Greys…

Horses are not generally called white, but grey.  Their skin is black and the hair a mixture of black, grey and white that can produce different effects, depending which colour is the most dominant.  The fact that the skin remains black and some grey hairs will remain is why these horses are not called white.  

Dominant for the grey gene – they grey as they age.  Foals are born black, chestnut or bay, the underlying colour.  Gradually, over years of moulting and changing coats they become lighter and lighter, ending up pure white.  The lightening of coat usually starts on the face and legs.  The winter coat is always lighter than the summer coat.  A foal that is born chestnut or bay shows a definite change to grey in their first foal moult, by 6 months of age.  Old horses will often appear pure white, but still have black skin and are still called grey. The grey gradually “masks” the colour.  The foals are often born with “grey goggles” – grey circles around the eyes from their first moult. 

The variability of the white / grey / black hair mix produces different types of grey colours.  The points, legs, mane and tail can be black, grey, white or a mixture of all three.  There are various types of grey, from almost solid and dark, to virtually white.  Horses are usually “greyed out” by nine or ten years old, meaning they are “white” and get no whiter.  They will go through most of the coat patterns year by year, going from dark, through steel, dapple to white.  So, appearance depending on age.

They can have “blood marks” which are chestnut / red patch markings.  These are often on the shoulder.

 One parent is always grey. 

White is not a colour, but a lack of pigment. 

The abbreviation for grey is gr