[Merlin's Heir]

Breeding Thread -- Archives -- Coloration Information -- Q&A's -- Artist Search

Sol (pronounced "soul") Mustangs, or Sols, are a new type of mustang recently discovered in the wilds of Wyoming. They are named for the first of their kind discovered, a stallion called Sol (pictured above). These mustangs are resilient and hardy, both in body and in spirit, and refuse to be broken by nature or by man. Winning them over typically requires a great deal of time, patience, and gentle firmness, a kind hand but not one that puts up with nonsense, or the horse's respect will never be won. Once a Sol's respect has been won, they are loyal and cooperative, though their wild spirits never fade away.

What sets these beauties apart most strikingly from other horses is more visible than the spirit, however. While Sol mustangs can come in all the usual colors, dilutions, and patterns, this strain of mustangs has developed a two strange genetic anomalies known as the "Sol mutation" and the "Lun mutation." The Sol mutation is named, again, for the first mustang, while the Lun mutation (pronounced like "loon") was given a name befitting its complimentary effects to the first mutation. Both mutations affect already-existing color genes. They "latch" onto a set of alleles and alter the way it affects the horse's appearance. These effects are described in the post below.

- Follow all of CS' rules
- Respect the staff, community, and rules
- No whining, complaining, nagging, harassing, or otherwise being a nuisance
- Do not steal or claim this idea/breed as your own
- Do not take a Sol that isn't yours
- Do not create your own Sol (unless you are an artist)
- Do not do your own Sol breeding (unless you are an artist)
- Do not ask for a custom Sol
- Do not request line edits
- Do not ask to be added to any official Sol lines to color in unless you are an artist
- Do not take Sols offsite (except for the sake of artwork, i.e. DA, or character storage; and link to here or your Sol's page)
- Do not ask for a position as artist; if I am looking for artists, there will be an artist comp linked at the top of this post
- Do not mini-mod; if there is a problem, inform me (or a site mod if appropriate) and it will be dealt with
- You can only adopt one (1) Sol per day
- You can have as many Sols as you can handle
- I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason, and to confiscate anyone's Sols if I see reason to
- Sols have 10 breeding slots; you are responsible for keeping track of yours'
- Sols come with color, genes, height, and gender predetermined
- Artists can predetermine age or leave it up to owner
- Artists can predetermine minimal personality (eg. feisty, shy) for adoption method purposes or leave it all up to owner

Owner: Merlin's Heir
Archivist: Merlin's Heir
Artists
Merlin's Heir
RangerTheCowPony

- Sols can be anywhere from 14 to 16.2 hands
- Sols can have all natural horse colors, patterns, and markings, plus the breed-specific markings and mutations
- Sols can only breed naturally (stallionXmare)
- Sols have 10 breeding slots each, whether stallion or mare
- Sols with mutations account for somewhere between 30-50% of the wild population
- Sols are similar to normal mustangs in physical characteristics, though Sols are taller on average
- Sols can have any eye color

The form below is for artists when posting a new Sol, either a first-gen or a breeding (for Sire/Dam sections, leave "Foundation" if a first-gen, and link to the sire and dam by their show names if a breeding).

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[b]Owner:[/b]
[b]Show Name:[/b]
[b]Barn Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Height:[/b]
[b]Color:[/b]
[b]Genetics:[/b]
[b]Eye Color:[/b]
[b]Sire:[/b] Foundation
[b]Dam:[/b] Foundation

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[url=https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=123&t=4396511][img]https://images2.imgbox.com/01/d5/wEL4ahWK_o.png[/img][/url]

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[URL=https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=123&t=4396511][img]https://images2.imgbox.com/b2/5e/QTh21Gvx_o.png[/img][/url]

lineart ref is a photo belonging to me
font source

[Merlin's Heir]

The distinguishing characteristic of the Sol mustangs are the two mutations the breed has developed. While Sol mustangs can come in all the usual colors, dilutions, and patterns, two strange genetic anomalies have also been discovered, known as the Sol mutation and the Lun mutation. The Sol mutation is named, again, for the first mustang, while the Lun mutation (pronounced like "loon") was given a name befitting its complimentary effects to the first mutation. Both mutations affect already-existing color genes. They "latch" onto a set of alleles and alter the way it affects the horse's appearance. These effects are described below.




