Basic horse colors
The first thing that makes mousey individuals stand out from a herd of horses is their unique and completely atypical color. Truly, such animals look fabulous; in many fairy tales, stories and novels, horses with silver-colored fur were praised and described. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella by Charles Perrault, it was silver horses that were described. And to this day no one will argue that mouse horses are unique mysteries of nature. But few people know that in addition to their mesmerizing color, such horses have many skills, abilities, talents and characteristics.
History of the appearance of the suit
It is believed that the mouse color of horses originated from ancient times. The ancestors were the aboriginal breeds that gave rise to this color of animals. Mouse horses have a predominant ash-ash color to their hair. Typically, such individuals are characterized by dark limbs, a tail and a mane of dark shades.
It is difficult to accurately determine the time of appearance and the area of origin of mouse horses, but one thing is known - the ancestors of horses with this color are Tarpana horses, which were once exterminated by people.
Historians and experienced breeders are convinced that if wild horses of the Tarpan breed had not once existed, then mouse horses would never have existed.
Horses of “blue blood”
The mouse color belongs to those animals that are descendants of the above breeds. Some called this color “Blue Horse” because of the ashen-colored hair, which shimmered and shimmered blue in the sun. It is not for nothing that in the fairy tale about Cinderella, horses of this particular color were harnessed to the carriage: the girl had to appear in the best light at the ball. Also, mousey horses were popular in high circles.
Features that are characteristic of “Blue Horses”:
- ashy shade;
- the tail and mane, as well as the limbs, are darker in color than the body of the individual;
- a stripe along the ridge of a dark color.
The combination of the features listed above allows us to conclude that a horse of this color is one of the most valuable among representatives of different colors of horses, which allows you to admire its beauty and grace (photos of the unique color of horses can be found on the Internet).
Description and characteristics
Mouse-colored animals are often called blue horses. More precisely, individuals are dominated by an ashen, more smoky hue. When the sun's rays hit the horse's hair, it shimmers blue. In the light, these noble animals look simply delightful and at the same time mysterious.
Usually, horses with this color have a characteristic black “strap” running along their spine. Many individuals are distinguished by a dark head. Sometimes the “wild” ancestral gene manifests itself in horses, as evidenced by the zebroid coloration on the limbs.
The peculiarity of horses is that their suit remains unchanged even with age. The reason still lies in a “special” gene passed on from our ancestors. If horses lack this gene, their color is more reminiscent of black.
Usually, any underlays die over time, causing the original shade to be lost. But this does not threaten mouse horses. The only thing to expect is darkening or lightening of the shade. Especially in winter, the color of the horses becomes slightly silver with tints of blue. In summer, a slight yellowish tint may appear on the hairs of animals, which only adds more mystery and makes the color unique of its kind.
Unusual mouse horses have become rare in recent years. The reason for this is its wild origin, and in the modern world it is a kind of exotic. Today, the mousy color is found in several breeds of horses, each of which contains “wild genes”.
Modern representatives of the color
Modern mouse horses are rare. The wild gene gradually dissolves in breeds. Therefore, if the gene is not strong, then the horse may “fade” with age and lose its shining gray color and become more dull. Real mice do not lose color. If the gene is weak, then the color of the animal depends on the time of year - more yellow in summer, grayer in winter, with a blue tint.
Varieties of suit
With the onset of puberty, the mouse horse changes only the texture of its hair, but the ashen shade remains the same. Based on characteristics such as color, several varieties of horses have been identified in nature.
Dark
Dark-haired horses have black limbs, mane, tail and “belt”. The remaining parts of the body have a characteristic dark gray color.
Light
These animals have a light gray body. Occasionally, this color may have a slightly cloudy white tint. Horses have a completely or partially dark head. The mane and tail can be either black or white. The “belt” on the ridge is dark gray.
Mukhortaya
Fly horses are rare. This breed is characterized by reddish shades of hair in the eye, mouth, groin and buttocks areas. The combination of red and gray makes the breed not only recognizable, but also attractive. Even with age, this color does not change, which cannot be said about dark and light mouse horses.
Mouse suit: what kind of horse is a mouse horse?
The first thing that makes mousey individuals stand out from a herd of horses is their unique and completely atypical color.
Truly, such animals look fabulous; in many fairy tales, stories and novels, horses with silver-colored fur were praised and described. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella by Charles Perrault, it was silver horses that were described. And to this day no one will argue that mouse horses are unique mysteries of nature.
But few people know that in addition to their mesmerizing color, such horses have many skills, abilities, talents and characteristics.
History and legends of the suit
The mouse color of horses is found, as a rule, in those individuals who are direct or indirect descendants of aboriginal breeds. Its main characteristic is that the hair has a pure ash-ash tint, in turn, the limbs of such individuals have a dark tone of this color, like the tail and mane.
The main thing that all experienced horsemen know is that the color of the coat does not in any way affect the activity and performance of horses.
There are only some subtle patterns, for example, horses with a gray color do not like buckwheat straw, to which they often develop a rash and other signs similar to allergies.
Today, mousehorses can be seen among many horse breeds, but, as a rule, such individuals must possess the “wild gene” that the Tarpan horses possessed. In addition, the color was artificially bred with the participation of the Polish horseman.
If horses do not have such a gene from wild ancestors, then the mouse color is more reminiscent of a black color, without any signs of “wildness”. And, despite the fact that any shades die over time and lose their original color, mousey horses can only slightly change the shade of mouseiness.
In winter, an individual may have silver-colored fur with a tint of blue; by summer, a barely noticeable yellow will predominate in the color.
It is difficult to study the history of the origin of horses of the mouse color, but one thing can be said for sure - the ancestors of such horses were individuals from the Tarpan breed. Modern factory horses rarely have such a unique color; rather, it can be found in local breeds, Napmongolian horses.
