Black dun

Appearance

Foals		Black dun foals have a mousy grey coat color and primitive markings. Foals that also have grey often have intense primitive markings.

Foals

Black dun foals have a mousy grey

coat color and primitive markings.

Foals that also have grey often have

intense primitive markings.

Dun on a black base dilutes the coat to a blueish grey color, sometimes with beige tones. The color can vary from light to darker. It also causes primitive markings. Points, primitive markings, and (usually) the head are black.		Adults

Dun on a black base dilutes the coat to a

blueish grey color, sometimes with beige

tones. The color can vary from light to darker.

It also causes primitive markings. Points,

primitive markings, and (usually) the head are

black.

Adults

Mimics

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The dun dorsal stripe goes through the tail, while nd1 dorsal stripes don’t.
Dun is more likely to cause striping at the back of the ears than nd1.
Foals with dun tend to have a darker lower face mask, while nd1 foals have a darker forehead.

Genetics

Black dun is the result of a black base diluted by one of two copies of dun. The dun (D) dilution is an allele of the TBX3 gene.

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Black dun:
Black (E/_ a/a) + D/_

Dun is dominant, so horses could carry nd1 or nd2 (located on the same gene) without it being noticeable, but still pass it on. D/nd1 horses possibly tend to be lighter than D/nd2 horses.

Read more:
Black | Chestnut dun | Bay dun

Back to Dun

Articles

An, T.; Dugarjaviin, M.; Han, H. Expression and Analysis of TBX3 Gene in the Skin from Three Locations on Dun Mongolian Bider Horse; Genes (2024); dOI: 0.3390/genes15121589
Cieslak J, Brooks SA, Wodas L, Mantaj W, Borowska A, Sliwowska JH, Ziarniak K, Mackowski M.; Genetic Background of the Polish Primitive Horse (Konik) Coat Color Variation-New Insight into Dun Dilution Phenotypic Effect; Journal of Heredity Hered. (2021); Doi: 10.1093/jhered/esab034
Imsland, F., McGowan, K., Rubin, C. J., Henegar, C., Sundstrom, E., Berglund, J., Schwochow, D., Gustafson, U., Imsland, P., Lindblad-Toh, K., Lindgren, G., Mikko, S., Millon, L., Wade, C., Schubert, M., Orlando, L., Penedo, M. C., Barsh, G. S., & Andersson, L.; Regulatory mutations in TBX3 disrupt asymmetric hair pigmentation that underlies Dun camouflage color in horses; Nature Genetics (2015); Doi: 10.1038/ng.3475
Masuda M. Tsunoda J., Nomura H., Kimura N., Altangerel G., Namkhai B., Dolj U., Yokohama Y.; New Primitive Marking (Bider) in Mongolian Native Horse and Equus przewalskii; Journal of Equine Science (2007); Doi: 10.1294/jes.18.145