We’ve all noticed a horse’s chrome; whether in common leg white or a tobiano pattern. And as breeders we’ve all given some thought to the mechanics of the stuff, and producing the desired amount of it in our next foal batch.
Even horses with the same genotype will vary with amounts of white expressed, yet there is one factor that influences the white’s expression to a certain degree.
. . . can you guess what it is? That’s okay, neither could I.
The factor is the horse’s base color - the color the horse would be if all dilutions, modifiers, and white patterns were removed. For example, a palomino sabino’s base color is chestnut, and a silver dun’s base color is bay.
It turns out that chestnut-based horses will generally express more white than a bay-based horse. And a bay-based horse will generally express more white than a black-based horse. Horses will also usually have more white on their hind legs than their front legs, and on their near side than their off side.
Interesting? I thought so.
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Chrome (in horse terminology): White markings
Genotype: Genetic make-up
Near side: A horse's left side
Off side: A horse's right side
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