In to previous articles I started a discussion of coat color genetics in horses. Previously we have talked about base colors bay, chestnut, and Black, and the champagne, and cream dilutions. In todays article I will look at grey, pearl, and silver dilutions in horse coat color.

Lets take a look at Grey coat color in Horses.

The Grey gene in horses is a dominant gene, only one allele for grey is necessary for the horse to grey with age. Grey horses can be born any color, and will gradually grey over time. This is most commonly seen in the Lippizaner breed. They are born bay or black and will be almost completely white by the age of 10. Greying in horses is usually first noticed around the eyes and nose, foals that will turn grey later in life, will usually exhibit greying of the face when they shed the foal coat.

They Grey Horses Genotype looks like this: N/G or G/G
Horses with N/G will be grey and have a 50% chance of producing grey offspring.
Horses with GG will be grey and will produce grey offspring.

Pearl Dilutions

The Pearl dilution has been found in horses of Spanish decent (Andalusians, Lusitano’s, Quarter Horses, and Paints) The Quarter Horse and Paint Horse trace their genetics back to the Spanish breed and it is thought, that this is where they received the gene for Pearl Dilution.

The Pearl dilution is a rare and recessive dilution that requires both recessive alleles for the color to be expressed. When expressed on a chestnut horse the body is a pale gold color with matching mane and tail. The eyes will be blue/green in color. One allele on bay or black base color does not produce a color change in the body color. Genotype letters used for this dilute are Prl.

Silver Dilutions

The Silver Dilution in horses is a dominant trait that effects black based horses. This dilution will on be seen in Bays, and Blacks, but it has no effect on Chestnut horses. This dilution is commonly seen in Morgan’s, Rocky Mountain horses, Shetland’s, Icelandics, and other related breeds.
A Bay horse receiving one or two copies of the gene (Z) will have a flaxen mane and tail, the black points on the legs lightened.
A Black horse receiving one or two copies of the gene (Z) will be chocolate with a flaxen mane and tail.

Horses come in a wide variety of colors, In these articles I have only discussed base colors and base color dilutions. Paints, Appaloosa, POA’s, and many other breeds have unique genetics that allow for their colorful markings. Join me again for a discussion of color patterns in horses.

To Find out your Horses Genotype and projected foal color use the Animal Genetics Calculator

References:

UC Davis

Morgan Colors

Terminology

Homozygous means that two alleles are present for the same gene, example EE ( presence of two dominant alleles).
Heterozygous means that of the two alleles present one is dominant (E) and one recessive (e).
Dominant alleles will allow a genotype to be physically expressed in the phenotype (what the horse looks like).

MOSCOW, Idaho— The equine racing year has come to an end, and the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is proud to recognize individuals who experience success racing their Breed of Choice…the Appaloosa! The association annually honors owners, breeders and trainers for their accomplishments with the fastest color breed on the tracks.

Please join us in congratulating the following individuals who were honored in 2009:

· Dr. John White of Fort Collins, Colo., the leading owner based on the number of wins earned by Appaloosas he owns. Over the course of the year, Dr. White’s racing Appaloosas won more than $24,000!

· Bosen Land & Livestock of Preston, Idaho, the leading breeder based on the number wins throughout the year. Bosen Land & Livestock were responsible for breeding Appaloosas who won more than $7,000 at the track.

· Angie Jones of Stuart, Okla., the leading racing trainer based on the number of wins her program claimed. Appaloosas trained by Angie earned more than $25,000 in 2009.

For a complete list of the top ten leading owners, trainers and breeders of Appaloosa racehorses, please visit www.appaloosa.com.

The ApHC would like to thank everyone involved in the Appalosoa racing community that are working to make the Appaloosa the most colorful breed to dominate the racetracks throughout the United States!

The 2010 Appaloosa racing season is right around the corner, so all those in the racing community must submit your $10 annual starter’s fee for each Appaloosa, payable by the horse’s first official start.

