What colour...?

[valiant]

What colour would you call this horse? :confused:

White face, gray shoulder and roan/brown :confused: hind ?

He is a 6 yo SA Boerperd, and will probably turn more and more gray as he ages.

[chev]

He's grey. Greys lose pigment over the face and head first, and the 'roan' quarters are just the effect of grey starting to replace bay. He started off bay, and is in the early stages of going grey. His legs will slowly start to show the same patches as his head; his knees and hocks will be one of the last areas to lose pigment. And you're right - he will get greyer and greyer now, until he ends up white (his mane, tail and legs will be grey longer than teh rest of him).

If you wanted to be more specific than just grey, you'd probably call him rose grey at the moment, but that will change as he loses more and more of the bay colour in his body. Technically he's bay going grey.

[valiant]

Thanks, Chev.

It just felt a bit stupid calling a horse a grey, if there is so little "real" grey on him. :rolleyes:

In SA some people actually call the greys, blues.

[chev]

I think that's why we use the term rose grey - because it's a kind of rosy grey :D It's very common to hear grey tobianos called blue and white here too, although greys aren't really called blue in the UK.

[Nik-n-Kia]

Hi up here we use the term Blue to describe dark greys or Blue roan for mottled horses.

Maybe that this is just my area!!!

Nikki xxxx

[caryscody]

the colour of this horse looks like a "grullo" it is related to the colouring of a dun. hope the pics help:D

[chev]

caryscody; grullo *is* dun - it's the term used for dun on a black base. And the pics you posted are grullo... but valiant's horse is not. See how the two grullos you posted have darker faces and legs? that's typical of dun. Valiant's horse does not have that dark mask. And the dorsal stripes... that's another dun marking, which valiant's horse doesn't have.

Look closely at valiant's horse's shoulder; you can actually see he's shedding out into dapple grey, which is the next stage on from the roany rose-grey his quarters still are.

Nikki - maybe it's just round here we don't call greys blue! :o

[Bundle]

I have a proper rose grey. It's scantily used to describe bay or chestnut youngsters turning grey, but actually it's a grey who retains a percentage of the red colouring it's whole life.

Mine also has blood markings, which are growing, making her pink even more promenant.

Proper rose grey is a lovely colour!