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Grullo or Grulla
Explained in as simple of terms as possible!
Three different shades of grulla, sunbleached (late summer)
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[Definition] [Finding
a Grullo] [Silver Grullo] [Foal Colors] [Grullo
Links] [Genetics] [Request
Color Help]
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Grullo (pronounced "grew' yo" or "grew' ya")
is the most rare color of quarter horses registered with
the American Quarter Horse Association (2002), and because of its rarity, horses of
this color command a premium price when offered for sale. This increase in
price varies from just a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars more than
a sorrel or bay of equivalent quality. Because so many of us like to stand
out from the crowd, horses of non-typical colors have become highly sought after.
This is unfortunate for those of us who wish to buy these rare-colored horses,
because good ones are hard to find!
What is a Grullo?
Simplest terms:
A grullo is a black horse with the dun gene. Grullos range in
color from light silvery-white to dark chocolate brown, and some almost look
black.
Grullos MUST have the following
characteristics:
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Black or brown legs |
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The head will be darker than the body |
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Dark tips on the ears |
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A very DISTINCT dorsal stripe that runs fully from the base
of the mane and into the tail |
Grullos will often have other
characteristics such as:
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Stripes on the legs (leg bars) |
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Mottling on the upper legs, shoulders, gaskins |
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Dark rings around the ears |
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Striping on the forehead (cobwebbing) |
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Stripes crossing the back, shoulders, or neck |
Grullo is the result of the
dun factor "gene" on a black horse. Grullo (used here for
both masculine, and the feminine "grulla") is to black as dun is to bay, and as red
dun is to sorrel. They are just the colors that result when the dun
factor is applied to the base coat colors. This dun gene acts
similarly to the creme gene in that it dilutes the base color, but not quite the same. The following table
shows what color results from three base horse coat colors when the dun or creme
genes are passed by a parent to an offspring. Back to Top
| Base Color |
Base Color plus Dun Gene (always
has a dorsal stripe) |
Base Color plus Creme Gene |
| Sorrel |
Red Dun |
Palomino |
| Bay |
Dun |
Buckskin |
| Black |
Grullo |
Smoky black (brownish) |
Combinations of the above colors, and others, exist. For
example, see Baileys Badland Buck, a palomino red
dun (dunalino). She carries both the creme and the dun genes on a base sorrel
color. Our late stallion, Blue Yahooty Hancock, is a
base color black with the dun gene (making him grullo) AND the roan gene (making
him a blue roan). Most of the year, he looks grullo, but for a couple months
of the year he is a blue roan with a dorsal stripe. The same is true with
Crowheart WYO Boy.
Genetics
of the Grullo Color
Back to
Top
How Can I Get a Grullo?
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Buy One. Your best bet is to buy one from a reputable breeder who
specializes in grullos (like us) if you want a foal, or to buy a mature grullo whose
color is easy to determine. Non-grullo specialists (breeders) often "think"
they have a grullo foal, but the buyer ends up with a dun, gray, or a black in many
cases.
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Make One. The other way is to try to breed for one.
There are few guarantees on this route, however!
To have a grullo foal, the best bet is to breed two grullos, or
even to breed a black to a grullo. The chance of having a
grullo foal from two grullo parents has averaged less than 50% in some studies,
but can be 100% in certain circumstances. This varies,
depending upon whether the dun factor and/or the black gene (lack of red
factor) are homozygous in the sire and/or the dam, however.
Back to Top
[Definition] [Finding
a Grullo] [Silver Grullo] [Foal Colors] [Grullo
Links] [Genetics] [Request
Color Help]
The Elusive Silver Grullo
Two silver grullo fillies at www.grullablue.com
Many people are looking for a silver grulla, and many breeders
claim to have them.
If you are looking for a silver
grulla foal, educate yourself.
If you see a young foal that is
silver-colored, you can about bet that it will be a black, a dark slate or medium slate grulla (or even a gray that will turn white and not even be a grulla at all!) at
maturity. Silver grulla foals are usually born a VERY light buff/cream
color, and not a light gray color. True silver grullas may
have dark blue eyes (so dark that they look brown from a distance) according to
some sources, but I think this is generally true only in the foal's early life.
This is because one definition of a silver grullo is a "grullo that also carries
a creme gene." The creme gene usually gives the foal blue eyes at birth.
Buy cautiously if you are trying to buy
a silver grulla foal. Many breeders advertise "silver grulla
foals" who later shed out black or dark grulla. Don't get
taken! Your best bet is to visit the farm and look at the under-color of the foal coat, or at the back of the foal's buttocks where it has
begun to shed. Even at that, grullas change so much in their first
few years that luck will have to be considered a factor. The only sure way
to buy a silver grulla is to buy a mature horse that is silver! Back
to Top
Examples of Foal Coat Colors
Grullo foals are often mistaken for dun foals, and even
long-time breeders can be fooled. Grullo foals have even been born red
dun, only to shed out grullo within the first year. Many black foals have
been called grulla, only to shed off black around the age of 4 months. We
hope buyers will beware of buying such foals...how disappointing to pay a
premium price for a grulla, only to find they have a black later in the year.
Generally, grullo foals are born a light tan color with a
distinct dorsal stripe.
To tell the difference between a grullo foal and a
dun foal, look at the face. Usually, a grullo foal will have black hair
around the eyeballs and a black or gray mask of hair across the face/bridge of
the nose. A
dun foal will have golden, orange, or brown hair in those two places.
