Turning Grey at 6?

[chillydc]

I figured I would ask this here since I know there are a bunch of color gurus and I am curious.

I have one of the plainest bay horses ever, he is 6 years old by Saluut 2 (grey), his mother is dark bay. He has a little white on 1 coronet and a few white hairs on his forehead… literally a few hairs. Last year one of his shoulders got a smattering of grey… just white hairs mixed in with the brown, but no one would notice unless they were close enough to touch him.

The question is: A few weeks ago I noticed that both hind legs are greying from the hooves to the fetlocks. At first I thought I was imagining it, or that his legs were just dusty from the ring, but then I realized they had actually started greying. No new white hairs anywhere else. Will he eventually be all grey? I did not think he would turn so late in life. I just find it strange and pretty sudden.

[DownYonder]

It’s possible. The Oldenburg stallion Royal Diamond did not grey out until fairly late - he was originally listed as black, and was suspected to be grey when grey foals turned up in his first foal crop. He was 4 at the time, and finally started showing some grey over the next year or so - when he won the Bundeschampionat at age 6, he was a dark dappled steel grey color.

[WindyIsles]

Yup.

There’s a Connemara stallion *Canal Lauriston who at 22 is still not grey-grey or white. He was a very dark bay and didn’t start turning grey till about 8 or so.

[Sonesta]

Definitely possible. You can find out for sure for about $40 by sending some mane hairs to UC Davis.

Good news is that when they wait this long to gray out, they generally stay that gorgeous dapple color until quite late in life!

[ahf]

[QUOTE=Sonesta;6615195]

Good news is that when they wait this long to gray out, they generally stay that gorgeous dapple color until quite late in life![/QUOTE]

THis. And is there anything prettier than one of those “rocking horse” dapple grays.

[rcloisonne]

Doesn’t mean it can’t happen but I’ve never seen a grey start the greying process on the legs or shoulder. It almost always begins with the face/head. If your boy doesn’t have any white hairs on his face (other than the few white hairs he’s had from birth), I doubt he’s a grey.

[_Tradewind]

[QUOTE=rcloisonne;6615325]
Doesn’t mean it can’t happen but I’ve never seen a grey start the greying process on the legs or shoulder. It almost always begins with the face/head. If your boy doesn’t have any white hairs on his face (other than the few white hairs he’s had from birth), I doubt he’s a grey.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know about this…I have a 3 year old whose parents are both gray, giving him either 75 or 100% chance of being gray (with a good chance of the latter since his dam may also be homozygous). He was born liver chestnut with four socks and a blaze (so I was hoping he wouldn’t gray out!). He is just now starting to gray out in an odd pattern: there is no evidence of graying on his face (although it’s hard to tell since he has a blaze) but he has an increasing number of white hairs throughout his coat, which has become an increasingly dark, unusual liver chestnut colour, with odd little white spots and “patches”. He is not graying out from any particular point, he just has the sporadic hairs and then concentrated white spots. His dam is half Andalusian and also grayed out in an odd pattern, so perhaps the patterning is genetic…

[chillydc]

[QUOTE=Sonesta;6615195]

Good news is that when they wait this long to gray out, they generally stay that gorgeous dapple color until quite late in life![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the responses! It is so interesting hearing that this does happen. I always assumed if it did not start early on that it would not happen. His full brother was grey and we always assumed he would be as well, then he was born bay and no sign of greying, so we figured that was just as well bc bay is much easier to keep looking clean then grey anyway.

I would love if he was dapple grey! It would be pretty ironic actually as some members of my family poke fun at him for being so plain. Imagine if he turned into a striking dapple grey! Either way is fine, for me, he is a great jumper and a great guy to have around.

[JB]

Agree with rcloisonne - possible, but unlikely given where it’s occurring.

My TB mare, with no gray parent, has recently started (started after she foaled in '11 ) getting a LOT of “gray” on the back of her hind pasterns. She doesn’t have a single white hair on her otherwise. There’s so much white hair it looks like she’s coated in a find dusting of pelleted bedding or something.

Her son, my yearling, has a huge amount of white hairs scattered through his dark brown coat (and sadly, SO hard to capture on film!). His only white is a teeny spot on a hind heel bulb.

So, in your case, the odds are much more likely that it’s the Sabino gene making an entrance.

[chillydc]

[QUOTE=JB;6615463]

So, in your case, the odds are much more likely that it’s the Sabino gene making an entrance.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, I’ll have to research Sabino, I don’t know anything about it. Your mare’s greying sounds exactly like my guy’s.

[Tiki]

I used to ride one Hungarian WB and knew of another who didn’t even start to turn grey until 6, so it is possible. Best way to know is to pull hair and test. Only $25 from Animal Genetics, I think it is.

[Simkie]

FWIW, when I had the brand inspector out, he told me of a friend’s horse that greyed out from a hind pastern up.

Animal Genetics has the grey test for $25 http://animalgenetics.com/Gray.htm