Royal King was an outstanding cutting stallion and Quarter horse sire from the early days of the American Quarter Horse Association (or AQHA).
41-503: Royal King was a 1943 sorrel stallion registered with the AQHA as number 2392. He was bred by Felton Smathers of Llano, Texas and owned at the time of registration by Whiteside and Albin of Sipe Springs, Texas . His sire was King P-234 and his dam was a mare named Rocket Laning that was eventually registered with the AQHA as number 39,024. She was sired by Dolph, and out of an unregistered mare named Cricket sired by Coldy. Rocket Laning
82-427: A dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse . The dun gene lightens most of the body while leaving the mane , tail, legs, and primitive markings the shade of the undiluted base coat color. A dun horse always has a dark dorsal stripe down the middle of its back, usually has a darker face and legs, and may have transverse striping across the shoulders or horizontal striping on
123-471: A "dunskin". On such horses, the light-shaded primitive markings are most noticeable during the summer months, when the winter hair sheds. A palomino that also carries dun, showing primitive dorsal striping or leg bars indicative of a red dun may be called a "dunalino." Countershading such as light dorsal stripes resulting from the presence of the gene nd1 (see section below) may be difficult to detect on light-colored horses. There are three known alleles of
164-503: A "yellow dun" or gulblakk. A cremello, perlino or smoky cream is called "white" or kvit. Historically, before modern genetic studies distinguished between alleles, diluted colors were sometimes lumped together and simply called "dun". The dun gene, when on a "bay dun" horse, can closely resemble buckskin , in that both colors feature a light-colored coat with a dark mane and tail. In particular, buckskins with non-dun 1 primitive markings can easily be confused with dun. Genetically,
205-681: A Race Register of Merit with the AQHA. His offspring Miss Nancy Bailey and Royal Chess were inducted into the NCHA Horse Hall of Fame . Miss Nancy Bailey was the 1952 and 1953 AQHA High Point Cutting Horse, and Royal Lightning was the 1963 AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Stallion. Royal Chess was the Youth AQHA World Champion Cutting Horse. He died in 1971 and was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 1997. Sorrel (horse) Chestnut
246-424: A bay dun is a bay horse with the dun gene. A buckskin is bay horse with the addition of the cream gene , causing the coat color to be diluted from red to gold, usually without primitive markings. Visually, a bay dun is a tan-gold color, somewhat darker and less vivid than the more cream or gold buckskin, and duns always possess primitive markings. Today, pedigree analysis, DNA testing, studying possible offspring, and
287-477: A dun foal. Horses that are non-dun1 d1/d1 or d1/d2 may have some asymmetry in pigment distribution, producing primitive markings, but to a lesser degree than dun horses. Homozygous non-dun1/non-dun1 horses typically have clearer primitive markings than heterozygous d1/d2 horses. The primitive markings from non-dun1 are more visible on a bay or chestnut horse; they blend in on a black. A horse with two copies of non-dun2 lacks primitive markings. Dun has
328-465: A horse is not dun. In humans and lab mice, TBX3 is critical to development. Abnormalities are linked to a collection of developmental defects called ulnar–mammary syndrome , and the null allele (being unable to produce any TBX3 at all) is thought to be embryonic lethal. In non-dun horses, the TBX3 protein is still functional, and is still produced in most cells, but not expressed in the hair cortex. Where
369-410: A horse with two cream dilution alleles also carries the dun gene, it also will be cream-colored, with primitive markings not visible to any significant degree. Dorsal striping alone does not guarantee the horse carries the dun gene. There two types of non-dun, called non-dun1 and non-dun2 . Non-dun1 horses have no dun color dilution but may keep primitive markings, while non-dun2 horses have neither
410-469: A part of each hair. Specifically, hairs from diluted areas only have pigment along one side of them, while hairs from darker parts such as the dorsal stripe have pigment all the way around. Genetic analysis and DNA sequencing results published in 2015 link dun color to the T-box 3 ( TBX3 ) transcription factor . When functional, it creates dun coloring, including the primitive markings, and when recessive,
