The Sooty Gene

[DianneC]

I got some new pictures of Santana, who is a sooty bay I believe. Sooty can be along the top line, as is here, or all over like a liver chestnut. He has lots of countershading but no dun factor. So I thought it would be interesting to see the difference. He has a dorsal but it has soft edges and doesn't go down his tail.

He has shadowing along the top of his neck, shoulders back and cheeks. The cheeks are particularly interesting as I see that same thing in the dark grulla foals as they shed out their foal coats. This is Gin Reshcke of Hilltop Farm training him. Thanks to Gin and hubby for the pictures, and for doing such a nice job with Santana.


Here is Rainy as she was shedding out her foal coat, she looks black now. You can really see the face pattern.

Santana as a colt with his very red bay dam, Cricket. Cricket is a bright clear color with no sooty.

[dara]

Really nice picts. My little filly has what i think is the sooty thing too. She has it on her neck top of her bottom and up her leg kind of far. i also belive she will have countersading too.

[fantasykiger]

My neighbors old Kiger Mustang is a sooty buckskin with no dorsal stripe. Even though he is dusty you can still see the sooty coloring on his body. I know it is not the best picture to show off his color, but all I have from across the pasture.

[fantasykiger]

Oh by the way DianneC your horses are looking fabulous and lovely. I wish I had myself one of those BIG balls I just know my youngsters would have a blast with one of those.

[DianneC]

I know, I'm going to have to find one for the WA pasture. It would be a kick to watch the foals play with it, although LadyRose would probably have a cow.
A sooty buckskin Kiger? what herd and what year adopted do you know? It would be interesting to have him color tested as the cream gene has been suspected but not proven in the Kiger.

[DianneC]

Here is what I believe is a dark dun, with a similar color and sooty gene all over but with the dun gene added. The dorsal is very sharp edged and he has rather smudged stripes on his legs, at least so far. No ear bars but lots of lighter color in the ears.

[Michelle Clarke]

Dianne, thanks for starting this thread. I think Santana definately is sooty...and looks great!

Brisa looks like the last picts you have of the colt. I know Desi carries the sooty so being the sire of Brisa, she probably has it. She is not going to fully shed out this year, so her legs are still mottled, but it looks as if the black will go alot higher. She has alot of stripes, but they are still fuzzy.

I think Nesa has the sooty gene too and her stripes are not very sharp on her legs, though her dorsal is wide and pretty sharp I belive.

Are you going to get Rainy tested for the dun gene? I am going to have ChaCha tested, since her dam, Leza, is new to me I am not sure if she will always throw the stripes when crossbred...ChaCha still is very black looking but has some of the brownish color too.

These picts were all taken last week, both fillies just turned four months old.

[fantasykiger]

All I can tell you about the neighbors Kiger as I have only had a few conversations across the fence is that he is over 20 years old and if he is freeze branded it must be under his mane, I don't see it on the other side of his neck.
The reason I think he is a sooty buckskin is he really looks like a buckskin that rolled in black ash.