Two cream dilution genes (homozygous cream) has a "double dilute" effect on both red AND black hair on the horse's body and points. These horses are nearly white in color, though they may retain a golden cast, often with dapples. A bay or brown horse with two cream genes becomes a perlino; a chestnut horse a cremello; and a black a smoky cream. Homozygous cream dilutes all have pink skin and blue or bluish green eyes. Their skin may freckle in the sun. Every offspring of a homozygous cream dilute will be cream dilutes of some type.

All of the various cream dilutes in the Morgan breed originate from the following four sources:

1. The LU Sheep Ranch, where the color is possibly coming from Night Tide.
a. Dawnglo (Night Tide X Ishawooa), 1939 palomino mare. Found in Californio, San Willidust, and Tio Lalo descendants.
b. Carmel Snow (Night Tide X Kaycee), 1939 palomino mare. Found in horses of Pineland descent
c. Luxury (Night Tide X Mallow), 1939 buckskin mare (registered as dun). Found in the Aquila's prefixed colorfuls, Dickie's Pride, Desert Sands, and Yellow Bird descendants.
d. Luellen (Night Tide X Ethete), 1939 smoky black mare. Found in descendants of Morgan Gold, Nugget Hanneman, and Rusty Walker.

2. The Cross Ranch, cream dilution originating from the X registered dams of these two horses.
a. Ketchum (Joe Lewis X Du Noir Strip), 1950 smoky black stallion. Found primarily in the many horses of Chingadero descent.
b. Buck (Imperial X Nellie), 1930 buckskin mare. Found the numerous lines of descent from her daughters, Yellow Girl and Smokie.

3. Gwenie (Golden Jubilee X Gwenalan) 1951 palomino mare. Gwenie got her cream dilution from her sire, a palomino X registered son of Jubilee King. Gwenie's color line comes down to us through horses of the Jan Mabie Pace lines.

4. Cotton Hill Daisy (Amigo Mick X Daisette), 1949 palomino mare. The source of Cotton Hill Daisy's cream gene is unknown, but may have come from her granddam Madonna, a black daughter of Go Hawk (black, with no dilution genes behind him) and Red Ruby (who may have been some sort of cream dilute, misregistered as chestnut- her dam, Ruby, is also the maternal great grand-dam of Night Tide). Cotton Hill Daisy's color line is represented by horses from Sunup Neptune lines.

AMBERFIELDS LUMINESCENCE (Amberfield's Desperado x CJ Buttercup) 2007 cremello stallion owned by Shannonvale Morgans, Hungary. Double cream dilutes have pink skin, but the close up picture of Lumi's eyes shows the darkened, freckled skin that many acquire over time. It is thought to be the result of sun exposure- the pink skin protecting itself, as it were, by freckling. Also notice that like his sire, Lumi has eyes that tend more towards green rather than the pale blue more commonly seen in homozygous creams. Photos courtesy of Sue Olson.


PRAIRIE HILL APACHE (Baptiste Newman Bluet x Seven Palms Taitin Angel), 2007 smoky cream gelding (pictured at 2 days old). That is not dirt nor wet areas on him, that is his coloring. We are uncertain what the significance of this spotting is, but there is another example of it later on this page. Of the 3 Morgan double cream dilute foals that we are aware of with this pattern at birth, all have been smoky cream. Photo courtesy of Susan Motter, Prairie Hill Morgans.


EQUINOX BLONDE AMBITION (Equinox Reflection x Mochom's Joy), 1997 dark palomino mare owned by Judy Burns, with her 2007 smoky cream filly MIRABELLA'S MADONNA (by RCK Ragtime Tres Oros). Other palominos that are as dark or darker (!) than this mare can be seen on our palomino page. Photo courtesy of Roger White.


HMSTD SWEET MOTHER OF PURL (Hmstd Rum Runner x Two J Baby Cakes), 2007 smoky cream mare owned by Frances Oles. Photo by Janine Welsh.


UNIVERSAL PLATINUM (Gold Cross Sun Catcher x Triple S BJ Black Butie) 2000 perlino stallion owned by Celebrity Morgans.


