Capaill Uisce Genetics
Here you will find all the basic information for Uisce horse genetics. Uisce horses will have their genotypes listed on their pages so that they can be used to help produce accurate breedings. If you believe their is an error in your Uisce's genotype please contact the artist about it and politely discuss the problem with them.
Breed Specific Colors/Patterns:
Slate(see Grey and Slate for more info on slate coloring) : A blue tinted grey color. Can range from light to a deep steel grey color. Slate colored Uisce always have blue or purple eyes. This coloring comes into play as a natural camouflage when they’re out at sea, similar to the way shark’s coloring helps to hide them. Most Uisce that display slate coloring will have a lighter underside. The light undersides are a dominant trait, and can be a paler blue, white toned, or tan.
(SLSL, SLsl, slsl)
Spindrift: A faded appaloosa patterning, often looks similar to the way water does when washed up on a beach. Can also cause speckling across a coat and into the blanket marking.
(SDSD, SDsd, sdsd)
Maui Dappling: Maui dappling is a patterning that looks similar to the way sunrays do when they shine through water and create “dapples” on the surface of the water or the ocean floor. This trait can display on any coat color, but is often hidden by leopard or high spot appaloosa patterns.
(MDMD, MDmd, mdmd)
Sea Foam: Sea foam is a white patterning gene that causes irregular patches in leg markings and can cause a lacing pattern across the back. It is so named because it looks similar to the patterning waves make when they wash up on the beach. Sea Foam can display on any base color and can occur with other white pattering genes such as tobiano, overo, Spindrift, and appaloosa.
(SFSF, SFsf, sfsf)
Other Colors:
Capaill Uisce follow basic horse color genetics when it comes to all other colors.
There are 3 main coats, Red(chestnut), Bay, and Black.
Pictured above are two shades of chestnut, two shades of bay, and a black.
(ee)Red or Chestnut is considered recessive in relation to black. All Red based uisce will be homozygous for the red coloring (e/e). Chestnuts have no black pigmentation on their coats and will not display dark points like bays do.Chestnuts can carry the bay agouti gene. Chesnuts can come in many different shades ranging from light to dark and will typically have grey skin.
(AA, Aa) Bay: Bay is the dominant phenotype (the physical expression of the gene) to black. This means that a horse that is E/Aa or E/AA will display visible bay coloring. Bays have a red base, but also display black points on their legs and will have a dark mane and tail. Some bays will have points that are restricted to the joints around their legs (known as wild bay) while more extreme cases may display dark areas along the face and back as well. Bays come in a wide array of shades just as chestnuts do. A bay gene will have no effect on chestnuts, as there is no black pigment in the coat for it to restrict. Bay Uisce will have dark skin.
(a/a)Black is recessive to bay and dominant to chestnut, and will always be homozygous for E/aa.
Grey and Slate:
Pictured above are a grey on black, and a slate
(GG, Gg) Grey: Grey uisce are born dark and will fade as they get older, sometimes turning nearly completely white. To have a grey foal, at least one parent must contribute a dominant grey gene (G). Grey is a dominant trait and will affect all base colors. Non-grey colored uisce carry two recessive genes (g/g)
(SLSL, SLsl, slsl) Slate: Slate coloring affects black based horses and is a dominant trait. As mentioned above, Slate colored Uisce are a blue tinted grey, that can range from light to dark. Most will have lighter undersides, though there have been a few that lack this trait. Slate uisce that do not have light undersides are much harder to find. In order for an Uisce to display slate coloring at least one parent must contribute a dominant gene (SL). Chestnut and Bay horses can be a carrier for Slate, but will not display it. Slate colored uisce can be affected by the dun and cream genes. A dun on slate would simply be known as a “slate dun”. This coloring will be further explained later on (please see dun genes). One copy of a cream gene on slate would be known as “Smoky Slate” and two copies of a cream gene would result in a “Cream Slate”. This will also be explained later on (please see cream genes)
Roan:
Pictured above are a red roan, a blue roan (roan on black) and a slate roan
(RnRn, Rnrn) Roan: Roaning can affect any color coat. Roaning causes a scattering of white hairs across an Uisce’s body, while the head and legs retain their darker coloring. Most roans are born with faint roaning that increases as they get older. The roan gene displays incomplete dominance, meaning that the homozygous and heterozygous forms will display differently. Homozygous roans (RnRn) have more white hairs and a more regular roaning pattern. The Heterozygous roans (Rnrn) will have less white and will typically have a more irregular roaning pattern.
Dilution Genes:
Pictured above are a red dun, a grullo and a slate dun
(DD, Dd) Dun: The Dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black coat color pigments. The gene is associated with "primitive marking", typically a dorsal stripe and leg barring. Other markings include a tail and mane darker than the body coat and usually darker faces and legs. Dun on a red base produces a red dun, dun on black produces Grulla/Grullo, dun on bay produces a classic dun or bay dun, and dun on slate produces a Slate dun.
Pictured above are a buckskin, a cremello, a smoky slate and a slate cream
(CrCr, Crcr) Cream: The cream dilution produces palomino, buckskin, cremello, perlino,smoky black, smoky cream, smoky slate, and slate cream, depending on the number of dilution genes. A single gene on chestnut will produce a palomino, two will produce a cremello. A single gene on a bay base will produce a buckskin, two will produce a perlino. A single cream gene on a black base will produce a smoky black, two will produce a smoky cream. And finally, a single cream on a slate base will produce a smoky slate and two will produce a slate cream. Uisce that carry two copies of a cream gene are known as double dilutes.
