Archived Posts

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2002
by Nicole Kinsey


--- xxx wrote:
> genetic "seal brown"( black liver chestnut),

Was he seal brown or liver chestnut? The two are quite different. :)

"Seal brown" in horses almost always refers to a black horse with a modifier that lightens the points -- this modifier is either the pangare (or mealy) gene or it is a third option at the agouti locus. Studies are being done in France to determine this -- they're actually working on a test for agouti, but this is an overlapping topic.

Liver chestnut is a chestnut horse that is either a dark shade of chestnut or has it's coat darkened by the smutty modifier. "Black liver" is a term for it's darkest form where the smutty is very pronounced.

So seal brown and black liver chestnut are very different; one is a black base with modification to make it lighter, the other is a chestnut base with modification to make it darker. :)

Much of the confusion around the words "brown" & "liver" is due to the fact that other species (like dogs & cats) have a third option at the extension locus: brown (or liver). This brown/liver in dogs & cats creates an all-over brown or liver colored animal. Chocolate Labrador Retrievers are a perfect example; to see it in cats, do a search for "Havana Brown Cat." Horses do not have this gene, and the term "brown" has been applied to a very different color (pangare black) and the term "liver" has been applied to smutty chestnuts. :)

~Nicole

PS: I love love love liver chestnut. I also adore brown in cats (I've got one; it's rare and it's an absolutely glorious color.