Leopard Patterns - Information and open discussion

[Silverine]

So something more like this on the stomach?



And for 29 I was being a bit more abstract in its placement. For me it extends to down the hind leg on single-Lps and up towards the hip on snowcaps:




So I put it in a centralized area where the patch tends to extend from rather than illustrating the whole patch. It was just easier. XD

So it's linked to certain bases in the AC, then? Meaning it can be passed on to differently-colored horses but can only be sourced from that certain color?

[BlackOak2]

Yes, yes and yes.
I get that abstraction of the flank. Much more like a line that extends rather than an area. I'm good with that. We really don't know where the patches actually end anyway. It is funny how we get exact patterning in certain areas (like that colored spot on the lower mane) and more generalized patterning (like the flank). The stomach I think is patterned in three spots... that explains a little better some of the expressions we have (or rather I have).

And yes, "So it's linked to certain bases in the AC, then? Meaning it can be passed on to differently-colored horses but can only be sourced from that certain color?"
Just So!
I could be wrong, of course, but that would certainly explain why none of us have found it so far (save for Commonality), and why I haven't been able to locate it or produce it from my herd yet again. Obviously, my herd carries the genes to produce it, but not the expression extension to show it. His grandsire seemed to only pass it on once and his sire only once again. Luck of the draw.

I like this new belgian black I acquired... I think she'll prove something at least:


She's already gave me a very nice looking colt:


I am hoping she's double black... perhaps that'll increase the chance of having/passing on that agouti-black-linked extension gene.

Time will tell... something... hopefully.

[Silverine]

Time will tell... something... hopefully.

As long as we keep working on it.

I'm thinking when I start up an AC project again I may concentrate on picking up all one color from the AC. You seem to have black Belgians covered so I may go for black horses of other breeds, or something similar.

[BlackOak2]

Time will tell... something... hopefully.

As long as we keep working on it.

I'm thinking when I start up an AC project again I may concentrate on picking up all one color from the AC. You seem to have black Belgians covered so I may go for black horses of other breeds, or something similar.

How sneaky can our admins be in this! If I would do it... would they?
I like the thought however. I don't know about what other color-linked base genes there may be. It didn't even occur to me until I had what... perhaps my twentieth failure foal from the same, similar and parallel bloodlined horses for that extension gene, that it may be linked to a certain color.
I do know that when I started my leopard complex tarpan project that I wasn't picking based on color, I was picking AC stock based on conformation points (tall ears, streamlined cheek... so on). So I ended up having all sorts of colors entered into my own stock. I did try my best to stay away from straight dilutions. I do have a couple cream genes floating right now from I think it was a buckskin or palomino AC shetland, but that should be it. That is one I never touched; the AC NAB dilutes didn't make it into my herd at all... that includes tiger eye (with the exception of hidden, which by definition is self explanatory), but I have never had tiger pop up at all.

[Silverine]

So I found a black AC Arabian stallion for sale (the only black AC Arabian I could find anywhere) and decided to give him a shot. Remember that little white area on the leg we were just talking about? Well look at this interesting little girl that he gave me:




She has a lot of spots in that area, but that seems to be all they are - spots:


I'll keep an eye on her as she varnishes to be sure.

He's also produced several foals with lots of white retention which I have kept for my program to see how they turn out.

[BlackOak2]

So I found an AC Arabian stallion for sale (the only black AC Arabian I could find anywhere) and decided to give him a shot. Remember that little white area on the leg we were just talking about? Well look at this interesting little girl that he gave me:




He's also produced several foals with lots of white retention which I have kept for my program to see how they turn out.

Good retention.
If I remember it, AC arabians did well retaining for you before... and also for me. It could be they have the largest collection of 'starter' leopard complex genes.

Those black AC's are a little rare! That's for sure.

... Thinking back... I did kind-of recently add in new arabian stock... That could be where that half and half came from in my stock now (we were just talking about it, the stomach cut-up). And now I see you've just thrown one that mirrors a lot of the stock I've been recently seeing on my own agouti foals.

[Silverine]

Good retention.

She actually has some of the least retention of the foals I've gotten from this boy. But the only other one I kept has less than her, simply because the ones with more retention were colts and I didn't want to bother with them. They had white on the shoulders and front legs as well.

And yeah, the Arabian was fairly decent. But I only used one so it wasn't a very representative sample.

[BlackOak2]

Good retention.

She actually has some of the least retention of the foals I've gotten from this boy. But the only other one I kept has less than her, simply because the ones with more retention were colts and I didn't want to bother with them. They had white on the shoulders and front legs as well.

And yeah, the Arabian was fairly decent. But I only used one so it wasn't a very representative sample.

I generally recall struggling with retention from most of the AC's, except arabians, but that really doesn't confirm anything!
Something else we may have to revisit at another time perhaps.

[Silverine]

I generally recall struggling with retention from most of the AC's, except arabians, but that really doesn't confirm anything!
Something else we may have to revisit at another time perhaps.

There were some that I struggled more with than others, but that was also before we got white-neck agouti.
And most definitely. Right now I'm looking forward to this little girl aging up so I can see if I can keep that area covered while adding white further along the body.

[Silverine]

And here's another foal from the same Arabian:





He's a colt, but I decided to hold onto him.