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Laura Behning
75 Glass Spring Rd.
Covington, GA 30014
770-385-1240
morgans@mindspring.com
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Dun is a dilution gene that lightens both red and black hair on the horse's body. It is also associated with primitive markings, which generally include a dorsal stripe and leg barring, and may also consist of dun colored frosting on the sides of the mane and at the tailhead, dorsal barbs, cobwebbing, white ear tips and barring on the ears, and a facial mask of darker hair. Because dun is a dominant gene, all dun horses have at least one dun parent.
It is quite common for horses of other colors to have a dorsal stripe and even faint leg "barring", which is thought to be due to countershading caused by the sooty gene. These horses are not duns.
All dun Morgans come from one line, through the 1964 smoky grulla mare Pendleton Buck Missy. It is a bit of a mystery where Missy's dun gene, the only proven source of dun in the breed at this time, came from. Her dam, Cute, appears to be a smoky black in the pictures we have seen of her, and her breeding (by Ketchum, a smoky black who was also the sire of Chingadero, and out of Smokie Brown, who may also have been some sort of cream dilute, given her breeding) supports this. Missy's sire is given as the chestnut stallion King Richard. For a complete discussion of "The Cute Conundrum", which details the origins of the dun gene in Morgans, go
here.
To learn more about the dun gene in Morgans, visit
Click on any photo to enlarge
RAGTIME DUN D (Ragtime Voodoo Magic x Successful Outta The Blue), 2003 grulla stallion owned
by Moonridge Morgans, Preston ID. You can see his dun dorsal clearly in this picture- how it extends down
into his tail, with dun "frosting" on either side of it at the tailhead. Photo by Jodi Thorpe.
STORM QUEST (Stormwashed X Tigers Silent Saint), 2002 grulla gelding with Steve Wyandt up (left) and AMBERFIELD'S JAZZTIME MORO (Stormwashed X Tierra's Sonnet), 2000
bay dun mare ridden by Jackie Wyandt (right). Pictured at the May 2007
Mississippi Valley Morgan Horse Club breed demo at the Lewis and Clark Historic Center in Hartford, IL. Both horses owned by Jackie Wyandt. Photo by Kathy Firch.
RCK RAGTIME TRES OROS (Robbi Sue's Success Story X Robbi Sue's Mystique), 2000 dunskin stallion owned by
Mirabella Farms. Tres has very marked dorsal barbs along his dorsal stripe, as well as quite dark facial masking.
He has both the dun AND the cream gene. His very dark shade in the presence of these two dilution genes
means his base color is probably dark bay or brown, rather than a lighter bay. Photo by Shelley.
RIVER JORDAN (Stormwashed X Light Up Atlanta),
2005 grulla stallion (pictured as a suckling) owned by Candi Rousseau, Tocara Morgans.
Photo by Laura Behning.
LINEBACK MILADY IN RED (Robbi Sue's Success Story X Ben's Tekhanto Lady), 2003
red dun filly, pictured at age two. Owned by Bob and Kellie Sharpe, Daymark Morgans,
Hillsboro, GA. Photo by Laura Behning.
AMBERFIELDS STARS N STRIPES (Stormwashed X Amberfields Lady Amethyst), 2002 grulla stallion owned by Theresa Sheridan,
Lazy S Morgans, CA. "Rocky" is shown here modeling Theresa's
beautiful buckaroo style saddle.
ALPINEMIST CARAMEL RIPPLE
(Successful Sorcerer X Bar D Paloma), 2004 dark bay or brown dun mare (pictured
as a yearling) owned by Theresa Sheridan,
Lazy S Morgans, CA. Notice her dorsal
has a "painted on" look and how it carries on right down into her tail, with dun colored frosting on either side
of her tailhead.
Photo by Laura Behning.
ROBBI SUE'S SWEET SUCCESS (Equinox Beaubrook X Robbi Sue's Misalert) 1993 bay dun stallion owned by Tami Kikta
of NY. "Zeke" is a very dark shade of bay dun that might be mistaken for non-dun until the observer notes the dun markings on such horses. You can see the
dun frosting on Zeke's tailhead in this picture. Photo by Beth Binion,
taken at the "Parade of Color" at the 2005 AMHA Convention in Phoenix AZ. Theresa Sheridan is leading
Zeke.
LINEBACK DOUBLE TAKE (Robbi Sue's Success Story X
Cushman's Melanie Dun Sue), 2002 bay dun stallion owned by Bob and Kellie Sharpe,
Daymark Farm, Hillsboro, GA. Photo by Laura Behning.
 
Closeup
pictures of the dun factor markings on FINALLY'S MR. AMOS (Robbi Sue's Mr. Alert X Finally Tuesday Morn), 1998 perlino
dun stallion owned by Royal Gold Morgans, Caledonia IL. Amos is a
combination dilute- he has two cream genes, one from his buckskin sire and one from his dunskin dam, who also passed
on her dun gene to Amos. Another picture of Amos can be
seen here.
WMS LAUREL SILVER DUST (Delmaytion Top King X Successful Reflection), 2003 grulla colt bred by
WM-CAR-WMS Morgans, Carol Williams, Milan PA. Now owned by Susan Graf in NE.
STORMWASHED (Robbi-Sue's Sweet Success X DBF Black Nightcloud), 1996 grulla stallion owned by Barb Laudenslayer, Boyertown, PA. Photo by Laura Behning.
SUCCESSFUL SORCERER (Robbi-Sue's Sweet Success X Royal T Lady Kitrina) 1997 grulla stallion owned by Alpine Mist Morgans.
ELLY'S STORY (Robbi-Sue's Success Story X ML Meadowlark Elly Mae) 2000 red dun mare (pictured as a yearling) owned by Garnet Robinson, Floresville, TX.
AMBERFIELD'S LONESOME DOVE (Stormwashed X Amberfield's Jellybean), 2000 grulla mare (pictured as a weanling) owned by Judy Hinman, Amberfields
Morgans, West Edmeston NY.
AMBERFIELD'S DUN LOVIN (Stormwashed X Finally's Just A Dandy), 2001 brown dun mare (pictured as a two year old) owned by Laura Behning,
Brookridge Morgans, Covington, GA. To see more pictures of Lovey, visit
her web page.
WMS LAUREL LADY BETTE (Delmaytion Top King X Successful Reflection),
2002 bay dun mare (pictured as a two year old) owned by Winfield Morgans,
Lee Lyons, CT. Photo courtesy of Bette's breeder, Carol Williams.
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