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Breeding the Dark, Solid Colors
Today, since DNA testing is available,
there is no need to "play Russian roulette" when it comes to horse
colors and breeding.
Even without DNA testing, the horse's appearance,
ancestors and foals can reveal, in many cases, what color genetics the horse is
carrying.
Therefore, this section will concentrate on the
results of crossing dark solid colors with known genetics.
CHART 1 will eventually show all of the probabilities of various color
results when crossing the four dark, solid colors with each other. Please
be patient while it is gradually completed.
Other than those scientifically predictable
results, here are some specific examples:
( X = "crossed with" )
-
Chestnut X chestnut will always produce a
chestnut foal
-
Bay X bay can produce any of the four dark, solid
colors, depending upon the genes that fill in these blanks for
each parent: E_A_
-
If one parent is EEAA then every foal will be a bay
(100%)
-
If both parents are Ee, Aa then the foal color
chances are 56.25% bay, 18.75% black, and 25% chestnut
-
The chances change again with the presence of brown
(At)
-
Brown X brown may produce brown, black, or
chestnut, but not bay
-
Black X black (both parents E_aa) will always
produce a black foal
if one parent is EE; If both are Ee, then the chance of black is 75% and the chance of a
chestnut foal would be 25%
-
Chestnut X {any of the three black-based colors}
has the potential of producing any of those four colors, unless
the chestnut's agouti genes are known. Here are a few
possibilities:
-
If a chestnut that was ee, AA was bred to a solid
black that was EE, aa then every single foal would be bay.
If the solid black was Ee, the each foal would have a 50%
chance of being bay or black
-
If a chestnut has one black parent, then we can be
sure it has at least one a, and if it has two black parents,
then we know it is aa.
-
A chestnut that had two black parents,
when bred to a black which is EE, will produce all black
foals.
-
But chestnuts from bay or chestnut parents could be
carrying any of the "A" genes, and there is no way of
knowing.
-
If a chestnut produced a bay foal when bred to a
solid black, that would be proof that the chestnut had at
least one A.
-
If a chestnut produced a brown foal when
bred to a solid black, that would be proof that the chestnut
had at least one At and no A.
-
If a chestnut produced a solid
black foal when bred to a solid black, that would be proof
that the chestnut had at least one a.
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