Red dun, sorrel, or chestnut???

what is the differenece between a red dun, a sorrel, or a chestnut? i need to know for my registration papers for my horse and i can't figure out which color he is. he is a redish color like a chestnut but has a darker line down his back. his tail is also a LITTTLLLEEE lighter ( hence the word "little") here is a side view... oh and also he is only 3 days old so he may change .... http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x280/...

Red dun, sorrel, or chestnut???
ok first thing's first.... in order for your colt to be a dun one of his parents MUST be a dun. Dun doesn't skip generations and the mare in that picture is not a dun, so if the stud wasn't a dun then your colt is not a dun. personally, i think he looks like your classic chestnut but you have to wait for his foal coat to shed off before you'll see his true color. sorrels and chesnuts are the same genetically, but sorrel is a light redish color and their manes and tails are lighter than their bodies (can range from slight tint difference to red body with white/flaxen mane and tail). chestnuts are darker brownish red to almost black with matching mane and tail. i think the stripe you're seeing is just counter shading in his foal coat and will go away once he sheds off. it's quite common that chestnuts are born with a dorsal stripe that sheds off with the foal coat. some never shed off but that still doesn't make them a red dun. a true dun has a dorsal and zebra stripes on the legs. the AQHA color guide mentions chestnuts with dorsal stripes.





**buckskin and dun are NOT the same thing and are two separate genetic make-ups. a buckskin carries the creme gene and the agouti gene. a dun carries the dun gene and may also carry the roan trait. it's possible for a buckskin to also carry the dun gene but that color is called dunskin and is usually pretty obvious on a mature horse. a plain buckskin horse would not produce a dun colt from a chestnut mare (the mare in this pic is a chestnut)
Reply:Red dun has a stripe that goes down the back and sometimes on the legs like a buckskin, only the stripe is a darker shade of red then the body color. The mane and tail are also this color.


Sorrel has a reddish brown body and a flaxen mane and tail. Flaxen is a pale yellow to white.


Chestnut can be several shades of brown, from liver, which is almost a chocolate brown to lighter shades. However, the mane and tail are the same color as the body.


Your little one looks chestnut, but after it has it's first shed it might be a little different. In the picture there does seem to be a dorsal stripe. Was either of the parents a buckskin or have it in the background?
Reply:What a sweetheart! It's kinda hard to tell from the pic but from your description I would say red dun. A sorrel is a lighter brown with a blonde or flaxen mane and tail and a chestnut is a red/brown with the same colour mane and tail. The darker stripe down his back gives him definition as a dun
Reply:Red- is more of a redish color





Dun- a buckskin





Sorrel-like a chesnut with white speckles





Chestnut- Is brownish orange








PICTURES-http://www.freewebs.com/thesaddlesisters...
Reply:Hi,


I agree, he looks sorrel. As was mentioned, one of the foal's parents must be a dun for the foal to be a dun. I am going through a similar circumstance at this moment, I have a bay mare who had a bright orange colt on May 16. He is a totally different color than your colt, and his sire IS a red dun(red duns like any other color of horse, comes in different shades of red...)


Here is a link to a pic of my colt and his sire beside him, and my own SORREL stallion below the pics of the red dun.I hope this helps.


http://dpquarterhorses.info/billie1.htm


My colt has a dorsal stripe, shoulder shading and his body color is lighter on his under belly, and he has faint stirpes on his legs. But so far nobody has said he was anything but sorrel, because I intentionally did not mention that his sire WAS a red dun. I suggest doing what I am going to do, and pull some mane or tail hairs from the sire AND the dam and send them to UC Davis for testing for dun factor. You can get the info on colors and testing forms from here :


http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dunh...