The gray suit is not among the main colors of horses. It is a derivative and, with a certain set of genes, develops against the background of other colors. Moreover, this coloring can appear in an animal either at birth or gradually, which causes a lot of surprise for the breeder. In any case, the gray color is considered a separate color of the horse and deserves a detailed description.
gray suit
What color of horses is called grayish-gray?
A horse of a grayish-gray color looks quite original. This color combines gray hair with dark tints of the prevailing color, which is originally inherent in the animal at the genetic level.
In adulthood, the coat of an animal with a gray color becomes completely white or grayish-white. Over time, environmental factors add more gray to the horse’s hairline.
It is believed that in addition to the exterior moment, the gray color leaves a certain imprint on the character of the animal. Many breeders agree that mentally, these horses are slightly inferior to horses with a different color. For example, such living creatures do not sort out the food that is fed to it at all. As a result, feeding often ends in poisoning and other unpleasant consequences.
Color description
As already noted, the gray suit suggests the presence of extensive gray hair, consisting of completely white hair that frames grayish wool. This coloring in an animal manifests itself in two ways:
- Right from birth. In this case, the foal is already born blue. The color of his belly, head and sides is completely white, as there are no pigments in the hairs. This color does not imply overflows or other tones. It can only change with the age of the animal, when the white hair darkens a little.
- It will appear in an animal with an initially different color. This method involves the birth of a baby with a crow, red or bay color. The cub inherits this coat color from its parents. But over time, lonely white hairs appear in the coat. Further, their number grows and as the horse grows older it becomes completely gray. These changes remain with the horse for the rest of his life.
The color of horses of a gray suit
The difference between this color and others, in which white hair is combined with other shades, is the absence of clear boundaries. In this coloring, sparse dark hair merges with the main mass of white wool, which provides a unique coloring.
Reference. In some representatives of the breeds for which the gray color is predominant, completely black or bay mane and tail may appear. Depigmentation does not apply to them. As a result, pronounced contrasts are formed, which are especially appreciated by horse breeders.
Inexperienced breeders and people far from horse breeding often confuse the bluish suit with white. Meanwhile, these are completely different types of horse color, which are dictated by separate sets of genes. The gray color appears in the animal in the absence of pigments of the main color in the hairline. And since such horses look rather unusual, this coloring causes a rather high interest from breeders in them.
