Bay (horse) facts for kids

A bay horse is a horse with a reddish-brown body and black points. "Points" means the horse's lower legs, mane, and tail. This color is one of the most common horse coat colors found around the world.

What Makes a Horse Bay?

Bay horses get their unique color from two main genes: the agouti gene and the extension gene. The agouti gene controls where black pigment appears on the horse's body. For a bay horse, this gene makes sure the black color is only on the points. The extension gene determines if the horse can produce black pigment at all. Bay horses have both genes working together to create their distinctive look.

How to Spot a Bay Horse

It's usually easy to tell if a horse is bay. Look for these key features:

• Body Color: The body can be any shade of reddish-brown. This can range from a light, almost tan color (sometimes called "light bay" or "wild bay") to a very dark, rich brown that looks almost black (often called "dark bay" or "black bay").
• Black Points: The legs, from the knees and hocks down to the hooves, are black. The mane (the hair on the neck) and the tail are also black.
• No Black on Body: Unlike a black horse, a bay horse will always have some reddish-brown on its main body, even if it's very dark.

Different Shades of Bay

Bay isn't just one color; it comes in many shades!

• Light Bay: These horses have a pale, reddish-tan body. Their black points are still very clear.
• Blood Bay: This is a classic, bright red-brown color, often described as a "true" bay.
• Dark Bay / Black Bay: The body color is a very deep, rich brown, sometimes so dark it's hard to tell from a black horse without looking closely at the muzzle or flanks, where the reddish tint might be more visible.
• Wild Bay: These horses have black on their lower legs, but it doesn't extend as high up as on a typical bay. They might have more reddish-brown on their knees and hocks.

Bay Foals

When bay foals (baby horses) are born, they might look a bit different from adult bay horses. Some bay foals have pale hairs on their legs, mane, and tail. These pale hairs usually disappear when the foal sheds its soft "foal coat" and grows its adult hair.

Dorsal Stripes

Some bay horses might have a faint stripe running down their back, called a dorsal stripe. This stripe is usually a slightly darker shade of their body color. It's often caused by a specific gene called "non-dun 1," which is related to the dun coat color but doesn't make the horse a true dun.

Images for kids

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  The horses of the New South Wales Mounted Police show some of the typical variations in the bay color.

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  A partially body-clipped horse, showing the two-toned red hair shaft.

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  This foal was born bay but is starting to turn gray

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  Bay foals, like this one, sometimes have pale hairs on their legs and in their mane and tail until they shed their foal coats

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  Some bay horses have a faint dorsal stripe, which may be caused by the non-dun 1 allele.

See also

In Spanish: Caballo castaño para niños