The Drabardi Donkey

Modifiers

Modifiers change the appearance of the donkeys coat color. There are a number of modifiers with the Drabardi Donkey that have different effects on the basecolor. Most of them are and work like those for horses, some just have a different name to them.

The dilution gene bleaches the base color in different ways. Dun is the most common dilution that almost every Drabardi have. In some rare cases the dun characteristics have been extended and are more obvious.

The dilute genes can come in a "simple" form that sometimes just acts like a carrier and won't show, while if the gene comes in a "double" dose it will bleach the Drabardi donkey's base coat even more. With Taffy (silver) only the black-based Drabardis are affected, while the red-based ones will only act as carriers.

Agouti

The agouti modifier is rare in Drabardi donkeys. Just like in horses, the agouti gene is a modifier that affects the black base color and restricts the distribution of black hair. In short; it make the donkeys body more red in color, but the points (ie lower legs, ear rims as well as mane and tail switch) black. Agouti does not affect red based donkeys, but it can be carried and passed on to their offspring.

Bay This gene only affects black pigment, and lightens the main body color to a red color of varying shades. Red-based Drabardis can be carriers of agouti even if they do not express it.

The color swatches shown are examples only. Find inspiration on real bay horses.

Wild Bay/Brown Wild bay is almost the same as normal bay, except that the black points of the donkey will only extend up to the pastern or fetlock. They may even be absent all together. The body color is also usually lighter compared to a 'classic bay' and the mane and tail may be more prone to bleaching or be composed of lighter black hairs.

The color swatches shown are examples only. Find inspiration on real wild bay/brown horses.

Seal Bay/Brown This is essentially another expression of the Agouti modifier. This mutation effects the distribution of black pigment.The seal bay/brown Drabardi has a black coat with somewhat brown or "mealy" yellowish/red 'tender' areas (ie nose, around eyes, armpit and flank) making them almost look like a dog with a black and tan coloration like the Doberman or Rottweiler. These mealy areas are not to be confused with the "white points" marking which has a much sharper edge than these. Seal brown is also often confused with dark bay and can look very similar to black animals affected by the pangare gene.

The color swatches shown are examples only. Find inspiration on real seal bay/brown horses.