GP Dreams

He is what is called a “Sooty Bay”, so he’s a bay horse with the sooty, sometimes also called smutty, gene. The gene causes black or dark hairs to grow in the coat producing this affect, it’s referred to as “Countershading” because these dark hairs mostly occur on the topline or highpoint’s of the horse, but not always. This guy is a good example of that, with the dark points extending along his hip, shoulder, neck, and face. This gene is fairly common among Akhal Teke’s, but as far as I know can occur in any breed, in fact you’ve probably seen some sooty horses before but didn’t realize they were any different then “normal”, this guy is a fairly extreme example. Here are some “subdued” examples-

He is what is called a “Sooty Bay”, so he’s a bay horse with the sooty, sometimes also called smutty, gene. The gene causes black or dark hairs to grow in the coat producing this affect, it’s referred to as “Countershading” because these dark hairs mostly occur on the topline or highpoint’s of the horse, but not always. This guy is a good example of that, with the dark points extending along his hip, shoulder, neck, and face. This gene is fairly common among Akhal Teke’s, but as far as I know can occur in any breed, in fact you’ve probably seen some sooty horses before but didn’t realize they were any different then “normal”, this guy is a fairly extreme example. Here are some “subdued” examples-