My 3 year old filly is a bay paint but she has a dorsal stripe. It that rare or normal? Becuase I thought bay horses didn't have dorsals. Her last owner said it was becuase she is a paint, but how can this be?

Well this is news to me. There is no differance between a Paints color and for example a QH. If your horse has a dorsel stripe then that is just what it is. It may not be a bay but a Dun. The Dun factor is hard to see on alot of paints if they are white where the dorsel or any other primitive markings would be. The only sure way to know if your horse is a Bay or a Dun is to have a DNA color test done.

Cathy is right. So many people think that paints fall into some special catagory. I always tell people that are trying to figure out there paints color is, If you take away the white that makes them a paint what color would they be. There are also varying shades in any color. You may also look back at her pedigree and see what colors are in her background, this may help you with your decision. DNA tasting is not that expensive around $23-35 per test depending on where you go.

ok, I'll try to get a DNA test. She has the weirdest markings, I mean shes clearly bay but she has a dorsal, and she has white and cream on the backs of her legs, around her udder, and inbetween her front legs around her girth, but she's solid bred? She was born like a light dun color so thats probly what caused it.

Can you post a picture of her? This lab is very reasonably priced and is a cool web site. www.equinecolortesting.com

Hope this helps good luck.

ok but im going to try to get some good ones of her legs and her dorsal

She is a nice looking girl. Yeah other pictures would help cause from this one she just looks like a bay, except on her legs were the black doesn't look like it goes all the way around. What color were her parents?

I think her sire was a black tabiano and her dam was a palomino tabiano, they were both paint so she came out solid. But i was looking up color genetics and i seen this color called wild bay where the black goes up to about the pasturns the stops and they have a black part on there knees, she kinda looks like it.

I'm not sure if the markings are normal or not. She's a very beautiful girl though.