Sassy - Rocky Mnt. Horse Courtesy of Fun-E-Farm

Horses with the Silver gene are commonly called Silver Dapples. This can be confusing because these horses are not always "silver" and not all horses with the Silver gene will be dappled.

Since the terms used with the Silver gene can be confusing at times, we're going to use the base coat color plus Silver to describe the color of horses with the Silver dilution. (Example: Bay + Silver). The horse to the left is what is commonly called a Silver Bay or Bay Silver, depending on what breed the horse is. In the Mountain breeds this color is called "Red Chocolate".

The Silver gene is becoming more common among the American breeds. In 2002 it was confirmed in Morgans as well as Quarter horses. Previously it was thought to be limited to the gaited breeds of the Rocky Mountain Horse, the Icelandic Horse and also the pony breeds of the American Shetland and the Miniature Horse.

Zeulners'Sunka Wakan Purebred Morgan Courtesy of Zeulner's Morgans

In February 2002 the Silver gene was confirmed in the Morgan breed. The stallion, named Zeulners'Sunka Wakan, was registered as and thought to be, a Flaxen Chestnut. Upon siring a Bay foal by a Chestnut mare, a red factor test was done and it was proven that he was not a Chestnut, but in fact a Silver Bay. Click here to visit Zeulners'Sunka Wakan's web site.

Miniature Horses ©Equine Color

Depending on the breed, there are several different terms used to describe the Black Silver color. Shetland and Miniature breeders call it Silver Dapple. The gaited Mountain breeds call it Chocolate and Icelandic breeders call it Blue Silver. All of these terms describe the same genetic color.

On this site we will use the term Black Silver as it's the most universal to describe both physical appearance as well as genetic make up of the horse.

These shades vary from light to dark. The lightest being a silvery grey generally accompanied by dapples. This shade is more commonly found in the pony breeds of American Shetland and Miniature. In the Miniature Breed, many horses this color are registered as Grey, Dun, Chestnut and even Palomino, usually with "Dappled" also used.

The horse to the left on top is a Silver Dapple Miniature Horse gelding, his dam can be seen below (the first silver bay dun) and his sire is black. The mare in the bottom photo is his half sister, same dam, palomino sire.

Their half brother can also be seen below, the second silver bay in that section, again they have the same dam.

Gumi frá Barkarstöğum Icelandic Horse Courtesy of Andrea Barber

Another shade which occurs with the Black Silver color is a uniformly chocolate color that may vary in shade from light to dark, that may or may not include the mane and tail. (Photos Needed)

The darkest shade to occur when Silver dilutes a black base coat is a dark chocolate to black body color with mane and tail that can range from a dirty slate color to a silvery white. The darker chocolate shades are sometimes confused with very dark Chestnuts. Some Silver Dapples do have dark points, but almost all have some lighter hairs mixed in with the darker ones, clearly separating them from a black pointed horse.

Unregistered Pony Courtesy Joan Landes

Not all Silver horses will have a light mane and tail. Sometimes with the different shades of Silver, the manes and tails are not the light silvery but a darker sooty or slate color. The manes and tails of silver horses can also darken as the horse ages.

Miniature Horse ©Equine Color

Although dappling doesn't usually show up until the horse is older it's not uncommon for a foal to have dappling. In one color publication the author makes the statement that "silver dapples never develop their dapples until they are at least one year of age...". Whether this was just a poor choice of words or the author really believes this, the photos to the right and below prove that this statement is untrue. The filly in the photos is only 3 months old and is obviously already very dappled.

Miniature Horse ©Equine Color

Miniature Horses ©Equine Color

Bay Silver is the Silver gene on a Bay base coat. Because Silver does not physically affect red pigment the bodies of Red Silvers keep the normal Bay colored body. The black legs are diluted in varying degrees from a light sooty color to a dark slate color. The mane and tail will vary in shade from very light, almost white to a darker, slate looking color. As seen in the photos the mane and tail can vary in shade on the same horse.

These points are usually fairly easy to distinguish from Chestnut horses with flaxen points because it's usually obvious, especially upon close inspection, that the hair was black before it was diluted. But at times, when these points are very pale, they can easily be confused with Flaxen Chestnut.