Appaloosa Racing

Appaloosas have long been an integral part of one of America’s most popular spectator sports—horse racing. The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) officially recognized the sport in 1962, beginning Appaloosa racing history with four races and 23 starters competing for $12,000 in purse money. In 2008, 186 Appaloosas competed in 399 races for $3.1 million in total purses.

Racing fans can find Appaloosas crossing the finish line in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

For more information on Appaloosa racing, contact Racing Coordinator Alexcia Livingstone at (208) 882-5578 ext. 244 or racing@appaloosa.com.

It’s not too late to get the perfect stocking stuffer…

The books of the Morgan Horse series have been repeatedly praised for their
realistic portrayals of the horse world while at the same time, offering
action-packed adventures.  Just this month, Bob Howdy of The Exchange claimed,
“If you have kids who love horses you could do no better than familiarize them
with this series,” while Crystal Reviews declared the latest novel, Rimfire,
“Terrific, even better than the last book!”

Visit Willow Bend Publishing (www.willowbendpublishing.com) for more information.

MOSCOW, Idaho— The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is proud to announce the induction of five pillars of the Appaloosa community into the Hall of Fame: Victoria Ennis of Kingston, Okla., former ApHC Director Ward Fenton of Worden, Mont. and Karen Grimm of Minden, Nev., as well as Appaloosa stallion Maid’s Dream, owned by Dal Porto Ranch in Brentwood, Calif.

Victoria Ennis was inducted for making her mark in the Appaloosa industry, though racing was her specialty. After becoming a member in 1985, Victoria cultivated a breeding program that produced fine Appaloosas. Merry Weedo, an Appaloosa mare inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, was Victoria’s first foray into the Appaloosa world. Victoria went on to own many horses, and some of the industry’s most famous names could be found at Texoma Appaloosas in Kingston, Okla., including racing stallions I Love Willie and Mr Spotted Bull. It is with great pride that the ApHC inducts Victoria into the Hall of Fame after her passing earlier this year.

Ward Fenton was a prime candidate for the Hall of Fame after his nearly 50 years of dedication to the Appaloosa breed. Ward became an active ApHC member in 1964 as an Appaloosa breeder, show participant and judge. In 1977, Ward was elected to the ApHC Board of Directors, and he served on the racing, regional, rules and youth committees. The ApHC is proud to induct Ward, who is often described as “an accomplished horseman and influential breeder,” into the Hall of Fame.

Karen Grimm has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for her unwavering commitment to the Appaloosa breed during the past 25 years. Over the years, Karen’s breeding program produced numerous National and World Champions as well as many medallion winners including recent success Mr. Big Bucks. Karen has also experienced success in the show ring as a non-pro exhibitor, amassing nearly 550 non-pro points in her lifetime. She made it possible for others to enjoy their Appaloosa by hosting two regional shows, including the Hump-day Classic and the Nevada Color Classic. Karen’s contributions make her a worthy inductee into the ApHC Hall of Fame.

Maid’s Dream (Dreamfinder x Wapiti’s Maid) is one of two Appaloosas to be inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2009. Maid’s Dream has sired more than 300 foals, including many National and World Champions, more than 100 Register of Merit winners, 21 Bronze Medallion winners, over 20 Superior Halter title earners and more. Maid’s Dream is a superior example of the breed!

Candidates are nominated for Hall of Fame induction by ApHC membership for having a favorable impact in the Appaloosa industry at a regional or national level. Nominees are voted on by the ApHC Board of Directors. Inductees are honored with an engraved plaque featuring the inductee’s photograph and brief biography on display at the Appaloosa Museum & Heritage Center; they will be recognized June 27 at the Open/Non-Pro 2009 Year-End Banquet held in conjunction with the 63rd National Appaloosa Show & 2010 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show in Jackson, Miss., June 21-July 3. For additional information and tickets, please call the ApHC at 208-882-5578.

