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Colour Coat Genetics - Buckskin
  

WHAT DOES A BUCKSKIN LOOK LIKE?
The BUCKSKIN will appear very light (almost white, known as 'Buttermilk BUCKSKIN'), yellowish, golden, light tan, or a deep tan that is similar to peanut butter, The mane and tail will be black but may have silver hairs mixed in, sometimes to the point that the mane and tail appear almost solid white or very "frosted." (Genetically, these hairs will test as BLACK.) The lower legs are usually black to some degree, usually in the form of stockings or socks but is sometimes contained within the pastern area only. The tips of the eats will be black at dark brown.

Some BUCKSKINS may have darker hair coveting their body to some degree. This is due to the 'smutty' at 'sooty' gene and may be minimal (localized on the hack and withers and possibly the face) or excessive (spread throughout the entire coat including the face). The common term is 'Sooty' or 'Smutty' BUCKSKIN. The 'smuttiness' may be so extreme that these horses are registered as BROWNS. They are often confused with GRUUOS or DUNS since the 'smutty/sooty' gene often gives the appearance of a dorsal stripe and striping over the withers, although these "stripes" are actually narrow concentrations of darker hair lacking the sharp edges typical of true dorsal stripes. BUCKSKINS do, on some occasion, have a dorsal stripe, but it is not related to the DUN gene.

WHAT ARE THE colour GENETICS OF A BUCKSKIN?

On a BUCKSKIN, the colour BLACK is distributed only to the points due to the presence of the agouti (pronounced ah GOO tee) gene, identical to that of BAY. The base colour is left as some variation of diluted RED after being affected by the CREAM DILUTION gene inherited from one parent. In essence, the BUCKSKIN shares the same colour information as BAY but during its embryonic formation is affected by the CREAM DILUTION gene to where the RED base coat is diluted to the familiar coat colours associated with BUCKSKIN. Even if a BUCKSKIN does have a dorsal stripe, it is not due to the DUN DILUTION.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER ASPECTS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUCKSKIN?

Breeding two BUCKSKINS together yield the same possibility of getting a DOUBLE CREAM DILUTE foal as it does in breeding PALOMINOS. Breeding two BUCKSKINS does not increase the odds of getting a BUCKSKIN foal. In trying to achieve the resulting colour of BUCKSKIN in a foal, the most common (but not exclusive) cross is to breed BAY and PALOMINO. Of course, breeding a BAY to a CREMELLO will yield BUCKSKIN 100 percent of the time.

It is possible for a BUCKSKIN to express the ROAN gene. Genetically, this is called a BUCKSKIN-ROAN. This may happen if one patent catties the roan gene (for example, is BAY ROAN) and is bred to a parent that carries the CREAM DILUTION (for example, is PALOMINO). Since BUCKSKINS are already light in colour, the ROAN may not be immediately recognized. At present, AQHA does not have a separate colour choice of BUCKSKIN-ROAN. For registration purposes, the horse is registered as the base colour of BUCKSKIN.

Some GRAY horses may have starred out as BUCKSKIN. These horses still retain the colour genetic information to pass on the CREAM DILUTION gene and produce BUCKSKIN at PALOMINO foals regardless of the colour of the other parent. Some BUCKSKINS that are turning at have turned GRAY may not easily be recognized as such, since the coat is already light in shade. A BUCKSKIN usually shows lighter hairs in the face (sometimes called 'silvering'), specifically around the eyes and muzzle. Any true white face markings the foal was born with will blend into the face as the gray progresses. There may be greying in the black of lower legs. The tip of the tail will turn a pale, gold to silver colour, eventually becoming lighter from the bottom up as the horse ages. The rest of the coat may have gray hairs scattered throughout (again, this may not be easily noticed), but the coat may also be unaffected for years. (See GRAY).

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