Earlier today, we were sitting in a dinner in North Dakota, and we noticed a painting depicting a cowboy and a herd of horses. My dad pointed to a bluish grey and said " Look a roan! " Puzzled, I looked and the picture and said , " Nope that is a grey." My dad asked me how I knew. I explained to him an he thought you guys may like to know also.
A roan is scientifically known as one of the three "base" colors with a roaning modifier added. These three bases are chestnut, black, and bay. Bay is considered a base even though it is the "agouti" modifier on a black base. But that isn't of the point so enough on that. A roan is characterized by the legs and head of the horse being the base color, no roaning occurs on these areas. The rest of the horse with have white hairs mixed in with the base creating a lighter, mixed look. The three main colors of roan include: Blue roan, ( black based) Red roan, (chestnut based, also called strawberry) and Bay roan ( Bay based, also known as red.)
Grey is entirely different. I didn't do too much research into on genetics, but the grey gene affects a base coat of black, bay, or chestnut, and makes the horse more grey over time. The difference between a roan and a grey, is that a grey will get progressively more white / grey. Their coats change year to year in amount of white hairs, while roans' coats do not change with age. Also, the greys' greying with cover the face, while the roans' roaning does not. These are basic differences between the two colors.
This was a quick post so the grammar may not be perfect, hopefully the point was conveyed though! Good Night from Minnesota!
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