Bay
Bay is one of the three base coat colours in horses, together with chestnut and black. It is usually grouped in these three types: wild bay, bay, and seal brown.
Looks Like (Phenotype)
When a horse is bay, it has a reddish or brown coat with black points. The mane, tail, lower legs and the tips of the ears have black ends.
To tell a bay from a dark chestnut, look at the ear tips. If the tips of the ears are black, the horse is bay-based. If you want to practise recognising these differences, try our game Horse Reality.
Variations
Bay horses come in many shades, but there are three types commonly used to describe their looks. All are bay-based with the E-allele and A-allele present.
- Wild bay: very light or golden body; black on the legs is limited to the lower part.
- Bay: reddish or brown body with black points; black on the legs reaches roughly to the knees and hocks.
- Seal Brown: very dark bay that can resemble black; the softer areas, such as the muzzle, eye area, flanks and inside upper parts of the legs stay tan, reddish or yellowish. Sometimes genetic testing is needed to confirm whether a very dark horse is black or seal brown.
Behind the Colour (Genotype)
If a horse is bay, it has at least one E-allele and one A-allele. The E-allele allows black pigment, and the A-allele restricts that pigment to the points, leaving the body reddish or brown. At this time, they cannot reliably tell us whether a horse will look wild bay, bay, or seal brown. If scientists discover that, we'll update this page.
Related Colours
Black | Chestnut | Seal Brown | Wild Bay