To learn more about the ApHC Hall of Fame, visit www.appaloosa.com.

Last week I began a series on Coat Color Genetics in Horses. In the previous article I discussed the Agouti Gene and the Extension Gene. These two genes control the base color. Today I am going to look at the Creme dilution and the Champagne dilution on the base colors.

Creme Dilutions

The Creme dilution has 2 alleles CCR and C. This gene creates palomino, buckskin, smokey black, cremello, perlino, and other smoky creme colors. The allele C is recessive and does not dilute the base color. Only horses receiving the CCR will show diluted color. Recessive carriers can produce dilute foals.

Chestnut horses receiving the CCR copy of this dilute gene will be palomino, if the horse carries two copies of CCR (or alleles) for the creme gene they will be cremello.

Bay horses receiving receiving the CCR copy of the creme gene will be buckskin or dun(depending on the agouti gene). Bay horses receiving 2 copies of the creme gene will be perlino.

Black or Brown horses receiving the CCR copy of the creme gene will be smokey black or another smokey color.

Champagne Dilutions

The Champagne gene (Ch) is a dominant gene that affects the hair color and dilutes red (chestnut/sorrel) to gold and bay to tan with brown points. This dilute on red is often mistaken for palomino.

Horses showing this phenotype (what the horse looks like) will have pink to lavender skin tone, that can become speckled with age that will be noticed around the eyes, muzzle, and tail. Horses with this genotype will also have blue/green eyes darkening to amber as they age. This dilution is inherited independently of other color genes, although it is thought to be related to Solute Carrier 36A1 family.

For horses showing one copy of the Ch gene, they are expected to have the following phenotype red to gold with flaxen mane and tail, bay to tan with brown points, and black to a darker tan with brown points.

Horses who receive to copies of the Ch dilute gene are expected to show the double dilute in color often resembling perlino and cremello in color.

In the next article I will look at the grey, pearl, and silver gene in horses and the color variations that come with the those genes.

MOSCOW, Idaho— The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is pleased to announce winners of over $13,000 in prizes selected from new and returning ApHC members who purchased their 2010 membership by Dec. 1, 2009!

Prizes were donated by sponsors, including Appaloosa Member Advantage program, Ariat, Cowboy Magic, Featherlite Trailers, Horse Spa Products, John Deere, Kathy’s Show Equipment, Liberty Mutual, Lone Star Barns, Mark Shaffer Show Horses, Merial Corporation, Montana Silversmiths, Moxie Equestrian, MyHorseForSale.com, Office Depot, Saddlebrook BarnCam, Schneiders Saddlery, Sherwin-Williams, Simply Jewelicious, S.R. Gold, Three Feathers Enterprises, Tioga Territory and Toshiba.

Winners have been notified and are looking forward to receiving their prize packages! One lucky winner, Bobbie Matt of Bonney Lake, Wash., was thrilled to learn she would receive a Barn 500 System Barn Cam from Wisconsin-based Saddlebrook BarnCam. “Wow! I never win anything I enter, and here I went and won without doing anything. Thanks!” she said.

Prize packages included:

A John Deere Riding Lawnmower awarded to Kathy Wilcox of Toston, Mont., and Phyllis Waltz of Pearland, Texas.

A Santana halter provided by Kathy’s Show Equipment awarded to James Hoover of Mabank, Texas.

A Saddle Rack or Bridle Rack provided by Lone Star Barns awarded to Thomas Stuart of Jefferson City, Mo., Debra Hines of Junction City, Ore., Cynthia Artioli of Middlefield, Mass, and Sally Jo Swift of Medford, Ore.

Products from Moxie Equestrian awarded to Justin Ireland of Jasper, Tenn., and Linda Knit of Mifflintown, Pa.

S.R. Gold necklaces awarded to Marilynn Feuerstein of Creston, Calif., Evalie Trinrud of Waupaca, Wis. and Don Russell of Lovington, N.M.

