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Dun
...a Dilution type color modifier...plus.
Dun is an intriguing and complex color modifier. Much remains to be
discovered about it. Though there is a test available for "dun markers",
the actual gene(s) that cause dun have not yet been isolated. Some
speculate that it is, in reality, a complex of separate genes, and if so, that
they are most likely linked.
(Linkage of genes is the tendency for them to be inherited together, either
every time, or more
often than sheer chance would dictate.)
D : a simple dominant gene ... probably.
 Despite the theorizing mentioned above, most horse color experts have agreed
to treat dun as a single, dominant gene. It appears to inherit that way
more or less predictably. For this reason, we will use the symbol D
(some use Dn, and you will also see it noted that way on this web site.)
Dun notation:
ee (any agouti) Dn_ = red dun
E_ A_ Dn_ = dun (aka bay dun, regular dun, zebra dun)
E_ AtAt Dn_ = brown dun (also E_ Aa Dn_)
E_ aa Dn_ = grulla (aka black dun)
Some call dun a wild, or primitive, color, because it involves striping and barring
camouflage markings similar to
that seen in some wild animals (tigers, zebras, quaggas), including the truly
wild horse breeds, like the Przewalski's
horse, the Tarpan, or the Sorraia.
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Examples of
camouflage coloring: Siberian hamsters, left, and wolves, right.
(Click any thumbnail picture to see
full size.) |
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Dun
is a dilution-type modifier and more; it dilutes red and black
pigment in specific ways, and also leaves behind dark patterns, collectively
known as "dun markings".
Though it is generally assumed that the markings are the result of undiluted
color, there are a few who speculate that the gene, or complex of genes, may
actually cause an intensification, or darkening, of color where the markings are
found.
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Dun acts on the main body hairs of the horse to make them lighter
(dilution).
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The points
(mane, tail and lower legs) will tend to remain the original color.
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From the middle of the legs up, rather than fading gradually into the body color
as it does in a bay or buckskin, it forms patterns of horizontal stripes,
bars, marbling, or sometimes blotches.
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Along the center of the back there is a sharp, distinct dorsal stripe
(assuming the horse's color is not too light to begin with, and the area is
not white from a white marking).
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Shading and barring often occur on the neck and shoulder, in the form of
blurry, dark areas stretching out from the dorsal stripe or mane, wider
where they begin and gradually tapering to nothing.
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Other dun traits may include:
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much-lighter hairs at the top
and sides of the tail and along the the edges of the mane, or "frosting"
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"fish-boning", also known by other names, where the
dorsal stripe
has perpendicular, usually blurry lines coming out of it, reaching down
the withers, or toward the barrel, or across the rump. Also see
neck
and shoulder barring.
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brindling can occur when
markings like fish-boning continue around almost the entire body.
The Pure Dun Body Colors
Dun acts on the red or black pigment, and with the various agouti genes, to produce
different effects. Dun horses can have a wide variety of body
colors, depending upon which other color genes they carry, other
variables like the seasons, weather, and even lighting. Shown
below are typical results of dun on chestnut, bay, brown &
black.
Punkin, a red dun filly by Legend of Pride, of
Amarugia Horses. Her owner
says she was sooty all over... she passed away at 6 months. The photo of
her moving is during shedding. What variety!
Dun on chestnut.
"Reba" (Im Not Dun Struttin), registered with AQHA /IBHA as a red
dun. Pic shows her at 8 months old. Her mane is still white, the bars on
her legs are more distinct, and her dorsal is more pronounced. When she
was foaled, her mane, tail and dorsal were flaming red (hence the name
"Reba"), and her body was cream. She's owned by Marjena Bass, Florida.
Flaxen red dun (dun on flaxen
chestnut).
This is a 2 year old filly belonging to
Haas QH's, Rick to a
Tee.
Dun on bay.
The late dun stallion Go Copper Glo, courtesy of Marjena
Bass (dun on bay).
Ladybug, a
brown dun QH mare owned by Tiffany Steele of Cincinnati,
OH,
who is showing her in a chin-and-apple contest. (dun on brown)
      
Other color-modifying genes, if present, such as cream, champagne,
pinto, grey, etc. also will, of course, affect the horse's appearance.
As mentioned elsewhere in HorseColors.us, we hope to have
professional photos to illustrate all of the horse colors, including dun,
throughout this web site, eventually.
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