Most riders have come across a bay horse or two in their journey. This standard coat color appears as a brown hue with black legs, mane, tail, and skin. Believe it or not, there's actually a bit more to this beautiful color than you might think! Get ready to be amazed by these fun facts.

All About Bay Horses

  1. To be considered bay, the horse must have a black base color and dominant agouti gene. The agouti gene monitors the distribution of black pigment.
  2. This color actually has a lot of variance in shade. Some horses are copper red, while others are dark mahogany tones. They all must have black points though.
  3. Some coat colors like buckskin, perlino, silver bays, and amber champagne have a bay template with an additional gene.
  4. Many breeds, such as the Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian and Holsteiner, come in this color.
  5. These horses can have white markings on their legs and face. Pintos can also be considered bay with a white spotting gene.

What are your thoughts on this color? There may be a lot of them in the world, but that doesn't make bays any less gorgeous!

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