Sepia toned mushroom is a relatively newly discovered dilution gene and one with a surprising twist. Animals that carry the dilution are rare and it’s a difficult one to reliably breed for.
Updated Colors
We’ve been giving our colors section a major overhaul, to make the information more accurate and provide better images. Equine color genetics are incredibly complex and some of it still remains a mystery, even for geneticists. We think that is part of the fun.
Tricky Mushroom
The resemblance to silver dapple is perhaps what took this dilution so long to be ‘officially’ discovered. However a mushroom coat doesn’t have the richness of a silver animal, or the dapples. Their sepia tones are a bit more muted and have less red in them. Which is interesting because this coloration only affects red pigments. That’s right, it’s only found on a chestnut base. Mushroom affects red pigments by diluting coat hair to mouse grey, while mane and tail go light to almost flaxen. It doesn’t seem to affect black pigment (although black animals can carry and pass it on).
The Range
The range is, we don’t really know. We know that all base colors can carry the genetics and that it looks pretty good on a chestnut. Black bases would not be affected, nor would the points on a bay or brown animal. While it may have a slight effect on bay or brown coats, it seems minimal enough not to be easily visually identified.
Disclaimer
We are not at all certain about the animals pictured. Are any of them mushroom? There are very few examples to compare them against. The Shetland at the top is the closest we could find to the ‘correct’ color and they are proven carriers of the dilution.
Mushroom Breeds
Only a few breeds seem to carry mushroom, Shetland Ponies are the main breed known for this color. Miniature Horses carry it at low frequency (perhaps from Shetland blood?) and it’s possible that American Quarter horses, Icelandic horses and Haflingers also carry it.
Colorful World
The world of horse colors is truly a spectacular one and we will continue to share updated color (and breed) pages, with all of their spectacular images.