451-413: A stronger effect than other dilution genes in that it acts on any coat color. In contrast, the silver dapple gene acts only on black-based coats, and the cream gene is an incomplete dominant which must be homozygous to be fully expressed, and when heterozygous is only visible on bay and chestnut coats, and then to a lesser degree. The dun dilution effect is caused by pigment only being placed in
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#1732801899715492-418: A true gray , which also intermingles light and dark hairs, the color does not change to a lighter shade as the horse ages. With a dun, the hair color is one solid shade and remains so for life. To further confuse matters, it is possible for a horse to carry both dun and cream dilution genes; such horses with golden buckskin coloring and a complete set of primitive markings are referred to as a "buckskin dun" or
533-451: Is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common horse coat colors , seen in almost every breed of horse. Chestnut is a very common coat color but the wide range of shades can cause confusion. The lightest chestnuts may be mistaken for palominos , while
574-534: Is believed to be the ancestral or wild type color of horses. Many equines appearing in prehistoric cave paintings such as in Chauvet Cave are dun, and several closely related species in the genus Equus show dun characteristics. These include the Przewalski's horse , onager , kiang , African wild ass , an extinct subspecies of plains zebra , the quagga , and an extinct subspecies of horse ,
615-418: Is caused by one of two recessive alleles at the extension locus (genetics) . Extension has three known alleles: the wildtype "E", necessary for the bay and black coat colors, plus two mutations "e" and "e ", both of which are capable of causing the chestnut color. Each individual horse has two copies of the extension gene. If either copy is "E", then the horse will be bay- or black-based. But if
656-423: Is considered a "base color" in the discussion of equine coat color genetics. Additional coat colors based on chestnut are often described in terms of their relationship to chestnut: Combinations of multiple dilution genes do not always have consistent names. For example, "dunalinos" are chestnuts with both the dun gene and one copy of the cream gene . The chestnut or sorrel color, genetically considered "red",
697-462: Is found on chromosome 3 (ECA3) and is part of the gene that codes for the equine melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R). This receptor is part of a signalling pathway which when activated causes melanocytes to produce eumelanin , or black pigment, instead of pheomelanin , or red pigment. The two mutant alleles "e" and "e " code for dysfunctional receptors unable to activate this pathway, so absent "E", only red pigment can be produced. At least one copy of
738-407: Is predicted to include binding sites for the transcription factors ALX4 and MSX2 , which are both known to be involved in hair follicle development. TBX3 was significantly downregulated in non-dun horses compared to dun horses, while the neighboring gene, TBX5 , was expressed in about the same amount. In dun horses, the pattern of TBX3 expression mirrored the pattern of pigment deposition in
779-411: Is released by the pituitary gland and stimulates the production and release of melanin in skin and hair. Red hair color in horses ("e") is created by a missense mutation in the code for MC1R, which results in a protein that cannot bind to MSH. When only mutant copies ("e) of the gene are available, non-functional MC1R proteins are produced. As a result, no black pigment is deposited into the hair and
820-856: The Suffolk Punch and Haflinger , which are exclusively chestnut. Other breeds including the American Belgian Draft and Budyonny are predominantly chestnut. However, a chestnut horse need not have two chestnut parents. This is especially apparent in breeds like the Friesian horse and Ariegeois pony which have been selected for many years to be uniformly black , but on rare occasions still produce chestnut foals. Chestnuts can vary widely in shade and different terms are sometimes used to describe these shades, even though they are genetically indistinguishable. Collectively, these coat colors are usually called "red" by geneticists. Chestnut
861-436: The primitive markings and on the point coloration of the mane, tail, ears, and legs. Dun visibly affects all the three base colors, bay (bay, classic, or zebra dun), black (mouse dun or grullo), and Chestnut (red dun). It is more difficult to recognize when combined with other dilution genes or if affected by gray . Shades include: Another characteristic of the dun gene are primitive markings . Dun traits include