A pair of Ariat Boots awarded to Luciana Holden of Purcell, Okla.

Highway Safety Kits from Liberty Mutual awarded to Vivian McIntosh of Charlotte, Tenn., and Nile Ramsbottom, Mo.

Members were also awarded advertising packages from MyHorseForSale.com, sets of Classy Show Numbers provided by Three Feathers Enterprises, Featherlite Trailers products, Sherwin Williams gift cards, sterling watches from Montana Silversmiths, Horse Spa products, Tioga Territory gift certificates, Mark Shaffer Show Horses gift certificates, Cowboy Magic grooming products, Merial Corporation apparel, Office Depot gift cards, Schneider’s Saddlery products and items  from Simply Jewelicious.

For complete details of the giveaway, including winners and prizes won, visit www.appaloosa.com.

This is just one of the many ways the ApHC rewards its members, so sign-up today at www.appaloosa.com!

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was established in 1938 with a mission of preserving, promoting and enhancing the Appaloosa breed. The ApHC has since registered more than 670,000 Appaloosas, which are known for their distinctive color, intelligence and even temperament. True to their reputation as an extremely versatile breed, Appaloosas can be found in nearly every discipline including racing, endurance riding and serving as reliable family horses. The international breed registry is headquartered in Moscow, Idaho, the heart of the Palouse region—the Appaloosa breed’s namesake and point of origin.

HOW TO WIN FRIENDS…   AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE!

As a young man, he threw himself across the bed in his hotel room and wept in despair.  He had no money, no friends, and no hope.  At the young age of twenty-two, his only thoughts were of suicide.  He would later say that’s when the thought came…“There must be others like me!”  So began the career of Dale Carnegie.

On that day, Carnegie realized there were countless others who were lost and alone with no idea how to do better.  He decided to devote his life to answering the question of how it is we win friends and influence people.  He traveled to the New York City Library and read every single book about psychology, sociology, human behavior, and sales.  He stayed two months.  At the end of that time, he said he knew no more than he did when he came in – but Carnegie persisted.  He kept looking for answers.

In addition to interviewing countless successful people and learning how they became so, Carnegie taught classes at the New York YMCA on public speaking and developing self-confidence through improving interpersonal skills.  While the interviews certainly gave him information, teaching the subject taught him even more.  Remember that old line about “We teach what we need to learn?”  Never more true than in Carnegie’s case.   Carnegie stumbled onto deep and powerful truths in our dealings with others.  He wrote them in his signature work, How To Win Friends and Influence People.  If you haven’t read it, go buy it.  Even though written in 1936, like all great literature, it’s timeless.  Might change your life…it is one of the books that certainly changed mine.  Here are his recommendations to win friends…
1.    Become genuinely interested in other people.
2.    Smile.
3.    Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4.    Be a good listener.  Encourage other people to talk about themselves.
5.    Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
6.    Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

Sound simplistic?  For most my early years, I would have certainly thought so.
But now I see the difference between people who do the things on that list and those who do not.  There is a world of difference.  Most times you can recognize the ones who do ‘cause they drive a really nice car and are doing well in life.  They are happier, make more money, and experience higher life satisfaction.  After all, how many people do you really like who do the opposite…
1.    Only interest is in themselves.
2.    Frown all the time.
3.    Always forget your name and everyone else’s.
4.    Talk constantly.
5.    Only talk about what they are interested in.
6.    Make you feel inferior.
Does all that sound like somebody you really want to sit around the fire with?
What’s all that got to do with you and me?  Here’s the kicker…we all have to live
in the world and we all have to make a living.  We’re all selling something.  From the rope horse trainer to the classroom teacher, we are all selling something.  If you do those things on Carnegie’s list, people want to deal with you.  That’s it.  Carnegie put words on paper that show us what people are hungry for…communion, connection, genuineness, and sincerity.

