OMG! could my chestnut filly really be a bay filly? * Photos now added

[QM2]

So, I clipped my 5 wk old, (I thought) chestnut filly for Devon yesterday and I looked really closely at the roots of her mane and tail and for the life of me they look black.

She also, has 2 inch thick, dark brown rings around her eyes.

Her hind legs have tall socks then tan above that.

Her front legs are greyish by her feet and then taper into a kind of faded palomino color.

Her body is a dark redish brown color.

What do you all think. Could she be bay? And would she be a red bay?

Mom is grey with dark legs. Dad is chestnut. He did have another filly this year that is red bay.

[RiddleMeThis]

She could be just about anything including bay brown or chestnut. We need pictures if you want an accurate guess. Though from the description bay sounds likely.

[pony_grandma]

:yes: we had a fuzzy orange filly shed out a beautiful black bay. Then we instantly knew her name was Ava, a dark haired beauty. I wish that we had known that before her inspection naming. But, yes, she was ORANGE!

[showhorsegallery]

It would be easier to say for certain with pictures. Also do you have pictures of the dam before she greyed out, or know what base color the dam is? Any color can turn grey if the grey gene is there. Your filly could be grey too.

If the sire is a chestnut he is not carrying the black gene and can only pas on red (chestnut) but could be carrying Agouti and pass on that. If the dam is a bay underneath the grey than she could pass on bay.

You haven’t really given enough info to say either way.

I don’t meant to assume what you do or don’t know about Equine color, but for more info you can visit:

http://showhorsegallery.com/articles/equine_color_part_1_-base_colors
http://showhorsegallery.com/articles/equine_color_part_2-_agouti

[K_2]

I think the best way to guess us based on her colour at birth. Chestnut foals have that distinctive pink to their eyelids when born, and bays have dark lids. Do you have pictures of her at birth?

[QM2]

Ok here is a link to photos.

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2138766030106492562eZwvSD

Some from when she was born and a few the day after I clipped her.

The clipped photos, you can see the roots of her mane are dark and when you look at it closely it is black. The roots of her tail are coming in black as well. There is also, dark brown hair that is ringing her eyes.

Also, mom is in some of the photos and there is one of mom at 2 yrs old.

So, now what do you think?

[showjumpers66]

Chestnut

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I am the opposite of a color expert, but I think she’s a chestnut. I do see the dark roots in the mane though…

I’m basing my guess off the fact that my chestnut mare has a black muzzle and eye and even her feet are almost black.

I’m quite likely wrong though!

[JB]

Definitely chestnut.

that first foal shed for red-based horses can be really, really dark

[Poniesofmydreams]

Does she have some Welsh in her? I ask because my cob filly at three is every shade of chestnut right now and her mane is every color known to the horse world. She always seems to be changing.
She is lovely no matter what color she is. Have fun at Devon.

[tidy_rabbit]

I’d say chestnut too, and OMG is SHE ADORABLE or what?

[Tazzie]

I don’t have an opinion, I just wanted to say - what a cute little girl!

[Kitters]

All I see is chestnut too. She’s very cute, no matter the color!

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

No black on her legs above the socks. She is chestnut. I have had several chestuts with a lot of black hairs in their mane and tail. Liver and darker chestnut often has that. The black comes in after a month or so and makes a sharp contrast. The inside (new growth) of the tail hairs are also black.

[QM2]

Thanks for the replys.

Poniesofmydreams- Yes her sire is Twyford Cadog a Sec A and moms breeding is unknown but seems VERY welshy.

Glad to hear you all like her too. The best part is she is SO sweet. She doesn’t bite or kick or anything. When you give her a scratch she grooms you back and when you call her name in the field she whinnys and comes running.

Sweet, sweet girl.

[Marengo]

She could end up a liver chestnut. Seeing black/very dark hairs coming through a baby chestnut coat is consistent with ending up with a liver chestnut or very rich chestnut horse. Although she doesn’t look like she inherited the grey gene in her foal coat its still a possibility. A chestnut horse going grey will appear to be turning bay as the mane, tail and bits of the coat go darker before the lighter grey hairs are obvious. I’d say you need to wait for her to shed her coat a few more times before you know for sure what you end up with. Too bad they don’t have a genetic test for liver chestnut yet, there is one for grey.

[JB]

Many more chestnut foals shed very dark, for the first time, than end up liver chestnut

This foal appears to be born too “light” to be graying. Chestnut foals going gray tend to be born looking really chestnut, adult chestnut.

[luckyduck]

Chestnut

[EquineLVR]

I think she is going to shed out Liver Chesnut.

[Tiki]

Definitely chestnut and probably liver.