Miniature Horses ©Equine Color

The photos to the above and the left show two different variations of Silver on Bay. The mare in the top photo is in her natural summer coat. The gelding in the bottom photo had recently been body clipped which makes the body and lower legs a bit lighter than normal but, of course, does not affect the color of the mane and tail. The mare gets Silver from her dam who is also a Silver Bay and the gelding gets Silver from his dam who is a Bay Dun + Silver and can be seen below.

Average Silver Bay Foal Miniature Horse Courtesy of Tibbs Family Miniatures

As with foal coats of other colors, Silver Bay foals have light legs. This is a normal occurrence with foal coats, it is a type of camouflage. When the foal hair begins to shed the true color of the body and legs is revealed. Because of this many Silver Bay foals are mistakenly identified as Sorrel or Chestnut. This is also a common mistake made with mature Silver Bays. The color of the lower leg is a very important part of identifying horse color, one that is very often ignored.

West Texas Pecos Miniature Horse Courtesy of Laura Pyeatt

As with all colors, it's possible for there to be multiple color genes present in an individual horse. The horses to the right and below are Bays with the Silver dilution which can be seen from their light mane and tail. They also displays the Classic Roan pattern which displays itself as white hairs distributed over the body. To learn more about Classic Roan click here.

Hopwood's Silver Peace Rose Foundation Certified American Shetland Courtesy of Platte Ridge Farm

Silver On Bay Dun 3D's Mickey's Samantha Miniature Horse Courtesy of Bepetton Mini Horses

The Silver gene on Dun or Buckskin can be more subtle and hard to identify than on Black or Bay. On these lighter colors Silver can give little indication of it's presence or it can cause the horse to look like another color. The mare above is a Bay + Dun + Silver. Some may speculate that she is a Dunalino (Palomino + Dun) the fact that she has never produced a cream dilute foal (Palomino or Buckskin) and the sooty lower legs tells us she does not have the Cream dilution. We know she has a Bay base coat because she has produced black based foals by red based stallions, and also because her lower legs are a sooty, silver color, obviously black before they were diluted by silver.

If she had a Chestnut base coat her lower legs, mane and tail would be the same color as her body or a shade lighter or darker and the presence of Silver would only be proven from her offspring since Silver cannot physically change red pigment.

Showman's Hellaynia Classic American Shetland Courtesy of Platte Ridge Farm

Silver on Buckskin seems to be confusing for some. If one remembers that Buckskin is just a diluted version of Bay it's much easier to identify and predict the foal color of Silver Buckskins. If one remembers that a Silver Bay is just like a Bay except that it has diluted points, in turn, a Silver Buckskin will be just like a Buckskin but with diluted points.

Physically a Silver Buckskin may resemble a Palomino, due to the gold body color and diluted points. The shade of the body color and points will vary for each individual horse depending on what other genes may or may not be present. This color is considered rare but this is probably due more to misidentification than rarity. This error in identification can result in some surprising foal colors. The filly to the right is an excellent example of Silver + Buckskin, and shows how easily it would be to confuse this color with Palomino. The identifying traits of a Silver Buckskin are darker lower legs, they will be a sooty color and upon close inspection it will be obvious that they hair was black before it was diluted. The ear tips will also be dark, this characteristics occurs on Buckskin, Bay, and other black based colors. The mane and tail will also be a silvery, sooty color that varies in shade from light to dark. The same as you would see with differing shades of Silver Bay.

The Silver Dapple color is caused by a dominant gene present at the Silver Dapple locus which has been given the label Z. This gene is unique because it only acts upon black pigment and leaves red pigment unchanged. Or in other words Black and Bay horses will be physically changed by this gene but Chestnut horses will not. Chestnut based horses do not have black areas so the Silver gene has no effect on them. This allows the gene to be carried with no physical evidence.

The Silver gene is consistent in that even if it is not very prominent it betrays it existence on horses with black pigment or points. It is also noticeable that the manes of Silver horses were black before being diluted by the silver gene.