Bay = A (agouti) & Silver Bay /Red chocolate
This is genetically a Bay horse with the chocolate gene. Contrary to popular belief, they do not always carry a red gene just because they have a red body. They are black based colors.
Below are all bays without the Z gene!
Black= Ee or EE
Black does not show any modifiers, a foal is typically lighter mousey grey hues seen at birth then darkens around the muzzle- first seen at 2-3 months. Adults can/will appear slightly sunbleached in areas around their flanks but this usually is late summer and that dark rich black color returns in the winter months.
(e signifies a red gene is carried)
Sorrel= ee
Can mask a silver gene! ee or sorrel is only a result by the lack of a black gene; without sorrel we cant have a Palomino! All the horses below are sorrel and vary in homozygosity of the silver gene, or ZZ
This mare is a confirmed ZZ
A Smokey black with a silver gene becomes a Smokey Silver Dapple
Grey= G
If you see a grey at birth you can usually determine if it carries silver since they are born solid colored; However they can easily mask a silver gene when older and starting to grey. Young foals can easily trick you on their genes as they can be "hyperchromatic" meaning they can over accentuate their base color when born or when young - you never know what color they are through the seasons!
Below are all Silver Bay or Red chocolates!
Creme Dilution=Cr
This gene can get the most confusing, buckle up!
From the beginning shown:
Roan Dilution on any base=Rn
On any roan pattern horse, you can see roaning over the entire body except the face, main/tail and legs usually. It should be fairly prominent as a few white hairs over the rump wouldn't constitute a roan, but many hairs (over 50%) Would constitute a roan. A roan can be any base color or include any modifier. A common misconception is that you can get a roan from a grey, this is 100% a different gene and not true.
Chocolate or Silver Black= ZZ or nZ gene
Many shades of mousey or rich coffee brown with varying flaxen.
This is commonly combined with other colors within the rocky mountain horse breed
Click below on each photo to see genotypes: ZZ is double silver gene or homozygous; Z or nZ is heterozygous for this color gene.
All the photos in this section are just chocolate/silver black and no other modifiers on a black base color horse.
Black & Silver dapple + creme gene- Black lightens/chocolate lightens
Rocky Coat Colors
They come in all shades and solid variations
Dun Dilution=D
Grulla, dun, red dun or dunlino
This gene adds stripes to the upper forearm and dorsal, other markings like shoulder bars could be dramatic or negligible.
Always dilutes base color in some way.
This gene could combine with any base color or other modifier creating slightly different variations.
SINGLE Creme genes are expressed on a Sorrel> Palomino, Bay turning them to Buckskin, and a black> a very subtle smokey black (only changing the tint of the coat and lightens eye color slightly). When a horse has two copies (double) of Cream they become almost white (no matter what the base color is) A double creme Palomino>Cremello, Buckskin>Perlino, Black>Smokey Creme. Double cremes always have bluish or very light eyes and all pink skin where as ZZ single creme horses do not have pink skin or blue eyes.
TRAINING & BREEDING QUALITY ROCKY MOUNTAIN HORSES
Champagne dilutions= Ch
Gold Champagne (Sorrel+Ch), Amber Champagne (bay+Ch), Classic champagne (Black+Ch) with or without silver can look really similar. This dilution is present immediately at birth. It often appears dark (usually) then lightens after the foal coat is shed. They have mottled skin around their eyes and muzzle with lovely greenish/amber eyes! This color can combine with other dilutions to amplify this color or create different variations of this color. Double dilutes (Ch+Ch) do not have a multiplier effect, they would appear as a single champagne would. However the unique thing about Ch is that there is a multiplier effect when combined with creme! They appear like a double creme would (see double creme below) This color is then called an Ivory Champagne.