SFG INFINITY AND BEYOND (MEMC Tinseltown X Shatona's Empress), 2001 cremello gelding owned by Patty Clark and Marilyn Novak, Promised Land Morgans, Spencer, Ohio. Pictured as a six year old, May 2007. Photo by Laura Behning.


BAPTISTE NEWMAN BLUET (Pal-A-Mor's Golden Sun X Kodiak Gold Rush Walker), 2002 cremello stallion ridden by Susan Motter, Prairie Hill Morgans, Cooperstown, ND. Shown here on a trail ride at Ft. Ransom State Park, August 2005.


ISLAND MISS CHIEF (Island Sun King X Island Sundae Velvet), 1994 cremello mare owned by Marilyn Esteb, Stone Pine Farm. Behind her is ISLAND MORGANA (Island Grand Duke X Island Halona Suzanne), a 2000 cremello mare. Photo courtesy Mary Freeman.


MOONBOW (Adiel's Casino Gold X TMB Harvest Moon), 2003 cremello mare (pictured as a weanling) owned by Elnoresh Morgans. The pink skin and pale blue eyes of the homozygous cream dilute can easily be seen here. Also visible is the slight golden "tint" to the coat that some cremellos have, especially as foals. Photo by Laura Behning.


DEVINE SPIRIT OF HOPE (Blacksaddle Starbuck X KRP Pixie Pat), 2002 perlino stallion with his owner Chris Holm and her Bernese Mountain Dog, Ruby. Spirit lives at Devine Morgans, Lincoln MT.


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. Pictures of Amos' dun factor markings can be seen on our dun page.


KEE LADY APHRODITE (Pal-A-Mors Gold Nugget x Kee Crooked River Gold) 1996 cremello mare owned by Debbie Jondahl. Photo by Jennifer Monroe.


AMBERFIELDS CAFE AU LAIT (Amberfield's Desperado X Kutenai Shoshoni Star), 2002 perlino mare owned by Natasha Vaughan-Biggs. Foal photo by Judy Hinman; photo on the right by Kristal Homoki.


AMBERFIELDS ICE FANTASY (Amberfield's Desperado X Up Hi Iron Maiden), 2003 cremello mare (pictured as a suckling) owned by Crystal Keenan. "Fantasy's" dam is a dark sooty palomino with a silver mane and tail; sometimes this color is mistaken for silver dapple.

 
AMBERFIELDS DESPERADO (Springtown Champagne X Andrew's Misty Dream), 1993 cremello stallion owned by Judy Hinman, Amberfields Morgans, West Edmeston NY. The eye shot shows that not all cremellos have blue eyes; Desperado's are more greenish with amber flecks. The skin around his eye has freckled and darkened, not uncommon when homozygous cream dilutes are exposed to the sun. It's nature's way of protecting the skin, just as we tan in the sun. Photos courtesy of Diana Jasica.


MSMF VANILLA DREAMS (Amberfields Vanilla Ice X Amberfields Coyote Sue), 2004 cremello mare (pictured as a weanling), owned by Kara Criner, with PHPM BLESSED IN GOLD (Amberfields Desperado X CJ California Gold), 2003 perlino mare (pictured as a yearling), owned by Gail Finerty. Photo courtesy of Sue White.


AMBERFIELD'S PANTERA (Black Panther X Chaprella), 1992 buckskin mare, with her 2004 smoky cream filly STONE PINE MOONDANCE, by PL Chosen For Glory. "Pandy" is a good example of buckskin that, at its darkest extreme, may look like a non-dilute. The pair are owned by Marilyn Esteb of Stone Pine Farm. Photo by Satin.


The filly pictured above has interesting dark splotches all over her. No that is not dirt staining! We're not sure what the significance of these markings is, but they are sure interesting! Some other black based homozygous cream dilute foals have shown these blotchy markings, as well. Photo by Laura Behning.


MEMC TEQUILA CUERVO (Triple S Bald Eagle X Twine Pines Sara), 1994 cremello stallion owned by Jennifer Weske-Monroe of Melissa, TX.