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The mutt who might be dun?

Rhaige9 July 10, 2010 February 22, 2011

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Benjamin Brown thinks he might be dun. I'm not sure. We picked him up sept-ish last year. He belonged to an older gentleman who did a little trail riding with him, then left him out in a field for two years. His nylon halter stayed on the whole time rubbing all the hair short on his cheeks and across his nose. Thankfully he has good feet, because they weren't cared for, just left to wear themselves. He has a dent in his face just below his eyes, and one eye is sunk into his head a bit more than the other. This is also the eye you can poke him in before he blinks. We don't believe he's totally blind in it though. The older gentleman died, and Ben being the pushy older horse he is, trod on the gentlemans kids feet, ran right over them in fact, pushed around the grandkids and made a pest of himself. Off to the trader's he went. I picked him up with the saddle for $500. I did send him to the trainers early this year just to keep him from tromping all over me and to give him back some ground manners. Patch and Spook were sticked at 14.1 and 14.3. Ben is just a little taller than them. I'm only five foot barley so I never really realised he has, I think, a dun stripe. He was already a shaggy, hairy beast when he came to us. He's always this weird yellow color in his pictures. We've no idea of his breeding other than maybe part sherman tank. No trail, straight uphill, covered in brush? No problem, he crashes right through. Can't make him spook to save my life, and I tried. First test ride, I rode him over sheets of styrafoam and old tarps in the desert. He didn't care. I'm guessing draft and qh on one side, and qh and morgan on the other.. lol. Here's a shaggy pic from this winter. I always end up trying to edit out some of the yellow in him. [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0134…] Today all slicked out [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0539…] From above. His stripe does go clear to his tail. [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0541…] But up at the withers it fades to faint bars across the vertabre [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0542…] faint stripes on the front legs [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0553…] and the back [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0546…] shoulder shadows [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0544…] Dark face, couldn't get a good pic of the faint webbing on his face. But shoulder shadows, shadowing up his crest, across the chest and under the troatlatch. [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Raealyn/horses/Benjamin/DSCN0543…] Who wants to guess for me?

accphotography Sat, 07/10/2010 - 21:02

I *think* it's countershading, but I could [i]definitely[i] believe it's real (and I may be the only one here who will think that). I would [b]LOVE[/b] to see him tested.

My non dun has barbs too so it's not proof, but he has way more than just that. I'd be curious to hear DunCentralStation's opinion of him. She has two on her site that most people wouldn't believe were dun:

http://duncentralstation.com/BrownBayDu…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://duncentralstation.com/BrownBayDu…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rhaige9 Sat, 07/10/2010 - 21:27

I go back and forth all the time about having him tested. Just my own curiosity. He doesn't look so yellow in person, but then you look at his pictures... I didn't even realize he had the stripe down his back till mid winter. He was so hairy when we got him home. I was putting blankets on and off I went, "Hey what's this here?" I waited all winter and spring for him to shed out so I could see what was underneath.

Fledgesflight Sat, 07/10/2010 - 22:56

I like him! And I'm also leaning towards counter-shading-I would expect the dorsal to be darker/defined on an animal without Cream.

Rhaige9 Sat, 07/10/2010 - 23:41

[quote="accphotography"]Are we positive there's no cream (he's so yellow I'm not sure WHAT to think of him).[/quote]

No idea on his parentage. Heck, we don't even know breed, or breeds. Too bad I can't have him tested like they can in dogs. Give some DNA and they can tell you what breeds are probably in them. His pics always make me go urgh. They always turn out so yellow. I thought it was my camera, but Patches and Spook always come out the color I see when I'm looking at them.

accphotography Fri, 07/16/2010 - 16:24

The test does not test for the specific dun mutation but some markers that go along with it. It CAN tell you if your horse is dun or not if you trust the markers. At this point it seems the markers are HIGHLY reliable.

zoom Fri, 07/16/2010 - 16:40

That's what I thought ...

I checked on UCDavis website to be sure ... and I red this:

"Note: The Dun zygosity test is not being offered at this time for PREs, Andalusians and Lusitanos. The marker association with the Dun gene in these breeds is still under research. Owners of Dun horses from these breeds interested in helping with the research should contact Customer Service."

Can anybody explain me why they can't test on PRE, Andalusians and Lusitanos ... and they can for other breeds ?
What's the difference ?