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Dun on Bay
E_ A_ Dn_ = dun (aka bay dun, regular dun, zebra dun)
This is a very common form of dun, and the one most often confused with
buckskin (see below). In this dilution, the gene acts on the red body of
the bay
 horse to make it a shade of tan, sometimes varying slightly toward
yellowish, golden, or reddish. It may look similar to the color of a
buckskin, but usually is a more "flat" or "muted" shade, not
as golden. One common name for this color is "peanut-butter
dun", and indeed, very often that is about the color of the body.
Although the Dun gene does dilute black pigment, it tends to leave the points
undiluted for the most part, so the legs, mane, and tail will still be
black. There will be a sharp, distinct dorsal stripe which is dark brown
in color, not jet-black, and horizontal leg barring on the back of the upper
forelegs and the front of the upper hind legs. The leg bars are generally
black at the bottom (close to the knees and hocks) and brown further up on the
leg. Other "dun-factor" markings (see above) are commonly
present, but not always.
A clarification: dun or buckskin?
Buckskin is not
just another name for dun, although the term 'dun' was used for buckskins for many years (and still is, in some breeds). To see what a buckskin
is, see the pages about the cream modifier,
because cream acting on a bay base makes a buckskin.
A buckskin horse will have the same black points as a bay, but the body
color will be diluted by the cream gene to a yellowish color of varying
intensities. Most common is a clear gold, but the addition of the 'sooty' pattern may cause dorsal shading, strong dappling, blotchiness at the top
of the legs, and an upper face mask. Sometimes these sooty characteristics
are mistaken for dun, but usually a careful study reveals the difference.
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