[SC Sonoma]

This is Smoke and she is blue roan.

She is by Sacred Honor and Sassy Ashes AQHA. Sacred Honor is a red roan. Sassy Ashes is registered as a Grullo.

I have a half brother to her who is a red roan (by the same stud).

This is my question. I know there are probably variations of blue roan. From what I've seen of them most of them have all black manes and tails.
Smoke has white in her mane and tail and she also has cream hair inside her ears. Is this because of the grullo from her mother? Could Smoke be carrying a creme gene? I plan to have her tested but I just got her on Saturday so I haven't had the time to send it all in.

Anyway ... here are her pictures .... what do you think?



Judge and Smoke getting to know one another







Here's the pic of her ear hair. It looks light for a black head ... my black paint mare has black inside her ears.

[Lou3]

nope she cant have a creme gene as neither of her parents have one.
She COULD have a dun gene and therefore be a grulla roan.

[SC Sonoma]

Originally Posted by Lou3

nope she cant have a creme gene as neither of her parents have one.
She COULD have a dun gene and therefore be a grulla roan.

I know I shouldn't believe everything I read on the internet, but this is why I asked about the cream ...

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/coat-...ullo-roan.html

Some grullo will carry the cream dilution gene in addition to the dun dilution gene. A grullo can produce both a dun and cream dilution foal. So, they can produce either palomino or buckskin. The cream gene can often hide in the grullo the way it does in the bay and black. A grullo will pass on the dun gene every time, regardless of the color of the other parent. It is also possible for a grullo to carry the roan gene.

[ACCphotography]

If the dam was a smokey grulla it's possible. However I don't see anything that causes me to think she has cream. Cream is virtually invisible on most black coats so it's hard to tell though. The roaning in the mane and tail is normal.

[SC Sonoma]

These are 2 foal pictures of her with her dam in the background. I can't positively identify her dam as a grullo (I'm not that good ) but that's the way she is registered... but the filly didn't look blue roan or black as youngster.

[SC Sonoma]

Originally Posted by ACCphotography

If the dam was a smokey grulla it's possible. However I don't see anything that causes me to think she has cream. Cream is virtually invisible on most black coats so it's hard to tell though. The roaning in the mane and tail is normal.

I thought smokey black horses had light colored hair in their ears.

[jumpergirl221]

I don't know much about roans...but the ears do look like a grulla.

This is my new project guy who is a grulla and as you can see, he has the same thing going on with his ears (it is much for evident now that he is clipped)

[SC Sonoma]

Originally Posted by jumpergirl221

I don't know much about roans...but the ears do look like a grulla.

This is my new project guy who is a grulla and as you can see, he has the same thing going on with his ears (it is much for evident now that he is clipped)

He's absolutely gorgeous!!

[SC Sonoma]

How would I be able to tell if she was grullo roan as opposed to blue roan? By testing?

[jumpergirl221]

Thank you! He is an absolute sweety, he's 14 and has just sat in a field, doesn't know anything undersaddle, but nothing seems to phase him,non spooky on trails, bathing, clipping, nothing. I figure he will be a quick turn around once he gets a little better under saddle.

From what I have been told (hunter/jumper background, so if it isn't bay, black, chestnut or grey I'm lost!) Grulla has primitive markings (leg barring, dorsal stripe, ect.) and I don't believe there is a test for it...but I may be wrong. Horse color genetics is so funky though that I wonder even if the grulla gene is recessive it could still express itself in certain ways (i.e. ears). But you would really need to ask someone that knows a little more about it, I just thought your adorable baby had the same thing going on with its ears..