Posted by dream-catcher-ranch, Jan 18 2008, 01:26 PM

The Cream gene is a dilution gene that gives us our buckskins, palominos, smokey blacks, perlinos, cremellos, and smokey creams.

We show the presence of the cream gene with a Cr. The absence of the cream gene is cr. There IS a genetic test that shows the presence of the cream gene.

crcr = no dilution
Crcr = buckskin, palomino, smokey black = heterozygous
CrCr = perlino, cremello, smokey cream = homozygous (Double Dilute)

EEaa/Eeaa crcr = Black
EEaa/Eeaa Crcr = Smokey Black
EEaa/Eeaa CrCr = Smokey Cream

EEAa/EeAa/EEAA/EeAA crcr = Bay/Bood Bay/Black Bay/Brown
EEAa/EeAa/EEAA/EeAA Crcr = Buckskin/Smutty Buckskin
EEAa/EeAa/EEAA/EeAA CrCr = Perlino

eeAa/eeAa/eeAA/eeAA crcr = Chestnut/Sorrel/Flaxen Chestnut/Liver Chestnut
eeAa/eeAa/eeAA/eeAA Crcr = Palomino/Chocolate Palomino
eeAa/eeAa/eeAA/eeAA CrCr = Cremello

Cremellos will be a very light offwhite or Cream color with the same color or white mane and tail.

Perlinos will be a very light Cream color with more of an orange tint to the body and mane and tail - that orange tint indicates their mane and tail would otherwise have been black as in a buckskin (bay base coat) rather than white like that of the palomino (chestnut base coat).

Smokey Creams will be a very light offwhite or Cream color with more of a grayish or brown dirty tint or an orange tint to the body, mane, and tail. The smokey cream would otherwise have been a black or smokey black color.

Posted by dream-catcher-ranch, Dec 27 2007, 05:28 PM

Yes, I love the purebred Arabian - but also love a colorful half-arabian that is Arabian typey. I love a good buckskin on top of it. There are alot of people that don't know alot about how to get certain colors but I have made it my business to know because I want to know what my chances are at getting certain colors. Don't get me wrong - I do not sacrifice good conformation for color - the fact is, there a lot of great stallions and great mares out there - all you have to do is figure which one of those great horses to breed to your great horse to get the horse of your dreams. And all I want to do is help you alittle. I will admit up front that pintos are NOT my area of expertise, however, so pinto specific genes will not be talked about here. What I will talk about are the basic colors, the most of the dilution genes, and appaloosa color and mostly just the basics. And of course if you think I'm making a mistake about something, you are welcome to debate with me.

For now just the basics though.

The Facts:
The basic color factors are red and black.
Red is usually known as Chestnut or Sorrel.
The gene that creates Bay (and probably Brown) is the Agouti (A) gene on a black horse.
Agouti in one form sends black to the points (Blood Bay). Some believe there is another form of Agouti that creates the Brown/Black Bay horse.
So basically we have our Red (Chestnut), Black w/Agouti (Bay), and Black w/o Agouti (True Black). Now how do we express this in genes. Now, my interpretation is for instructional purposes - DNA test results from UC Davis will not always indicate a two-space result - I will give examples later.
ee = red
Ee = heterozygous black
EE = homozygous black

aa = absence of agouti
Aa = heterozygous agouti
AA = homozygous agouti

eeAa/eeAA/eeaa = Chestnut
Eeaa/EEaa = True Black
EeAA/EeAa/EEAA/EEAa = Bay

So here comes a buster folks - when breeders say their homozygous (EE) true black arabian stallion will always produce a black foal out a chestnut mare - that statement is both true and false at the same time. It is true that the stallion will only pass on its black factor and that the mare will only pass on her red factor making a foal with an Ee make-up - this color factor is black creating a black based foal - HOWEVER - if the mare also carried the agouti (AA/Aa) there is the potential for her to pass it on to the otherwise black foal. If the black foal inherits the agouti then your guaranteed black foal just became Bay (EeAa). So it is very important for you to know the genetic make-up of your own horse as well as that of the horse you are breeding to. Agouti has no known visual effect on Chestnut - it will only express on black. If your chestnut comes from a long line of only black and chestnut horses - no bays - then the chestnut most likely does not carry the agouti and you are probably safe. If however, there is a bay in the lineage somewhere and no black in between that line, then you may have reason to worry.