Читать книгу Horse Color Explored. Over 150 Breeds, Types, and Variations онлайн

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The smoky black color is on a very rare occasion similar to dark bay or seal brown. In such cases a precise determination of color can be accomplished by an analysis of pedigree data and by performing appropriate DNA tests. For example, if one of the parents of a black horse is double cream (cremello or perlino—see ssss1), then the horse in question must be smoky black. It can also help to study the offspring of the particular horse mated with horses of colors not connected to Cream. If a questionable “black” horse mated with a bay or red produces a buckskin or palomino foal, then the horse must be smoky black. Similar logic would apply if this “black” horse produces a double cream dilute (cremello or perlino) foal.

Smoky black foals are born looking similar to regular black—ashy, sometimes with silvery nuances (ssss1). Also at a young age they frequently have broad darker bands, which run from the spine parallel to the ribs. The eyes are dark blue and the ears are frequently light inside with black edges. Young smoky black horses can for some period of time acquire dark brown shade. Smoky black horses that have a noticeable dark coffee shade are frequently seen in the Akhal-Teke breed, but this color is also encountered in other breeds carrying the Cream Dilution in their gene pool.