The
below explanation of Cremello genetics is in
very simplified terms and is meant as an
introduction only. I have tried not to confuse
you with the complicated terms often used,
instead I have given you a simple explanation of
what a Cremello is, and also what colour
offspring you can expect when breeding your mare
to Platinum. There are links at the bottom of
this page, if you wish to research the genetics
further.
Platinum
is a cremello quarter horse stallion.
Cremello is a horse coat color consisting of a
cream colored body with a cream or white mane
and tail.
Cremellos are known as 'double dilutes'.
They are horses which received two copies of the
same crème dilution gene from their parents.
A
Cremello results when two crème dilute
parents (Palomino or Buckskin) are bred together
(Platinum's sire & dam are both Palomino). There
is a 25% chance that the resulting foal may get
one crème dilute gene from each parent, and be a
double-dilute (and therefore a Cremello or
Perlino).
Cremellos
are just like any other normal, solid coloured
quarter horse but with major breeding benefits!
When
bred to all solid (non dilute) coloured mares
e.g. chestnut, bay, brown, or black, Platinum
will produce a foal that carries a dilute gene.
The dilute gene is the cause of the beautiful
golden colors of Palomino and Buckskin, the
mysterious Smoky Black and also the wonderful
Double Dilute colors of Cremello, Perlino and
Smoky Cream.
Depending
on the colour of the mare that Platinum is bred
to, this will determine what shade of gold he
produces.
W hen
Platinum is bred over
chestnut
mares you will get a palomino foal 100%
of the time.
This is the only colour foal that breeding a
cremello can produce over chestnut mares!!
If
you were to breed a palomino with a chestnut,
you only have a 50% chance of the
resulting foal being a palomino.
By breeding Platinum over chestnut mares you are
guaranteeing yourself a palomino foal every
time!
When
bred to bay, brown or black mares you have a
chance of getting either a palomino, a buckskin
or the rare and mystical smokey black foal.
When
bred to a grey mare, the foal's colour is
dependant
on what the grey parent's colour was at birth.
If the grey parent was chestnut, bay, brown or
black at birth, then crossed with a cremello,
will produce a
Palomino, Buckskin, or Smoky Black
foal. If they grey parent was born a single
dilute (palomino or buckskin or smokey black)
then the foal has the chance of being a double
dilute with 50% going grey.
Cremello
horses will always have pink skin, blue eyes,
and are a light cream or gold color when born,
but sometimes fade to almost white as an adult.
The cremello characteristics (pink skin, blue
eyes) cannot be passed on when Platinum is bred
over solid coloured mares e.g. mares that are
chestnut, bay, brown, or black.
Cremellos
are not white horses. White horses have a pure
white coat from birth with brown or blue eyes
and pink skin and no genetic dilution factor.
Cremellos
do not carry any of the genes that produce true
white coloring, thus they also
will not
carry any of the "lethal white" conditions,
such as lethal white syndrome. Therefore
Platinum CAN
NEVER produce a lethal white foal! He is
completely safe to breed over your Overo Paint
Horses,
and has the same chances as producing a paint
foal as any other quarter horse (50% paint
progeny to overo mares)!
Cremello
horses are also not albino: they do not
have a white hair coat nor do they have
non-pigmented eyes. (True albinism has not been
found in horses, it is also believed to be a
lethal gene.)
|
Stallion X Mare |
Resulting Offspring Colour |
|
Cremello X
Chestnut/Sorrel |
Palomino (100%), |
|
Cremello X Bay, Brown or Black |
Palomino, Buckskin, or Smoky Black |
|
Cremello X
Buckskin
|
Cremello, Perlino, Palomino,
Buckskin, Smokey Cream, or Smoky
Black. |
|
Cremello X Grey
|
Dependant on what the grey parent's
colour was at birth.
If the grey parent
was chestnut, bay, brown or black at
birth then crossed with a cremello,
will produce a
Palomino, Buckskin, or Smoky Black.
If they grey parent was born a
single
dilute (palomino or
buckskin or smokey black) then the
foal has the chance of being a
double dilute with 50% going grey. |
|
Cremello X Homozygous Bay |
Buckskin (100%) |
|
Cremello X Palomino |
Palomino (50%), Cremello (50%)
|
|
Cremello X
Cremello |
Cremello (100%) |
|
Cremello X Perlino |
Cremello (50%), Perlino (50%) |
|
Cremello X
Smoky Black |
Cremello, Perlino, Palomino,
Buckskin, or Smoky Black. |
|
Palomino X Palomino
|
Chestnut (25%) , Palomino (50%) ,
Cremello (25%) |
|
Palomino X Chestnut |
Chestnut (50%) , Palomino (50%)
|
|
T he
information provided on this page is a very
basic explanation of the Cremello genetics.
Please give me a call on (03) 9718 1840 or drop
me an
e-mail
if there
is anything further you would like explained
regarding the genetics of breeding to Platinum.
There
is also more detailed information and
explanations available at the following links;
The United Palomino
Buckskin White & Dun A ssociation
The Champagne Connection -
Learn all you ever wanted
to know about the rare Champagne Color in Horses
The Cremello and Perlino
Educational Association
Overo Lethal White
Syndrome
Another Great Site on Over
Lethal White Syndrome
(edited).JPG)
DMB Platinum ~ Yearling Photo
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