Adult Shades of Dun

BLACK BASE COAT

Grulla/Grullo

On a black coat the dun dilution gene acts to lighten the black hairs to that of a mouse, dove, or slate color. The points; mane, tail, stockings, are left basically unaffected, although the mane and tail often have frosting closely matching the body color. The most striking characteristic of the grulla color is that the head is usually darker than the rest of the body.

Smoky Grulla

A smoky grulla is a black base coat with one cream gene, and at least one dun gene. The dun gene dilutes the black base coat color and the added cream gene *may* possibly lighten it even more. But we cannot be sure that the addition of the cream gene to the already diluted black base coat color can actually lighten the coat more. The cream gene does not dilute black pigment when in its heterozygous form (one copy of the gene). However, it may be possible if accompanied by another, yet unrelated dilution gene.

With the recent availability of the cream gene test offered by U.C. Davis, smoky grullas can be identified much sooner and more accurately than ever before. Below are two examples of smoky grullas. One was proven to have the addition of the cream gene via progeny, the other was proven via the cream gene test.

BAY BASE COAT

Bay Dun (Zebra or Peanut Butter Dun)

The dun gene on the bay base color dilutes the red body to a shade similar to that of peanut butter. Or it could be described as a "tan with some red tones". As with any coat color, these peanut butter duns can have light to dark shades. The dun gene does not generally affect the point color on bay duns. The points typically remain black, although the mane and tail head often have frosting that closely matches that of the body color. Many adult duns will not show much, if any, dun mane or tail frosting except in winter coat.

BROWN BASE COAT

Brown Dun

A genetics lab in France proved that seal brown colored horses are not the result of mealy (pangare) on a black horse. Rather, they are black + an agouti gene. However, because seal browns have very little red on them from the restriction of their agouti gene, it is believed that there are at least two forms of the agouti gene. One that creates clear bay colored horses by restricting black to the point areas; and one that creates brown or seal brown, by mainly restricting the black from the "soft areas" of the horse, thus the horse remains mostly black in color.
NOTE: It is believed by the author of this page that browns can vary in expression, from light (mahogany bay looking), to nearly black (seal brown). If this is true, some light expressions of brown dun could be easily mistaken for a bay dun.

It is believed that when the dun dilute gene is present on a horse with a brown base coat, the resulting color of the horse can be confusing. At times, the horse's coat will appear to be somewhere between grulla and bay dun. The head will sometimes be very dark (but not always), and the coat color may appear to be similar to the dove gray of a grulla. Other times, the coat color will be more like that of a bay dun. The appearance of the coat may waver between 'similar to grulla' and 'similar to bay dun' during seasonal coat changes. The expression of dun on a brown base can be highly dependent on how light or dark the expression of brown is. Some browns are nearly black looking, and these dark expressed brown base colors would generally tend to appear more like a grulla when the dun gene is present.

U.C. Davis now offers the agouti test, which would tell the owner of such horse if that horse has an agouti gene or not. If the horse has an agouti gene, it is not a grulla.

Definite Brown Duns

Below are examples of definite brown based duns.

Alpinemist Dreammaker and Alpinemist Pendragon are full brothers. Their sire is a grulla and their dam is a dark seal brown. Since grullas have no agouti genes, we know that both geldings had to get their agouti genes from their dam. Brown based horses only have brown agouti genes, because if they also had a bay agouti gene, they would appear bay rather than brown, due to the bay agouti gene restricting the black to just the points. Since the neither of the parents of these two geldings can have bay agouti, we know they have to be brown based.

Possible Brown Duns

Below are two examples of dun Morgans who may be brown based duns, though both would be either lighter or medium expressions of brown plus dun.

The horse pictured in the center, RCK Ragtime Tres Oros, was tested "EE Aa Crcr" by UC Davis,
so he also has a cream gene, making him a dunskin. The addition of the cream gene could be causing his overall coloring to be a bit lighter than what he might have been if he only had a dun gene. The black masking on his face is a typical pattern of the brown agouti gene. The photo was taken in winter, and he is lighter in summer coat, with very dark dorsal and dorsal barbs.

Dunskin

A dunskin is a bay base color with at least one dun gene and one cream gene. The dun gene dilutes the bay base coat color and the added cream gene lightens it even more. This shade of dun generally appears to be a lighter, yellow-tan, lacking the richer red tones of a bay dun, due to the cream gene diluting the red tones "left behind" by the dun gene's dilution effects even more. At times, one may still see some light peachy-red tones on a dunskin, however.

RED DUN
Chestnut Base Coat

A red dun is the dun gene diluting a chestnut based horse. The mane and tail are generally red like a typical chestnut, though the shade can vary on a red dun, just as it can on a chestnut. The lower legs also remain basically undiluted. Since the red horse does not express black, the red dun's dorsal, leg bars and withers stripes are also red. Shades of red dun can range from an apricot color all the way to a deeper yellow or tan toned red.

