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kgstable · Apr 23, 2020 4:06 PM

As I sit in quarantine looking through pictures of beautiful horses and have come across a ton of flea-bitten grey horses. I read up on it some on this site:

https://www.horse-genetics.com/gray-horses.html

It mostly talking about grey horses and the grey gene, but at the very bottom it says:
"Flea-bites" are thought to be controlled by a separate and probably recessive gene, not linked to the gray gene. It is possible that other colors of horse can have the flea-bitten genotype, but the speckles wouldn't show since they are the same color as the coat!"

How interesting is that! I know Ammit has tons and tons of stuff prepared to show us with working on the new Meas server, the new bridle additions that might be coming and with all the awesome Herd Helpers but I wonder if one day we will have a version of flea-bitten even though where they come from hasn't exactly been found out (as far as my very limited research has been).

Ammit · Apr 24, 2020 4:05 AM

That doesn't fit with what I have heard about fleabites. Wonder where they are getting that from?

Ammit · Apr 24, 2020 4:06 AM

Ok looking at the rest of this site it is probably at least a decade out of date.

kgstable · Apr 24, 2020 8:30 AM

@Ammit I did a very basic search and that was the first link that showed up :)) I'll have to do some better investigating to find what's really going on with flea-bites

Ammit · Apr 24, 2020 9:29 AM

It is largely linked to the horse being hom or het for gray.

bluchrystals · Apr 24, 2020 9:36 AM

Het causing flea-bit as the genetics are allowing a little of the base color to show? Taking longer to turn completely gray?

kgstable · Apr 24, 2020 9:59 AM

That's interesting! I've seen so many flea-bitten horses at barns I've worked, looks like grey is a more common gene then I thought.

Taliesin · Apr 24, 2020 10:26 AM

Is that why Lipizzaners grey out so fast? Because they're all homozygous?

Ammit · Apr 24, 2020 11:32 AM

Homozygous horses do indeed gray faster than het.

ChateauAlbere · Apr 29, 2020 7:58 AM

I'm pretty sure I read someplace that base color does not impact the color of the flea bites, but I always thought that would be weird.

Ammit · Apr 29, 2020 8:03 AM

I have seen people say that but I do not personally believe it. The way pigment works a red horse can't make black flea bites. It is not possible. A horse with double cream dilutions can't make full-color flea bites. Now the fleabites may not be a perfect match to the original color but pigment production follows certain rules that have to be followed even with the pigment density altering properties of gray.

I would guess that idea comes mostly from folks who don't really understand what is going on at the cellular level.

ChateauAlbere · Apr 29, 2020 11:37 AM

That was exactly my logic!

Ambervalleyarabians · Apr 15, 2021 7:23 PM

flea bites are on grays only, mostly, and it is not confirmed yet, but it seems that the chestnut horses after they turn gray, the gray starts to receed and bring the color back. thats why you only see red spots, never black. Black and Bay horses turn white and do not develop flea bites.

also a bit of trivia information, gray, is actually considered a hair disease. the disease attacks the root of the hair and doesnt allow pigment to enter the hair, therefore it turns gray

Horseloverofsk · Apr 23, 2021 7:14 PM

I read that horses can be flea-bitten chestnut as well as grey. It's a bit less common.

Horseloverofsk · Apr 23, 2021 7:17 PM

my profile picture is a flea-bitten chestnut

Nightphoenix · Apr 24, 2021 11:22 AM

Chestnut base color, but flea bitten because it’s turning gray :)

Horseloverofsk · Apr 24, 2021 12:01 PM

Yeah! That's what I ment!

Ammit · Apr 24, 2021 5:59 PM

Gray is not "considered" a hair disease. Some people could say that and there is some argument to be made that way but there is absolutely no consensus about it. Gray is not considered a disease by veterinarians or geneticists on the whole.

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