Is she indeed chestnut?

[galadriel]

Kat's filly Firefly was born the same shade as her dam; Kat's a lovely blood bay (my favorite color, I think). For a couple of hours I thought the filly was chestnut, but as she dried, I could see that her legs got dark towards the bottom. So I decided she is bay.

Her mane is the same red as her body; her tail is red at the top and dark at the bottom.
http://galadriel.shaftnet.org/horses/07-14-2006/med-ff03.jpg
Larger image here: http://galadriel.shaftnet.org/horses/07-14-2006/m-ff03.jpg

Foal coats aren't necessarily the horse's eventual body color, I know. And most foals are born with pale foal fur on their legs, whether legs will be dark or light. Could a chestnut be born with dark legs and shed out to light?

Genetics involved:
Sire was born chestnut, went grey, has a few non-grey foals (ee Gg). Has a black roan filly, so he may be Aa or aa.
(Firefly is obviously going to go grey herself.)

Dam is blood bay, parents unknown (E? A? gg).

~ ~ ~

What color is this little girl? She's two weeks old and I still can't make it out!

[Lgd]

Looking at the roots of her mane I would say chestnut. The dark legs usually suggest that they will grey out. She'll probably be a nice strawberry roan as she greys out.

[galadriel]

Fact is her current color doesn't matter too much...her sire was more than half grey by the time he was a yearling, same with his grey offspring. She won't be strawberry all that long :( She'll probably be white all over before she's old enough to ride. Still, I'd like to be sure of her base coat :) before she starts to go grey!

We *think* we can see black at the very bottom if we part her mane and look. It's darker, anyway, in the middle of the mane itself. (I forgot to mention in original post.) Still, the more I look at her, the more she seems like she's all red. I don't think the tips of her ears are black--but neither are Kat's, and there's no question Kat's a bay.

But the legs aren't necessarily an indicator of bay? Just that she'll go grey?

[chev]

She looks chestnut. The dark legs are a grey indicator, nothing to do with her base colour. Foals not destined to go grey have pale legs; foals that will end up grey tend to have a deeper body colour and dark legs. If she was bay going grey, those legs would be coal black.

[liz--y]

i agree with chev chestnut going grey

[skye06]

Ok new at all this genetic thing but my foal has pale legs and was born bay but as his coat come out he's definatelty going grey.

[galadriel]

Okeedokey. Thank you!

Geeeepers. I had one really, really memorable dream a few weeks before Duchess's baby was born. I dreamed Duch had a bay colt and Kat had a chestnut filly.

The day before Kat had Firefly, I dreamed that she'd had her baby--again a chestnut filly--right after breakfast (which she did, the very next day). The day I had that dream, I described it to OH and he can verify it ;) Bizarre.