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#1732801899715902-399: The tarpan . Zebras can also be considered a variant of dun where the dilution is so extreme it turns the hair nearly white, and the primitive markings (like the striped leg barring) extend across the entire body. Neither the non-dun1 nor the non-dun2 mutations were found in any other equids. The dun gene has a dilution effect, lightening the body coat, but has less of an effect on
943-496: The back of the forelegs. Body color depends on the underlying coat color genetics . A classic "bay dun" is a gray-gold or tan, characterized by a body color ranging from sandy yellow to reddish brown. Duns with a chestnut base may appear a light tan shade, and those with black base coloration are a smoky gray. Manes, tails, primitive markings, and other dark areas are usually the shade of the undiluted base coat color. The dun gene may interact with all other coat color alleles. Dun
984-514: The coat is diluted, the color is not uniform throughout each hair, but rather is more intense on the outward-facing side of the hair shaft and lighter underneath. In the darker areas, where the primitive markings occur, the hair shaft is of uniform color. One of the researchers involved in the study said it could be called a "microscopic spotting pattern". This phenomenon is new to science and has not been observed in rodents, primates, or carnivores. The location of TBX3 expression may also determine
1025-437: The darkest shades can be so dark they appear black . Chestnuts have dark brown eyes and black skin, and typically are some shade of red or reddish brown. The mane, tail, and legs may be lighter or darker than the body coat, but unlike the bay they are never truly black. Like any other color of horse, chestnuts may have pink skin with white hair where there are white markings , and if such white markings include one or both eyes,
1066-407: The dun color dilution nor primitive markings. The Fjord horse breed, which is predominantly dun, uses unique Norwegian-based terminology to distinguish between the different shades of dun horses. "Brown dun", or brunnblakk is a zebra dun, rødblakk is a red dun, grå - literally "gray" - is a grullo, buckskin duns are called ulsblakk or white dun, and a "dunalino" (dun + palomino ) is called
1107-459: The dun gene: dun ( D ), produces dilution and primitive markings. Non-dun1 ( d1 ) horses do not have dun dilution but may exhibit some primitive markings. Non-dun2 ( d2 ) horses have neither dilution nor primitive markings. Dun is a dominant gene; however, at least one study found a statistically significant variation in the shade of dilution depending on whether one or two copies of the dun gene are present. Two non-dun parents cannot produce
1148-411: The entire coat is red-based. However, the skin of chestnut horses is still generally black, unless affected by other genes. Some chestnut foals are also born with lighter eyes and lightened skin, which darken not long after birth. This is not the same as the blue eyes and pink skin seen at birth in foals carrying the champagne gene . It is a genetic mechanism not fully understood, but may be related to
1189-399: The eyes may be blue. Chestnut foals may be born with pinkish skin, which darkens shortly afterwards. Chestnut is produced by a recessive gene. Unlike many coat colors, chestnut can be true-breeding; that is, assuming they carry no recessive modifiers like pearl or mushroom , the mating between two chestnuts will produce chestnut offspring every time. This can be seen in breeds such as
1230-423: The following: Other variations result from the interplay of additional genes: A single copy of the cream gene on a black base coat does not significantly lighten black hair, though it may have a subtle effect, and thus a single copy generally has no visible effect on a grullo, either. Conversely, double copies of the cream gene create very light-colored horses ( cremello , perlino , and smoky cream ). Thus, if
1271-487: The functional "E" allele is required to activate the signal and produce black pigment. In general, alleles that create fully functional MC1R proteins are inherited dominantly and result in a black-based coat color ("E"), while mutated alleles that create "dysfunctional" MC1R are recessive and result in a lighter coat color ("e"). Normally MC1R would bind to the Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) which
