Wild Bay

Wild bay has a similar phenotype to that of a normal bay, and it's allele (symbolized by A⁺) is found in the Agouti gene.

It is widely believed that the A⁺ allele is dominant to the other alleles (bay, black, and seal bay) in the Agouti gene. However, this has not been scientifically verified, and there have been reports of wild bay horses being produced by two bays. Another idea theorized by some is that the wild bay allele is part of a completely separate gene, not Agouti.

Regardless, it's pretty easy to pick out a wild bay from a normal bay. No, they don't all look mean, wild, and nasty. Instead, the black points on the legs only come up to the pastern (horse equivalent of an ankle) instead of the knee.

Here is a picture of a wild bay Arabian, and below that is a picture of a normal bay Mustang. Spot the difference?

Wild bay Arabian, image by Ealdgyth.

Normal bay American Mustang.