Some criticized Carnegie saying he just discovered a way to con people out of their money.  I disagree.  I think he discovered a way to win friends and influence people to learn how to do what he was talking about.  That’s what we all want.  To do better.  Here’s an example of how not to…

I wanted a new cowboy hat.  When I arrived at the chain western store (who had 1,000 hats) the manager was studying the computer.  After sitting there a full two minutes, he raises his eyebrows, without looking at me, says, “Help you?”
“I want to buy a hat.”
“What kind of hat?”  Didn’t ask me my name, didn’t get up and shake my hand, didn’t tell me his name, and still hasn’t looked at me.
“I brought two pictures of hats I like.  My budget is $300 to $500, and I want to see if you can make this quarter-horse crease for me?”
“Nope,” he said, without looking at the pictures.
“You can’t?”
“Nope, we don’t have hats with a quarter-horse crease.”
“Can’t you do one from a hat that hasn’t been creased?”
“Nope,” and he goes back to his computer.
Hold that thought – then consider this example of how to…

I called Standard Hat Works in Waco, Texas.  Lenny answers his own phone.
“Hello, this is Lenny and I can help you.”
“Hi, Lenny, I’m Michael and I want to buy a hat with a quarter-horse crease.”
“Nice to meet you on the phone, Michael, and you have come to the right place.  I can fix you a hat.”  Then he says this…
“This is Friday and I’m swamped.  I’m usually off on Sunday and Monday, but I appreciate you calling and if you and your wife want to drive to Waco, I’ll come in on either Sunday or Monday and we will get you the hat you want – whatever’s best for you.”

Does it come as a big shock to you that Standard Hat Works in Waco, Texas sells thousands of hats?  I gave Lenny my money ‘cause he does those things on Carnegie’s list.  Lenny’s hat store does really well, and I’ll bet you anything Mr. Computer Cowboy over at the chain western store is seriously complaining about how bad the economy is these days.

Next time somebody tells you it’s the Japanese, Chinese, or Koreans destroying the economy, remember… it’s not them.  It’s us.

Michael Johnson  Throwing My Loop

December is upon us. If your like me, you are still hunting for gifts and gift ideas! To help with your Christmas shopping this year. I have complied a list of horse-lover friendly ideas and the places to go get them!

Lets start with Sport Horse Products. A great place to shop for all things horse related, blankets, boots, tack, barn supplies. This is also a great site for horse related jewelry, and gifts.

If you are looking for great rustic furniture, well designed and well built visit Rocking N Wood Designs. Beautiful Handcrafted Teak wood furniture available in benches, chairs, and tables.

If the horse lover in your life is also a book lover visit Micheal Johnson Books, for inspirational horse stories, including Healing Shine A Spiritual Assignment.

For all other great gift idea’s including tee-shirts, mugs, tack, apparel, pictures, picture frames and much much more visit the following sites.

Back in the Saddle

Wild Horse Feathers

State Line Tack

Horse Lovers Gifts

Good Luck and happy Shopping!

For the last hundred years or so, domestic breeding of horses has been based on confirmation and performance ability, but also on color. When it comes to color we could make a very educated guess, but with the current research into Equine color genetics, the “guessing” has been taken out of the equation. The great thing is you don’t have to have a Ph.D to understand color genetics in horses. Equine colors are fairly simple in the world of genetics.

Basic horse coat colors are chestnut/sorrel, bay, and black. All other equine coat colors are derived from these three bases. The three base colors are controlled by two genes, The Extension Gene which controls black and non-black, and the Agouti Gene which controls locations of black pigment. There are approximately 10 other genes that modify coat color in horses.

In this article I will look at the Extension and Agouti Gene, in the next article we will look at the modifier genes.