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1312-401: The hair follicles of dun and non-dun horses have different distributions of pigment-producing cells. KITLG encodes KIT ligand , a molecule required for melanocyte migration and survival in the skin and hair follicle. Keratinocytes expressing KITLG were found all the way around the hair in non-dun horses, but only on the pigmented side in dun horses. The region where KITLG was not expressed
1353-405: The hair, that is, TBX3 was found wherever the pigment was not. TBX3 was not found in the hair cortex keratinocytes from non-dun horses nor in those from the dorsal stripe of dun horses. However, all of the horses had a thin outer layer of the hair where TBX3 was expressed. Two markers of mature melanocytes , KIT and MITF , were found only in the pigmented areas of the hair. This indicates that
1394-471: The non-dun2 genetic mutation (as well as the development of chestnut base color) occurred after domestication. Ancient DNA from a horse that lived about 43,000 years ago, long before horses were domesticated, carried both dun and non-dun1 genes. The non-dun mutations appear to "disrupt the function of a transcriptional enhancer regulating TBX3 expression in a specific subset of hair bulb keratinocytes during hair growth." The region deleted in non-dun2
1435-400: The pheomelanistic characteristics of "e". Though "E" allows the production of black pigment, it can also allow for red pigment in some parts of the animal as seen in bay horses. This happens when it is locally antagonized by the agouti signalling peptide (ASIP), or agouti gene, which "suppresses" black color and allows some red pigment to be formed. Dun gene The dun gene is
1476-410: The striping pattern of zebras . There are two forms of non-dun color, non-dun1 and non-dun2, caused by different mutations. Non-dun1 horses have some primitive markings, while non-dun2 horses do not. Prior to domestication of the horse , dun, non-dun1, and the leopard complex are thought to have been the wild type modifiers of the base colors bay and black for wild horses . It is thought that
1517-445: The two copies are any combination of "e" and "e " (e/e, e/e , or e /e ), then the horse will be red-based. Alternate extension "e " is rare and there is no known difference in appearance between it and the more common "e". Because the red color is recessive, two bay or black parents can produce a chestnut foal if both carry "e" or "e ". However, two chestnut parents cannot produce a bay or black foal. The extension locus (genetics)
1558-400: The version of dun that is most common in domestic horses, where a guanine in dun is replaced with thymine in non-dun1 at chr. 8: 18,227,267. However, that SNP was also found in some dun Estonian native horses , so is not necessary for dun. Non-dun2 has a 1,609 bp deletion and another very near 8 bp deletion. Comparison with TBX3 in other species showed that the non-dun2 deletion
1599-505: The vividness of primitive markings are used to determine whether a horse is a dun. A red dun may also be confused with a perlino , which is genetically a bay horse with two copies of the cream gene, which creates a horse with a cream-colored body but a reddish mane and tail. However, perlinos usually are significantly lighter than red dun and have blue eyes. Grullos are sometimes confused with roans or grays. However, unlike blue roan , dun has no intermingled black and white hairs, and unlike
1640-674: Was a double descendant of Yellow Jacket, so Royal King had three lines to Yellow Jacket, since King also traced once to Yellow Jacket. In his show career, he earned a Performance Register of Merit and a Superior Cutting Horse award from the AQHA. With the National Cutting Horse Association (or NCHA) he earned $ 24,003.19 in cutting competition, entitling him to a NCHA Certificate of Ability, and Bronze and Silver awards. He sired, among others, Miss Nancy Bailey, Major King, Royal Chess, Royal Jazzy, and Sketer Conway. Three of his daughters produced offspring that earned
1681-484: Was similar to, but not exactly the same as, the region where TBX3 was expressed. TBX3 is not thought to directly affect KITLG expression. Both non-dun1 and non-dun2 are found in a region of equine chromosome 8 whose only gene is TBX3 . Non-dun1 has a guanine where dun has an adenine at chromosome 8 base pair 18,226,905, which appears to be sufficient to cause non-dun1 coloration. In addition, non-dun1 has another single nucleotide polymorphism compared to