The Sol mutation acts in two different ways, depending on whether the allele set is for a color/dilution gene (agouti, champagne, dun, etc.) or a pattern (tobiano, appaloosa, roan, etc.). When the Sol mutation affects a color/dilution, that color/dilution will only appear in certain areas. For instance, a bay dun with the Sol mutation on the agouti (bay) gene would appear as a black dun with patches (or some other such pattern) of bay dun. All unaffected colors/dilutions appear across the entire horse as usual.
When the Sol mutation affects a pattern, it does not limit its appearance only in place but also in opacity. For instance, a chestnut tobiano with the Sol mutation on the tobiano would appear as a chestnut horse with the tobiano pattern, but this pattern would be reduced in opacity (i.e. less white) in places. It could be the entire pattern (basically just taking the overo layer and reducing the whole thing's opacity), or just parts of it. This allows for patterns within patterns, in a manner of speaking, and, like with colors/dilutions, the opacity-altered portions can be in any sort of pattern, natural or fantastical. On a pattern that is naturally darker than the base coat, such as sooty, it likewise changes its opacity, though in this case the pattern gets closer to the base color by getting lighter, not darker.




The Lun mutation works similarly to the Sol mutation, except that its effects are essentially inverse versions of the Sol mutations' effects. When the Lun mutation affects a color/dilution, it will not appear in certain areas. While this sounds as if it's merely another way of describing the Sol mutation's effect, it is a distinct mutation, and though there have been cases where the two look alike, they are usually quite distinct, just as an tobiano would appear distinct from an inverse tobiano.
When the Lun mutation affects a pattern, the effect is notably different from the Sol mutation's, for the Lun mutation takes the pattern and makes it darker than the base coat. For instance, a chestnut blanket appaloosa with the Lun mutation on the blanket would have a blanket darker than the original chestnut coat, anywhere from slightly more brown to almost black. Like the Sol mutation, the Lun mutation can affect the entirety of the pattern, making it all darker, or just portions of it (in any pattern, natural or fantastical). On a pattern that is naturally darker than the base coat, such as sooty, it inverts it as well, making it lighter than the base coat.




The difference between the Sol and Lun mutations when affecting a color/dilution can be difficult to tell apart. A general rule of thumb is that a gene affected by the Sol mutation will appear less on the horse's coat, while a gene affected by the Lun mutation will appear more. For example, take this stallion with a Sol mutation on the cream gene. The cream dilution's effect is restricted heavily, only appearing in the two palomino markings on the face and chest/shoulders/legs. Whereas on this mare with a Lun mutation on the dun gene, the dun appears much more prevalently on her coat.
Another way of thinking about it is as follows: with the Sol mutation, the "primary color" of the horse is without the affected gene and the portions of the coat with the affected gene are sort of "added on top" of the "primary color." With the Lun mutation, the affected gene is part of the primary coat, and the portions of the coat unaffected by the gene are the ones "added on top." Essentially, the gene Sol affects is not included in the primary coat, whereas the gene Lun affects is included in the primary coat. All unaffected genes are part of both the horse's primary and "secondary" colors.
There isn't any universal rule or measure that defines the exact difference in appearance between the two, so there is some overlap where it can be difficult to tell just by looking at the horse which mutation it has. But generally a gene affected by the Sol mutation will appear on less than 50% of the horse's coat, while a gene affected by the Lun mutation will appear 50% or more on the horse's coat. When in doubt, however, just check the genetics.
Here is a visual example of the differences between Sol and Lun mutations on the same genes.

- The "pattern" created by a Sol/Lun mutation can be have nearly any appearance, from resembling an already-existing horse pattern (such as tobiano) to the almost fantastical (such as the original Sol's sun-like pattern on his chest and eye).
- When affecting a chestnut horse, neither mutation has any known effect on that base gene (ee), but it can carry it.
- When affecting the white gene, the mutations can affect it either as a color/dilution or as a pattern: it can affect it in location, as a color/dilution, in any natural or fantastical patterns; or it can alter it in opacity (Sol; either in entirety or portions) or invert it and alter its opacity (Lun; also either in entirety or in portions).
- When affecting the agouti or cream markers, it must be specified which allele the mutation is affecting, because it will affect that one only. For instance, a Sol with the genetics Ee/AtA would usually be a bay. But if you put Sol specifically on the A (bay) allele, you would have a seal brown with some bay showing (genetics would be: Ee/AtS*A). If the Sol were on the At (seal brown) allele, you'd have a bay with some seal brown (Ee/AS*At). Lun works the same way (but affects it as Lun, so in the first instance bay would be the base, and in the second, seal brown).
- A horse has only ever been known to have one Sol or Lun mutation at a time (i.e. a Sol mutation on a black dun will affect either the black or the dun, but not both).
- However, a horse can have both a Sol and a Lun mutation (but again, not more than one of each).
- Somewhere from 35-50% of wild Sol mustang have Sol/Lun mutations. Selective breeding of domesticated Sols will likely make them more prevalent.
- Sol/Lun mutations are hereditary; there is a 42% of passing down. (that's about halfway between 35-50, and apparently it's the answer to life, the universe, and everything *shrug*)
- When a Sol/Lun mutation passes down, it is not restricted to affecting the same gene it did on the parent. The mutations exist separately from the genes, and when a mutation passes down it has an equal chance of affecting any gene set of the foal.
- Sol/Lun mutations are genetically transcribed as S*gene or L*gene. Ex: ee/S*Dd (red Sol-dun), EE/L*nO (black Lun-overo).
- Though Sol/Lun mutations can make a Sol mustang appear chimeric, these mutations are not at all the same thing as the chimera phenomenon. A chimeric Sol has yet to be discovered.
- Sol/Lun mutations do not affect normal face/leg markings, only color/dilution and pattern genes.
- When affecting an appaloosa gene, regardless of whether the mutation affects the base appaloosa gene (Lp) or a specific appaloosa pattern gene (eg. Patn1), if there is one, the effect is the same.

