paint (really a Paint, the breed, or just “paint” because it’s spotted?) parent is not roan, then this horse cannot be roan because he couldn’t have gotten it from the TB side.[/QUOTE]
I screwed up…he was TB/Appy/Paint. Obviously the roan, came from the Appy.
Well, now you are throwing in varnish (appy “roaning”) in with potentially true roan, and that’s a very different story.
Appy varnish IS like gray in that the horse gets progressively whiter with age. Some do it more slowly, some varnish out very quickly and spend most of their lives with dark points.
Hmmm. He never grayed or got whiter though. His roaning stayed the same throughout his life.
Keep in mind that the appy could have also had Roan, and a Paint can be, say, Tobiano and have Roan as well (and if there’s enough white on the Tobi, the Roan could be very well hidden). So, if he never got lighter, than the odds of him having Varnish/Appy roan were slim, and he may well have been a true Roan.
[QUOTE=JB;6975727]
Not all roans (regardless of color) are hard to keep clean. Some are and stay very dark, while the other end if the spectrum goes nearly white. Assuming the horse in question has fully shed out, you’re seeing what will be his general shade of black for the rest of his life. He may shed out lighter some years, darker some years, and over time, his Summer shed may get a little lighter. But if he’s fairly dark now, he’s not going to end up shedding “white” in 10 years.
Do you know this horse’s specific breeding? If neither parent is gray, then this horse cannot possibly be gray. Can you post a picture, maybe even just the head? If one parent IS gray, then it should be determined if this horse is really Roan to begin with or if he is, if he’s also gray.
If the Paint (really a Paint, the breed, or just “paint” because it’s spotted?) parent is not roan, then this horse cannot be roan because he couldn’t have gotten it from the TB side.[/QUOTE]
OP horse is a mustang.
Yes, but my comment was immediately following sid’s who was discussing a TB/Paint (who later turned out to be tb/paint/appy )
Here’s a picture. I’m pretty sure he’s really blue roan, and not gray
http://s267.photobucket.com/user/learfan/media/mustang_zps00a9794e.jpg.html#/user/learfan/media/mustang_zps00a9794e.jpg.html?&_suid=1368049205850038859019836760744
Oh that is definitely a blue (black) roan. And he’s GORGEOUS!!
Keep in mind though, that some roans can have a lot of seasonal variation in their coat. For example, a roan might appear much whiter/more gray during the winter, and much darker during the summer. But, over time, roans do not get progressively more gray unless they also carry the gray gene (as has already been pointed out )
[QUOTE=BeeHoney;6976891]
Keep in mind though, that some roans can have a lot of seasonal variation in their coat. For example, a roan might appear much whiter/more gray during the winter, and much darker during the summer. But, over time, roans do not get progressively more gray unless they also carry the gray gene (as has already been pointed out )[/QUOTE]
Also keep in mind that a lot of mustangs have Appy in there somewhere… :lol: I’d be interested in seeing him without a saddle, could those be a few snowflakes I see behind the saddle?
[QUOTE=JB;6976664]
Oh that is definitely a blue (black) roan. And he’s GORGEOUS!![/QUOTE]
He is cute, isn’t he!? He’s younger than most I’ve been looking at, but maybe he’ll be sound (which seems to be an major obstacle in our price range :().
[QUOTE=BeeHoney;6976891]
Keep in mind though, that some roans can have a lot of seasonal variation in their coat. For example, a roan might appear much whiter/more gray during the winter, and much darker during the summer. But, over time, roans do not get progressively more gray unless they also carry the gray gene (as has already been pointed out )[/QUOTE]
Ayup.
They will also often shed their hairs at different times. I had a blue roan mare who shed her dark hairs several weeks before her white hairs. So she got QUITE light looking during shedding season, and then caught up to her “real” color.