DUNALINO
Chestnut Base Coat

There are currently (05/02/06) only three known/verified dunalinos in the Morgan breed.

Finally Dun It (gelding), bred by Carol Rehberger of Finally Farms
Kings Mystical Vision (2005 filly), bred/owned by Sheila Lomax of Kingdom Morgans.
Stone Pine "Unnamed" (2006 filly), bred/owned by Marilyn Esteb of Stone Pine Morgans.

Note: Kings Mystical Vision and Stone Pine "unnamed" are only shown on the Foals Shades Of Dun page.

A dunalino is the result of one or two dun genes and one cream gene diluting a chestnut based horse. The mane and tail are basically white like a palomino, often with red hairs present along the center of the mane due to the dorsal running through it. The lower legs are generally darker than the body color, usually with red tones. Because of the actions of the two dilution genes both diluting the red base color, dunalinos generally tend to be of paler shades than if they only had one or the other dilution gene. Shades of dunalino can vary, of course, depending on the shade of their base color. For example, if the base color is black chestnut, the dunalino will be darker; if the based color is pale (like 'sorrel'), the dunalino will be very pale.

Their coat color is not the true golden of a palomino. Instead it is a flatter shade from the dilution effects of the dun gene. It is will often be some shade of pale peachy-yellow. The dun markings of a dunalino will be red, like their base coat color, but the shade is highly dependent upon their base color shade. The paler shade dunalinos' markings may be difficult to see, especially on the legs, while a dunalino with a base shade of liver or black chestnut may have chocolatey colored markings.

PERLINO DUN
Bay Base Coat - 2 cream genes/one dun gene

There is currently (05/02/06) only one known/verified perlino dun in the Morgan breed.

Finally Mr Amos (stallion), bred by Carol Rehberger of Finally Farms, owned by Lynn Peterson, Royal Gold Morgans.

Perlino duns will generally look the same as a perlino, but they will have dun markings, including dorsal stripe and leg bars. And their manes and tails may possibly have a bit more color in them due to the dorsal running through them. We've not had the opportunity to study many double cream plus dun dilutes at this time. We have included a photo of Finally's Mr Amos here, plus a couple of photos of his markings on the Dun Markings page. As we have the opportunity to study more double cream plus dun dilutes, we will be able to add more specific information to this section.

Click this image to enlarge

Finally's Mr Amos
(Morgan stallion)
Royal Gold Morgans

OTHER DUN COLORS

This section is for horses with the dun dilute gene, plus other dilutions genes (champagne, silver dapple), true roan, etc. Contributions of photos of any breed are always welcome!

If you have a dun plus champagne, silver dapple, roan, etc. horse, and would like to contribute a photo for this section, please contact the
webmistress.

Photos must be of good quality (good lighting and clarity), close up shots of the markings as well as a full body shot are most desirable, and the photos should be of fully shed out horses, rather than winter photos. Please refer to the Dun Markings page for examples of the quality and types of shots that are most preferred.

Thanks!!
Nancy Castle

SILVER DAPPLE + DUN

Left: Misty is a silver dapple grulla Miniature mare. Her color is the result of a black base coat diluted by both a dun dilute gene, and a silver dapple dilute gene. *The silver dapple gene diluted the mane and tail to silver, but the dorsal stripe and other dun markings appear to remain relatively undiluted on this mare. The body has been diluted by both the silver dapple gene and the dun gene, causing a pale body coat.

Right: Holy Smoke is also a silver dapple grulla Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse stallion.

*More examples of "silver dapple dun" horses are needed to further study the effects of both genes on the color of the dorsal, leg bars, and other markings, however.

CHAMPAGNE + DUN

Left: Sadly, now deceased and greatly missed by those at Rising Moon Ranch, "Diamond" is a classic dun, which is a black base coat with both a champagne gene and a dun gene.

Right: "Lukas" is also a classic dun like his full sister, Diamond, pictured on the left.

You could also refer to this color as a Grulla Champagne, but classic dun is probably the most correct term for this color, as "classic" refers to the black base coat plus champagne, as designated by ICHR.

See the Adult Dun Markings page for photos of both horses' dun markings!

More details/descriptions regarding the combined actions of champagne + dun once I have had a chance to study this combo more closely and feel more confident that I have these details as "correct" as possible.

Left: "Dreamer" is an amber dun, which is a bay base coat with both a champagne gene and a dun gene. This color could also be referred to as Bay Dun Champagne.
She shows only a slight darkening where most bay based horses show vivid leg points. It is not uncommon for some bay based champagnes to have little or no visible leg points, while some have very vivid leg points. It is not yet known why this "inconsistancy" appears to exists.

Right: "Raquel" is also a gold dun.which is a red base coat with both a champagne gene and a dun gene. One might also refer to this color as Red Dun Champagne.

See the Adult Dun Markings page for photos of both horses' dun markings!