Читать книгу Horse Economics - Vera Kurskaya - Страница 34

Grullo (sometimes called grulla) is a color resulting from a combination of the Dun gene with the black base (Photo 34). These horses have ashy, grayish body color, sometimes with a distinctive bluish tone. All the body hairs have the same color—a major distinction from the gray and the black roan colors (see p. 44). The mane and tail are black, and the head is dark or almost black because of either cobwebbing or a mask, which when present together are superimposed on each other. The lower part of the legs is black, or sometimes dark ashy with a tone close to the body color, just darker. Primitive markings are black. The skin and hooves are pigmented, the eyes are hazel or (rarely) light hazel.

The grullo color can be subdivided based on its shades. Dark grullos are almost black, sometimes with an inconspicuous brownish tinge on the body, while the mane, tail, head, and lower parts of legs are black. Primitive markings are difficult to observe against such a dark background, and the horse can be mistaken for black or faded black (see p. 11). This color shade is very rare. Light grullos are characterized by a pale ashy color to the body hair and black or dark ashy guard hair (Photos 35 & 36). The eyes can be dark-blue with a blue ring around the iris, especially at a very young age, and from a distance they may appear hazel. Some breeders of Quarter Horses consider this trait an indication that the horse is carrying the Cream Dilution gene.

Sometimes the body hair can have a light yellowish tone, which according to some Polish scientists studying the Konik breed, becomes stronger in winter (2004). It is true that the overall color can change its tone depending on the season, and it tends to be most noticeable in horses that live outdoors. Mares are usually lighter than stallions. Interestingly, frosting is more often observed in the mane and tail of horses with this light shade of grullo.

Grullo foals are born ashy colored. Light grullos are born yellowish or cream, and very seldomly, light reddish.

Grullo color is common in Polish Konik Horses (up to 95 percent of the breed), Quarter Horses, Vyatka, Heck, and Bashkir Horses. Occasionally it occurs in Norwegian Fjords. Light grullo color is common in Sorraia Horses, Connemara Ponies, and Yakutian Horses.