Icelandic: Grár. In Iceland we usually don't call a horse white, all shades of grey and white are called grár.
Description: The horse is usually born coal black, red or in any other colour, becomes grey-dappled when around 2 years old, and is often snow-white at the age of 10.
A 2 year old grey, born jet black with blaze, will become white.
©-LUKKA
Grey dapple.
Kólga from Svađastöđum at Langhús, when 6 years old.
©-LUKKA
Light grey dapple.
Fáni from Keldulandi, showing the "circles" clearly.
©-LUKKA
Light grey dapple in wintercoat.
Ţytur from Starrastöđum.
©-LUKKA
Our broodmare Héla from Halldórsstöđum, born bay but has gotten white.
©-LUKKA
Héla's daugther, only 5 years old, so she's not white yet. She's born chestnut.
Líf from Langhúsum.
©-LUKKA
A very light grey horse walking.
Kola from Fet.
Flea-bitten grey
EXAMPLES OF WHITE HORSES:
White horses are born black, become grey and then white
A snow-white mare. Saga from Grindavík.
©-LUKKA
Tolting white horses.
Svalur and Haukur from Hofsstađir.
©-LUKKA
A trotting white horse.
SOMETHING DIFFRENT
In extremely rare cases it can happen that a horse greys out, but leaves a part of it's body without greying. This horse (Kári from Icelandic Horse Farm, BC) is born chestnut pinto, then most of his body greyed out, leaving one chestnut spot.
©-Terry Albert.
Some genetics:
The grey colour is on the G-locus. You need one dominant gene G in the horse so it becomes grey. A grey horse has at least one grey parent.
The color in different languages:
Norway: Avblekbar skimmel
Denmark: Skimmel
Germany: Schimmel
USA:Grey
UK: Grey
Dutch: Grijs/schimmel it is the same word as for roan, which is confusing
Swedish: Skimmel
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