Silver black

Silver black: how the color works and is inherited

The horse’s base is black. Silver, a PMEL variant, lightens black pigment in the coat and particularly in the mane and tail. Hair that would have been black becomes brown while the mane and tail become very pale.

One Silver copy is sufficient. A horse with one copy passes it on with a one-in-two chance. Silver is also associated with MCOA eye abnormalities; two copies generally produce more extensive abnormalities.

Silver black: origins and the role of breeding

Silver predates modern genetics: ancient DNA has identified this dilution in horse samples almost 3,000 years old. Researchers identified its connection to PMEL in 2006. Selective breeding has favored the color in some lines, using an existing variant rather than creating it from scratch.

Some breeders select the contrast between the horse’s chocolate coat and pale mane and tail. Their choice favors transmission of Silver, a variant already carried by the breeding horses.

• Ludwig et al. (2009) — Coat Color Variation at the Beginning of Horse Domestication
• Brunberg et al. (2006) — A missense mutation in PMEL17 is associated with the Silver coat color in the horse