There are two other genetic attributes that set Sols apart from other horses, and those are two new markings (technically patterns, but because of the mutations we will call them markings). These are "freckles" and "point stripes." Both affect primarily the face and lower legs, though more extensive variations have been seen. Freckles (Fr) is spotting (of various small-sized spots) on the muzzle, ears, leg joints, and are the eyes. It can range from a few spots in each location to covering most of the face and lower legs (even reaching up the upper legs a little). Point stripes (Ps) is striping (of various styles - brindle, zebra, etc.) on the head/upper neck and legs. It can range from a few thin, sparse stripes on the muzzle and lower legs to extending nearly halfway down the neck and into the upper legs. Both freckles and point stripes can occur as lighter or darker than the base coat (anywhere from white to black, but in the same color range as the base coat). Neither seem to be affected by Sol/Lun mutations, possibly because they can already come in lighter or darker varieties.
No other unique markings are known of yet, but with growing interest and attention to the breed, who knows what future discoveries may await?




Though Sol mustangs do come in any color or pattern natural to horses, alongside the two mutations and new markings, different colors and patterns have different rarities, or frequencies of occurring. While not exact, a general idea of the rarities is given below.
Note that the Sol and Lun mutations are not listed, since they are not themselves genes and their rarity (25% among wild Sols; 25% chance of passing down) has already been given.
Also, Sol mustangs do not have the "Kit" thing going on - so roan, sabino, white, and tobiano genes can all be present in the same horse. Cream and pearl, however, are linked, so you can have (CrPrl), but not (nCr/PrlPrl), etc.




Chestnut (e)
Flaxen (F)
Black (E)
Agouti (At, A, A+)
Tobiano (T)
Freckles (Fr)




Dun (D)
Overo (O)
Splash (Sp)
Grey (G)
Roan (Rn)
Silver (Z)
Pangare (Pn)




Cream (Cr)
Champagne (Ch)
White (W)
Sabino (Sb)
Point Stripes (Ps)
Varnish Appaloosa (Lp)
Blanket Appaloosa (Lp + Patn2)
Snowcap Appaloosa (LpLp + Patn2)




Pearl (Prl)
Rabicano (Rb)
Sooty (St)
Leopard Appaloosa (Lp + Patn1)
Fewspot Appaloosa (LpLp + Patn1)




?

[Merlin's Heir]

Here you can find Q&A's on various subjects related to Sol Mustangs! Some will be basic question and answers, others, such as the one on mutations, will be longer quoted conversations.

Even with the references posted, which are great, I'm still confused on what exactly I'm looking at.
Let's go with the Bay Lun Dun first;

Is the darker color the base, and the lighter portion the Lun, or is it the opposite?
I have read the marking information, but I'm still confused on how it alters the base.

For Sol, I believe I understand that better, as it is a smaller portion that is altered and represented very clearly.
His base the the golden Palomino, and the Sun/Star markings are what has been changed by Sol to make it lighter. Correct?

For the Bay Lun-Dun: I see how her design plus the explanation are confusing. So, the idea is, she's a bay dun. But there are areas where the dun stops affecting the coat. For an "artistic process" analogy, I gave her a dun coat, and then erased bits of it (and put bay without dun underneath - though it could be put above; that might make the "base coat" idea less confusing). So her base/primary color is bay dun.

