Bay
Chestnut
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Bay is a dilution of black. The agouti gene restricts the black to the pony's points while the rest of the body is a shade of brown. The shades of bay can go from near black to red to light sandy brown, but all have black manes and tails and black legs. Bay foals will not have black legs until they shed the foal coat. Bays can be homozygous for black and those can only produce bays and blacks. If a pony carries agouti it will express it. Manes and tails on bays usually fade in the sun.
Seal brown, or just brown, is minimal restriction of the agouti gene to where the pony has light brown on the muzzle, flanks, and belly. Brown and dark bay (sooty bay) are visually and genetically indistinguishable. It is theorized to be another variation of agouti. Wild bays have black manes and tails but have very little black on the legs. The black is usually just around the joints and pasterns.
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Copyright 2008