What color is a mouse horse?
The first thing that distinguishes a mouse horse is its gray hair, as well as the black tint of its mane and tail. If you look carefully, the head of the individual has a dark shade, compared to the color of the body. Less common are animals of this color with a completely black head.
A horse of a mouse color has the same dark shade and limbs; it is either a black tint or a natural black color. A characteristic feature of such a horse is a black stripe along the ridge, which is called a belt.
Very rarely, mouse horses have zebroid pigment on their legs.
Shades of mousey horses:
- A dark - black tint is visible on the tail and mane, as well as on the limbs of the individual and along the ridge line, the rest of the body has a light gray tone.
- Light - horses have a light gray body, sometimes this tone even gives off a dull white color, and the head is completely or partially dark in color. Moreover, the tail and mane of such individuals can be radically different, either black or completely white, and the belt along the ridge will be of a dark gray tone.
- Mukhorty is the rarest color of individuals, in which certain markings stand out in the area of the eyes, mouth, less often in the groin area, on the hips of the horse, as a rule, with a slightly yellowish or completely reddish tint.
With their variety of colors, mousey horses leave no one indifferent to the spectators or those around them.
Distinctive features of the suit
If any gray horse creates its color by mixing white and black hairs on the body, then mousey horses can boast of single-colored ash or golden hairs.
And regardless of age, such horses do not change their color and shade, demonstrating amazing color stability.
In addition, such horses are classified as one-color horses, but you can notice that their heads are most often several tones darker in color, as are the limbs, tail and mane of the animals.
A special feature that sets mouse horses apart from other colors is a unique black belt that runs along the entire ridge line of the animal. This difference between animals reminds humanity of the wild origin of mousey horses, whose ancestors were the most ancient breeds of tarpans. It is also interesting that in purebred pedigrees and among half-breeds there is no mouse breed.
Modern mouse horses
If earlier the true mousey colors of horses came from the wild ancestors of the tarpans, who had approximately the same chromosome set, today's mousey individuals have different characteristics.
The “wild” gene of the previous mousey horses made their color stable and unchanged, no matter how old the horse was and no matter what weather changes and living conditions affected it, its color always remained stable.
Modern factory mouse horses can change their color according to the time of year, much less often due to age.
First, a stallion is born with the same suit and color; during the onset of puberty, he will change the texture of his hairs, but the ash color will forever remain stable.
According to historians and horse experts, if there were no wild Tarpan horses in the world, the world would never have been able to enjoy the fabulous mousey horses.
Source: https://MoyKon.ru/mast/myishastaya-mast-loshadi
Mouse breeds
Horses with a mousey (gray) color have an unusual appearance, which is why they stand out from the herd. Usually, local Yakut and Mongolian breeds predominate in this color. It was they who predominated in mouse color. This shade is also characteristic of the artificially bred breed – the Polish Konik.
The color of the skin, hair and iris depends on the hereditary trait. There are horses whose mouse color is combined with additional colors:
- Forel suit. Considered a rare color. It appears in stallions after the first molt. It is formed only after three years - inclusions of a red-brown hue are formed on the gray wool. Such marks can be scattered in individual areas or throughout the animal’s body.
- Apple color. This color is characterized by light spots located on the hairline of the body. Often the appearance of spots is evidence that the animal has a hereditary gene that contributes to the transmission of such a pattern to born stallions. Horses often have a white mane and tail. A similar color is inherent in horses of the Oryol breed.
- Silver-damn suit. The silvery tint in stallions does not appear immediately, which is why initially this tint is simply called dun. Individuals have black forelegs and tail. Often there are horses that have spots on the withers that resemble butterflies.
- Ermine suit. The horses have a lead-colored body, and a dark tail and mane.
Polish Konik
Descended from wild ancestors. Small horses. Characterized by strength and endurance. The breed was obtained by crossing ordinary peasant horses and wild Tarpans. A distinctive characteristic of the breed is that the animals are externally similar to their wild ancestor. They have a mousy gray coloration, a dark mane and tail, and a “strap” along the ridge of a dark shade.
Hutsul horse
The most common are bay, gray and mousey individuals. Horses of this breed are dominated by a dark head, tail and mane. There is the same dark “belt” on the back, and the legs are sometimes decorated with a zebroid pattern.
Hutsul horses are of short stature, from 137 to 145 centimeters at the withers. Animals have strong hooves that do not need to be shoed. The ancestors of Hutsul horses are not only wild Tarpans, but also Hungarian and Mongolian horses.
The mouse color is often found in horses. Such horses are distinguished by an attractive color, which has a number of remarkable features. Any mousey horse is considered very beautiful, standing out from the rest of the representatives.
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Unusual gray horses
The color of horses is determined at the genetic level, but mutations occur, and individuals with bizarre coloring are born:
- Dapple gray. Light round spots are scattered against a dark background, the mane is white interspersed with black hair. Scientists have different opinions about the reasons for this phenomenon. Some associate the pattern of the skin with the animal’s nutrition, while others see the reason in the proximity of the blood vessels to the surface of the skin. The pattern is found among Oryol trotters and is inherited, but not always.
- Forolevaya. The gray fur is covered with brownish-red specks. The pattern decorates individual areas or the entire body. The pattern appears after the first moult and is finally established at 4 years.
- Ermine. The lead body is blue, the mane and tail are almost black.
- Silver-damask. This is a rare species; the coat of the body is gray-yellow, shining with a silvery color. The tail and forelimbs are black, with a dark butterfly-shaped mark on the withers.
Patterns on the coat do not affect health, character, or working qualities; the animals retain properties typical of the breed.
Photo gallery
Photo 1. Mouse-colored horse
Photo 2. Light-mousy horses
Photo 3. Mouse horse in the field