For Sol: yes, a smaller, often more clearly-marked portion is altered. His base (the title was probably misleading; I need to figure out exactly how to do it when the name of the color + dilution is one word like palomino; if I split up the gene terms technically he's a chestnut Sol-cream, I guess) anyway, his base is the chestnut. And, yep, the sun/star markings (which are palomino, the effects of the cream gene) are caused by the Sol mutation. So, artistic process analogy for him: I gave him a chestnut coat, and then added areas/markings with the Sol-affected gene (cream) in palomino on top.

Dun is a modifier, which is where the confusion is coming from I guess. Lun is changing the base, but not any markings, and I’m just unclear as to how to go about other modifiers. If I’m measuring things up in my head right (which is a confusing thing, too, lol. I totally get you!) then it would show the coat beneath all bases and modifiers? If you had a black Lun, how would that express, since Black is the base? I’m overthinking this now, I bet. XD

For example, a Grullo would show the black base with Lun.
A chestnut wouldn’t show anything, because it carries no extension regardless of Agouti being present. Genetics would show as a carrier for Lun, and if passed to carrier offspring that can express, their coat would.

Seal Brown gets a bit confusing, as it’s inherently a black base but many people use the misnomer of Seal Bay since the alleles share the agouti marker. (Like cream and pearl do.) Would it be a black colored Lun, or would Seals show a darker brown/red?

Basically, both mutations kinda but not really result in two sets of genes, like in a chimeric horse. There's really only one set of genes, of course. But the mutation makes it look as if you've got two: one with the affected gene and one without (so, in the bay Lun-dun, the two sets would be a bay dun - Ee/AA/Dd - and a bay - Ee/AA). Which mutation it is just affects which set is the "primary" or "dominant" one appearance-wise, which one appears more (though with Lun it's a smidge tricky because it tends to get closer to an even 50%-50% whereas Sol tends to have a bigger gap, like 80%-20%).

A black Lun (L*Ee or L*EE) would have a black "base/primary" coat with chestnut being the "secondary" coat.

A grullo with the Lun on dun (Ee/L*Dd) would appear as a grullo (base/primary) with black (secondary). (I think that's the same as what you said? just trying saying it back in my own words to make sure I understand)
On the other hand, a grullo with Lun on black (L*Ee/Dd) would appear as a grullo (base/primary) with red dun as secondary.
Essentially, the gene Lun affects is included in the base/primary coat. All unaffected genes are part of both.

On the other hand, a grullo with Sol on dun (Ee/S*Dd) would appear as a black (base/primary) with grullo (secondary); a grullo with Sol on black (S*Ee/Dd) would appear as red dun (base/primary) with grullo (secondary).
The gene Sol affects is not included in the base/primary coat. All unaffected genes are part of both.

A gene that wouldn't show up at all (such as agouti on a chestnut, ee/Aa) would make no visual difference; that's right. (: And a mutation on chestnut itself (ee) wouldn't appear any different either, because without the E there is no black to be a counterpart to it.

Seal brown would work the same way as usual; with Lun on that gene (Ee/L*Ata) seal brown would be the base (so, a slightly browner/redder black, etc.) with black as secondary. Depending on the shade of seal brown, it just might be hard to tell what's where.

I guess my next question is this;
Do Sol or Lun affect other genes besides Agouti or Extension as it does with the base coats?
I’m pretty sure the answer is yes, but I don’t think we’ve definitively spoken of it aside from the Black to Chestnut.

What I’m wondering is whether or not they would alter something like a Paint Marking as completely as they do the bases? Say, a Leopard Appaloosa; would the entire marking (a full body marking) be an offwhite-ish or cream, or would it just be portions like Lun splashes along the body in your reference?

Sol and Lun can affect pretty much any gene, yeah. You could have a strawberry roan Sol-grey that only greys in certain areas, or a gold Lun-champagne dun (ee/L*nCh/Dd) who's red dun in several flame-like portions.

On patterns... I'm glad you're making me think more about this; I hadn't done that enough (I came up with these ideas while trying to fall asleep, so no wonder they're all so jumbled, lol). Patterns could go just about any way, I think, just to make it more fun. I hadn't really thought about altering it only in portions, but I really like that interpretation of it. That would allow for a greater range of possibilities - one could have the whole thing be any shade between white/black (for Sol/Lun respectively) and the base, or portions of it white and others darker. You could get some really fun and unique patterns that way.

[acronymm]

mark!

[faentofheart]

Mark!

[rebelappy]

marking ! :0

[Merlin's Heir]

An artist search has been set up! If you'd like to help me bring these lovelies to CS, please consider entering. (:

[HowlingHooves]

mark c:

[Nia The Elf]

Mark ^_^

[Merlin's Heir]

Okie dokie, we're officially open and the first Sol is up!