Brown Dun
Brown dun is a seal brown (also called: seal bay) base coat lightened by the dun gene. It creates a darker version of bay dun, with a smoky brown body and black points. Because of their deeper shading, the primitive markings can be harder to see.
Looks Like (Phenotype)
A brown dun horse has a dark brown or chocolate-toned coat with black points on the mane, tail, and lower legs. You might also notice a dark line running along the back, called a dorsal stripe, and faint stripes across the legs or shoulders. These markings can sometimes be subtle, blending in with the horse’s darker coat.
Brown duns can be tricky to tell apart from regular brown or sooty bay horses. Look closely for the dorsal stripe that continues through the mane and tail, some shading on their shoulders and zebra stripes on their legs. Non-dun1 horses can have a dorsal stripe too, but it will usually appear alone, without the extra leg stripes or shoulder shading.
Variations
The shade of brown dun can range from a milk chocolate-y colour to a soft coffee brown. Foals often show stronger primitive markings that may become harder to see as the coat darkens with age.
Behind the Colour (Genotype)
The dun gene lightens the body while keeping the mane, tail, and markings dark. Only one copy of the gene is needed for the effect to appear.
Seal brown hasn’t been fully identified in genetics yet, so it tests the same as bay. This means that both bay duns and brown duns show the same genetic result, even though they look different in colour. Once this discovery has happened, we'll update this article with the right information!