Genetics Terminology used in this article:
allele – each gene has two forms called alleles, the alleles can be the same (homozygous) or different (heterozygous)
homozygous – both alleles present are the same. i.e EE or aa
heterozygous – different forms of the allele are present. i.e Ee or Aa

Extension Gene EE, Ee, ee

The Extension gene (E) controls black and non-black.

(ee) Chestnut or sorrel horses are homozygous recessive (ee) for the extension factor. We call this the red gene. Horses born without black pigment on the body carry this genotype. Horses that have this gene and modifiers are palomino, red dun, cremello, white, or gray. This horse will produce red and bay foals.

(Ee) Horses that are heterzygous (Ee) are generally bay, black, or brown, depending on the Agouti gene. Horses with this genetic make-up rely on the Agouti gene to distribute the black pigment either at the points or over the whole body. This horse can produce red, black, or bay foals. If a horse carries this heterozygous gene and modifiers their coat will be buckskin, zebra dun, grullo, perlino, gray, or white.

(EE) Horses that are homozygous dominant for the Extension Factor (EE) are black. The red factor is not detected. In this case the Agouti gene does not effect the distribution of black on the body. This horse cannot produce a chestnut or sorrel foal, because they will always provide a dominate gene allele (E). If modifiers are present this horse will be buckskin, zebra dun, grullo, perlino, gray or white.

The Agouti Gene (A) controls the distribution of black on the body.

(AA and Aa) Homozygous dominant and heterzygous (AA, Aa) horses have black on the body at the points, ears, legs, mane, tail. This genotype includes bays, buckskin, zebra dun, and grullo.

(aa) Homozygous recessive horses (aa) will have black uniformly over the body, this will be the “true” black horse. This horse will have the genotype of EE/aa. This horse will also produce only black foals and if breed to other horses with this genotype, will produce a black foal each time.

So this year as you prepare to breed your mares and stallions, if you want to know what color your foals will be use the Equine Color Calculator, and get the 4 possible colors of your babies! This particular calculator works on solid and paint horses, unfortunately it does not include Appaloosas.

If you would like more information please contact LydiaBagley@myhorseforsale.com.

MOSCOW, Idaho—The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) would like to invite all ApHC Regional Clubs to compete for the title of Exemplary Regional Club of 2009, an annual honor bestowed upon a Regional Club that goes above and beyond when promoting the Appaloosa breed.

Regional Clubs are asked to submit a detailed scrapbook featuring their Appaloosa shows, banquets, trail rides, clinics, sales and other events. The scrapbook should also include membership information, examples of newsletters, Web site and other communications.

One qualifying Regional Club is selected from each of the 18 zones and receives a Certificate of Merit. From those 18 qualifiers, one club from each of the six territories advances to the final round and receives $200 and a plaque. Of the remaining six, one club is named the Exemplary Regional Club of 2009.

The winning Regional Club receives a $500 check, a trophy, trade show space at the World Show or National Show as well as two tickets to the ApHC Award Banquet held during the 63^rd National Appaloosa Show & 2010 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show in Jackson, Miss., June 21-July 3.

All submissions must be received by Jan. 30, 2010. No exceptions. For more information, please visit www.appaloosa.com and click “Regional Clubs.”

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was established in 1938 with a mission of preserving, promoting and enhancing the Appaloosa breed. The ApHC has since registered more than 690,000 Appaloosas, which are known for their distinctive color, intelligence and even temperament. True to their reputation as an extremely versatile breed, Appaloosas can be found in nearly every discipline including racing, endurance riding and serving as reliable family horses. The international breed registry is headquartered in Moscow, Idaho, the heart of the Palouse region—the Appaloosa breed’s namesake and point of origin.

###

Karisa Saywers

Public Relations & Trade Show Coordinator

Appaloosa Horse Club

208-882-5578 ext. 273

publicrelations@appaloosa.com

www.appaloosa.com

Appaloosa…The Breed of Choice.

Don’t forget to renew your ApHC Membership!

Visit www.appaloosa.com to get your ApHC Membership today!