Pictured above are a gold champagne, an amber champagne, and a classic champagne
(ChCh, nCh) Champagne: The Champagne dilution gene is dominant and lightens a uisce’s coat color by diluting the pigment. The specific color produced will depend on the base color. Black coats can lighten to Classic Champagne. Chestnut coats to an apricot or gold champagne and may have a flaxen mane and tail. Bay coats dilute to Amber Champagne. Common characteristics of a Champagne uisce include pinkish freckled or mottled skin, a shiny coat that is often slightly darker in the winter, and a hazel, blue, or amber eye color.
Unlike cream dilution, there are no visual differences between an Uisce with one copy or two copies of Champagne. A homozygous Champagne will always pass one copy of the Champagne gene to its foal. Heterozygous uisce have a 50% chance of passing the gene on to its foals.
Pictured above is a silver black
(ZZ, nZ) Silver: Silver Dilution is a dominant trait, so in order to inherit the trait, an uisce requires only one parent to carry and pass on the gene. The silver gene will only display on bay or black based horses, but chestnut horses can carry the silver gene and pass it on to their offspring. The silver gene will lighten the mane and tail of black and bay horses, and will often lighten the base coat. Black horses usually dilute to a chocolate color, while bays turn a lighter brown and will often have lighter lower legs. Most silver dilute horses will also display dappling.
White patterning:
pictured above are a tobiano, a frame overo, and a tovero
(TT, nT) Tobiano: Tobiano is a dominant white patterning gene that causes white markings that cross the topline. Most tobiano uisce will have white on all or most of their legs. Tobiano markings are typically clear and regular markings with rounded edges. Homozygous tobianos (TT) will often have smaller color spots inside of their white patches called cat tracks or ink spots.
(OO, nO) Overo/Frame overo: Overo is a dominant white patterning gene that causes white markings that do not cross the top line. The white markings can extend up from the belly and typically appear on the barrel, neck, legs, and face. Frame overos will typically have white markings on the sides, hip, and neck that are surrounded by a “frame” of color and that will not extend down onto the belly. Overo and Frame Overo horses typically have a bald face marking or a large white patch on the face.Two overo Uisce cannot breed to one another, as two copies of an overo gene has a high chance of causing a lethal white foal that will die shortly after birth. Overo can interact with other white genes and create more irregular patterning (tovero, frame sabino, etc)
(nT, nO) Tovero: Tovero is a white patterning caused by the interaction of the overo and tobiano genes. In the case of a tovero the uisce carries a copy of both the tobi and the overo genes and typically will display Dark pigmentation around the ears, which may expand to cover the forehead and/or eyes, One or both eyes blue or a light color (lavender, green, etc.), Dark pigmentation around the mouth, which may extend up the sides of the face and form spots, Chest spot(s) in varying sizes. These may also extend up the neck.Flank spot(s) ranging in size. These are often accompanied by smaller spots that extend forward across the barrel, and up over the loin.
Spots, varying in size, at the base of the tail.
Pictured above are a sabino and a splash white
(SbSb, nSb) Sabino: Sabino coat pattern usually involves an uisce having two or more white feet or legs. The white color will often extend up the legs of the horse to the belly in fragmented patches. The head commonly has a blaze or white patch that expands the length of the face. One common defining feature of Sabino markings tends to be the 'roaning' around the edges of the white markings, this is separate from the roan gene. Similar to overo, the sabino gene can cause more white (sometimes almost solid) in its homozygous form (SbSb) but unlike overo there is no lethal condition attached to this patterning.
(SplSpl, nSpl) Splash white: Splash white causes white markings that extend from the bottom up. Splash markings will always cover at least the lower legs of an uisce, but can extend all the way up to the top line and result in a nearly all white horse. Many splash white uisce will have blue or green eyes and some may be deaf if their ears are white.
Pictured above are a Leopard appaloosa, a few spots, a blanket, and a snowcap
(LpLp, nLp, P1P1, pP1, P2P2, pP2) Appaloosa: Appaloosa genes can cause several different white patterns, depending on which appaloosa genes are carried. The leopard complex gene, or Lp, by itself causes varnish roan. Varnish roan appaloosas have white hairs mixed into their base coat. Unlike a true roan, however, their white is patchy. It tends to concentrate on the rump and back, and leaves the legs dark. Small dark areas form on the hips and the bones of the face. A snowflake appaloosa, or a horse with a colored body and white spots all over is caused by the Lp gene interacting with grey, and restricting the grey to the spots on the body.
Leopard and fewspot patterns are both the result of PATN1. One varnish allele with PATN1 gives a leopard appaloosa, while two varnish alleles with PATN1 give a fewspot appaloosa. If you have 2 copies of the PATN1 gene the horse will have more spotting. Leopard appaloosas have a white base with colored spots scattered over their entire body,. Few spots will typically have color around their joins, armpits, face, and flanks with a few dots here and there over their body.
Blanket and snowcap appaloosas are both the result of PATN2 with different numbers of varnish alleles. One varnish allele with PATN2 gives a blanket appaloosa, while two varnish alleles with PATN2 give a snowcap appaloosa. If an uisce has two copies of the PATN2 gene the blanket marking will extend further up the body. Blanket appaloosa will typically have a white “blanket” that covers their rump and can extend up the back and/or down the hip. This blanket will have spotting in it that can be minimal or extreme. Snowcap appaloosas have this same “blanket” but without the spots.