Champagne

[Malakai10]

This grey on gold champagne mare was born with blue eyes, but, now, as a four-year-old, has brown eyes.

So, tiger-eyed or not? Also, any explanation for the eye-colour change?





RSÆ Fantasia's Saturday Snowball

[BlackOak2]

This grey on gold champagne mare was born with blue eyes, but, now, as a four-year-old, has brown eyes.

So, tiger-eyed or not? Also, any explanation for the eye-colour change?

Yes. NOT tiger eye.

Refresher of gene knowledge:
Double cream or cream & pearl will give blue eyes.
Champagne foals are born with blue eyes, but as they grow, the eye color will change from blue to brown. In this instance, it is simply an expression and progression of the champagne gene.
Champagne foals with a single tiger eye will be born with a gray or hazel color [and not blue color], but it may be very difficult to distinguish the difference. Often it's easier to wait until the yearling coat to see whether the eye color is still apparent.
Champagne foals with double tiger eye will be born with green eyes. Generally speaking, such color is NOT easily confused with blue eyes.
Foals without the champagne gene must have two tiger eye genes to express. These are green or hazel-green at birth and remain.

There is one additional exception. Sometimes (it doesn't always happen and I'm not sure why it does or why it doesn't), certain double cream or cream & pearl horses when paired with the champagne gene will be born with blue eyes that darken (not really brown, but also not really NOT-brown either). Some thoughts consider that the tiger eye is at work, either single or double. But it does seem that double tiger-eye always overrules blue eyes in every case.
So, if there's no double cream or cream & pearl at work, then this exception can be ignored.

So the difference you're looking for is: born blue eyes versus born hazel or green. Blue is not tiger eye, hazel or green is tiger eye.


As a last side-note. The Graying gene will overrule any other coat gene (as we see) and offers the foal an adult coat color at birth. However, there are some other genes that are not affected by adult-coat-on-graying-newborns. One of these is blue-eyes-to-brown for champagnes, another is snowflakes and varnish for the Leopard complex.

[Malakai10]

This grey on gold champagne mare was born with blue eyes, but, now, as a four-year-old, has brown eyes.

So, tiger-eyed or not? Also, any explanation for the eye-colour change?

Yes. NOT tiger eye.

Refresher of gene knowledge:
Double cream or cream & pearl will give blue eyes.
Champagne foals are born with blue eyes, but as they grow, the eye color will change from blue to brown. In this instance, it is simply an expression and progression of the champagne gene.
Champagne foals with a single tiger eye will be born with a gray or hazel color [and not blue color], but it may be very difficult to distinguish the difference. Often it's easier to wait until the yearling coat to see whether the eye color is still apparent.
Champagne foals with double tiger eye will be born with green eyes. Generally speaking, such color is NOT easily confused with blue eyes.
Foals without the champagne gene must have two tiger eye genes to express. These are green or hazel-green at birth and remain.

There is one additional exception. Sometimes (it doesn't always happen and I'm not sure why it does or why it doesn't), certain double cream or cream & pearl horses when paired with the champagne gene will be born with blue eyes that darken (not really brown, but also not really NOT-brown either). Some thoughts consider that the tiger eye is at work, either single or double. But it does seem that double tiger-eye always overrules blue eyes in every case.
So, if there's no double cream or cream & pearl at work, then this exception can be ignored.

So the difference you're looking for is: born blue eyes versus born hazel or green. Blue is not tiger eye, hazel or green is tiger eye.


As a last side-note. The Graying gene will overrule any other coat gene (as we see) and offers the foal an adult coat color at birth. However, there are some other genes that are not affected by adult-coat-on-graying-newborns. One of these is blue-eyes-to-brown for champagnes, another is snowflakes and varnish for the Leopard complex.

Thanks! I must admit, it's been a long time since I've had a non-tiger-eye champagne.

[BlackOak2]

Thanks! I must admit, it's been a long time since I've had a non-tiger-eye champagne.

There's plenty of times I, myself, need a refresher, so I understand completely.

So you certainly are in good company.