Also, grullos will have black dorsal stripes, while dun foals will often have
dark brown or dark red dorsal stripes. Still, this doesn't always hold
true! Other grullo foal colors...click here
Grullo Foals
| This filly was born silver and turned into a medium
slate. |
At birth (left) and at age 2
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| This filly was born cream/light buff, and looks
pretty silver now as an adult. She had dark blue eyes (at 3 months), instead of brown
eyes, which is an indication that she probably carries the creme gene as well as
the dun factor. |
21 days old |
| This filly shed off with a black head and legs, and was a blue grullo base color
plus the roan gene. You can see why some people would have
called her a dun, based upon her foal hair color. |
Left, 2 months. Right, 6 months |
| This filly was a unique color. By her tan baby picture, I would have
guessed her to become a medium slate. But I was wrong, and she
shed off a beautiful silver color. Her parents' colors were inconclusive...a red dun and a dun (possible dunskin). Thanks
for the pictures, Kristi! :-) |
Left, foal coat. Right, yearling.
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| This filly shed off with a medium slate grulla coat which later roaned. Note the black nose,
eye hair, and face mask on her baby picture. |
 
Left, 1 month. Right, 4 months. |
| Born silver grullo, this colt changed to a dark slate
grullo at maturity. In the winter, he's a rich, dark charcoal
color that's almost black. He might be a lobo dun (dark
grullo). |
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| A dark blue eye is characteristic of a dun-factored
horse that is also carrying the creme dilution, from my experience.
Often (but not always), these creme carrying grullos will be silver.
NOTE: Blue eyes are NOT a
characteristic of the dun gene or of grullos in general. Grayish
blue eyes are most likely due to the creme dilution, which is most
commonly known for causing buckskins and palominos, and which
sometimes appears along with the dun gene, depending upon the
ancestors of a horse in question. |
Creme-carrying silver grullo foal eye color
Click for larger view |
| THIS IS VERY RARE...do not assume that your red dun
foal will turn out to be grullo. I shouldn't even put this on
here, but it is an example of what can happen with colors, and how
hard they are to predict. This filly was born red dun, but had
black roots to her mane and tail and had 2 grullo parents. She is now as light and silvery as a
grullo can come, just about. |
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Back to Top
Non-Grullo Horses
| This foal is by a palomino sire and a bay dam.
He shed off black, and has now been tested positively as a smoky black.
Pretty deceiving color at birth! This stripe is attributable to
countershading. He's gorgeous, either way. |
Black or smoky black, not grullo. |
| This foal (below) was born medium slate/olive (the same color as his
dam) and shed off black or smoky black. His dam was a medium slate grulla with the creme
gene, and his sire was black. |
Left--one day old, Right--yearling
Black, not grullo. |
| This filly is out of a silvery grullo mare and a black
stallion. She had a dorsal stripe at birth and shoulder shading. |
Left, one day old. Right, yearling.
Black, not grullo. |
| This is a unique guy! His dam is a palomino, and
his sire is a dun. What a change from his weanling coat (after
shedding) to his yearling coat. |
Buckskin, not grullo. |
| A comparison of a dun and a grulla foal with foal
coats on. Note the colors of the face masks, the hair around the
eyes, and the colors of the dorsal stripes. These are big clues
to help determine color. They aren't 100% accurate, but much of
the time will hold true. |
Click to enlarge these photos that show a dun and a grullo next
to each other. The body color is similar, but there are clues
that will help you see how to differentiate dun and grullo foals. |
| A comparison of a sooty buckskin foal and a grullo
foal. Note how the buckskin's tail is black to the top, and how the
grullo's face has a dark mask over the bridge of the nose between the
eyes and the nostrils. |
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| This is a color that is very often
incorrectly called grullo. Though it's dark, it is not the same as a
dark grullo, and is actually a gorgeous version of buckskin! Notice the yellow tone and the mixture of
yellow/gold and black hairs that make the coat dark. This color is
caused by a cream gene on a bay or brown coat, possibly with a sooty
or smutty modifier added. It is not the same as
grullo, which is a dun gene on a black coat. |
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What color is YOUR foal?
The most common mistake people who contact me
make
is in
trying to get others to believe
that their foal or horse is the color
they WANT him to be.
Many, many people have asked me over the
past few years what color their foals were, and then have refused to
accept my opinion because they so badly wanted their foal to be a
different color. As you try to figure out your foal's color, leave
your personal preference out of it....go by the facts first.
Hopefully, you'll be pleased in the end! But if not (for example, if
you wanted him to be a grulla and he turns out to be a sooty buckskin),
take comfort in the fact that you know the truth and can educate others
about the differences between similar colors.
[Definition] [Finding
a Grullo] [Silver Grullo] [Foal Colors] [Grullo
Links] [Genetics] [Request
Color Help]
To learn more about grullo and dun colors:
Click here to request help
determining your horse or foal's color
Sharon Batteatte also has a great site about dilute-colored
horses. The "dilutions" link covers the dun shades, buckskin,
palomino, and champagne. These genes (dun, creme, and champagne) are all
responsible for colors of horses that are called buckskin, as well as other
colors like grulla and dun. Here are some of the links from her site, as
well as another (more detailed) link to a genetics page I created for
novice genetics readers and other pertinent links:
Click here to request
help determining your horse or foal's color
[Definition] [Finding
a Grullo] [Silver Grullo] [Foal Colors] [Grullo
Links] [Genetics] [Request
Color Help]
[Top]
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