This message is from: "Olivia Farm, Inc." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hello Meredith, I did a quick bit of research on your mare's pedigree both on the Pony Web and on the Norsk Hestesenter web site to see if it was possible to tell the color by tracing the lineage. If your mare is truly a white dun or "ulsblakk" as it is in Norwegian, then it could have only come from the Karival side since the cremello gene responsible for the lightening of the coat does not function as a recessive trait like those responsible for grey and red duns. As such, if a white dun does not produce another white dun in its lifetime, then there is no possibility of a white dun being produced later in the line as a result of that horse's genetic contribution. It has been said, however, that grey can mask white though, so it is possible that the cremello gene might have come from this side. It is due to this masking of the cremello and the possibility of producing a "kvit" offspring that one should be careful in their pedigree research when breeding grey to grey. Likewise, breeders should never breed white to white, white to yellow, or yellow to yellow since these combinations could result in an unregisterable "kvit" or albino if both parents pass on the cremello gene. My wife and I have previously researched the Karibu side and have found a long line of grey horses that ultimately came from brown dun stock, thus the cremello would not have come from this side. Frøya's pedigree is less known since her dam was not registered and thus, could be responsible for passing on the cremello gene. On the Aagot side, Leik clearly carries the grey recessive so it would not be unlikely to have a grey offspring. What this all means is that there is an outside chance that you could have a white dun on your hands, though it is most likely that you have a very light grey dun. The Norwegians have multiple designations for the various shades of grey including "grå", "lysgrå", and "musgrå" (grey, light grey, and mouse grey respectively). The Karibu line has certainly produced some horses that are a somewhat light and silvery in color. With a little sun bleaching as you suggested I can see how this would appear more creamy white. As someone interested in the genetics of color, I would love to know of a conclusive example of grey masking the cremello. Through days (literally) of pedigree research I have not been able to find such an example. In a couple of cases I have found horses that were registered "ulsblakk" that could have only really been "lysgrå", that is unless their ancestors were mis-registered. A truly conclusive example of grey masking the cremello would be two grey duns producing a "kvit" as this result would be unmistakable. If any readers know of such an example I would love to hear of it. Hopefully this is helpful even though I can not give you a 100% answer as to the color of Anjee. My wife and I would be happy to see pictures, though they can often be deceiving. Well, enough for now. Cheers! Dan Watanabe Olivia Farm, Inc. www.oliviafarm.com
