Guide to RHG Genetics

Basics

Extension & Agouti: This will help determine the base color of your horse. The only 3 base colors are bay, chestnut, and black. All other coat colors are modifiers on top of this base coat.

Heterozygous means the horse only carries one gene. For example if a horse is Cr/+ they are heterozygous for the cream gene. This horse has a 50% chance of passing the cream gene to offspring.

Homozygous means the horse carries two of the same genes. For example if a horse is G/G they are homozygous for gray and will pass one G to all foals.

Dilutions

These will change how the horse looks overall, though some coats will be more obvious than others.

Dun: nd2 = non dun, nd1 = non-dun but shows some dun traits, DUN = 1 dun modifier

Gray: g = non-gray, G = gray

Cream: + = no cream modifier, Cr = cream modifier

Silver Dapple: z = non-silver, Z = silver

Champagne: ch = non-champagne, Ch = champagne

Mushroom: + = no mushroom modifier, Mu = mushroom modifier

Tiger Eye: + = no tiger eye, Te = tiger eye

Patterns

These will show up in varying ways and if the horse has multiple types of pattern genes it may cause them to look different from others with similar genetics.

Tobiano: + = no tobiano present, To = Tobiano gene present

KIT (White): + = no KIT white present, W20/W5 = kit gene present

Frame Overo: + = no overo present, O = Overo gene present

MITF (Splash): + = no splash present, Spl = Splash gene present

Leopard Complex: + = no leopard present, Lp = Leopard gene present

Pattern 1: + = no pattern present, PATN = Pattern gene present