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# Chestnut mushroom
- URL: https://equinecolors.com/chestnut-mushroom/
- Published: 2026-02-05T11:37:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-30T11:01:41.000Z
- Description: Chestnut mushroom is the result of a chestnut base coat diluted by mushroom.
- Author: Hannelore Roodhooft
- Tags: Colors, Modifiers, #Import 2026-08-12 09:42

## Appearance

| Foals | ![Chestnut mushroom foal](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2026/01/chestnutmushroomfoal.png) | Foals have a **sepia-toned** or **pale beige** coat;**mane and tail** are typically **lighter**. They maydarken with age. |
| ----- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| [**Chestnut**](https://equinecolors.com/chestnut/) mushroom horses have adistinctive **sepia-toned** color, often with a **lighter mane and tail**. | ![Chestnut mushroom](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2026/01/chestnutmushroom-1.png) | Adults |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ |

## Genetics

Chestnut mushroom is the result of a **chestnut base** diluted by **two copies of mushroom**. The mushroom (mu) dilution is an allele of the [**MFSD12**](https://equinecolors.com/mfsd12-gene/) gene.

![CTA Image](https://equinecolors.com/content/images/2025/12/Equinecolors_Icon_DNA1-17.png) 

****Chestnut mushroom:**  
Chestnut (e/e) + mu/mu

Horses with only one copy of mushroom are called mushroom carriers. They might not show a visible difference, but they can pass the [allele](https://equinecolors.com/dictionary/#:~:text=the%20DNA%20sequence-,Alleles,-Different%20versions%20of) on to their foals!

  
**Read more:**  
[Chestnut](https://equinecolors.com/base-colors-chestnut/) | [Bay mushroom](https://equinecolors.com/bay-mushroom/)

[Back to Mushroom](https://equinecolors.com/mushroom/)

## Articles

1. Tanaka, J., Leeb, T., Rushton, J., Famula, T.R., Mack, M., Jagannathan, V., Flury, C., Bachmann, I., Eberth, J., McDonnell, S.M., Penedo, M.C.T., Bellone, R.R.; **Frameshift Variant in MFSD12 Explains the Mushroom Coat Color Dilution in Shetland Ponies**; Genes *(*2019); Doi: [10.3390/genes10100826](http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes10100826?ref=equinecolors.com)

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