#horse color genetics

[snowlupinwoodstories]

Art done by the amazing @vigoburrito (and I'm not saying that because they are my partner).

Its time for Sona Genetics! The time where I look at a sona/character and take a stab at what their genotype is based on their colors, and any lore.

Anastasia here is a grey strawberry roan base with striped hooves.

Since I have a history of Anastasia (I built her after all!) I know her father is a grey(black base) and her mother is a bay roan. I also know that she is a chestnut base, because chestnut is the base for strawberry roan.

Referring back to my horse genetics research, I can use what I know to determine a genotype for Anastasia.

Since her father is a black base grey I know that he is giving a G allele (G being the dominant grey gene which causes greying), but because she is chestnut based we can't be sure if he gave her a B allele, which causes black coloring.

Since her mother is bay roan we know she gave her the R allele, which causes the Anastasia's roan coloring, but we can't be sure of anything else once again because of Anastasia's chestnut base.

Chestnut is cause by a homozygous ee expression. The E gene determines restriction on black pigments, and prevents expression. The e allele is the most restrictive, and also recessive. Fun fact breeding a chestnut horse to another chestnut horse will always result in another chestnut.

Going alphabetcally we know Anastasia is __ __ CC dd ee F_ Gg pp Rr ww __.

We don't know Anastasia's A or B genes because ee prevents either from being expressed. She might be have a the black causing gene from her father (B) but we have no way of knowing based on her color. Likewise she could have they bay (A) gene from her mother, but ee prevents us from seeing it.

The C gene causes further restrictions, and since she isn't palomino, cremello or perlino, we know she is homozygous for the big C's as all the genes on that loci are incomplete dominant/recessive.

We know the D gene is homozygous dd because the Dun gene is dominant. Since she isn't dun at all she doesn't have the D gene.

Because she's chestnut based and we know chestnut is a recessive color caused by the E allele we know her E loci is ee.

The gene is the F gene. F gene determines flaxen mane and tail. Flaxen manes and tails only show up on chestnut based horses, so since she doesn't have a flaxen mane and tail she has at least the F allele.

The G gene is the first heterozygous gene that we know both alleles. This is because grey is a dominant color in horses, so you need a grey parent to get a grey horse. Because Anastasia has one grey parent we know she carries one grey (G) allele and one normal (g) allele. Likewise this also holds true for the roan gene, so we know Anastasia is Rr. (Another note, within real life RR is deadly, so all roan horses are Rr. )

The P gene causes lightening on the inside of the legs and belly, but that would have changed her base to a 'blond sorrel' (sorrel is also chestnut. Since this needs the dominant P allele, she is pp because she doesn't have any blonding. This also holds true for the W gene which determines if a horse is true white, which requires the dominant W allele.

The last gene is the Z gene, which causes silver dappleing (different from the dappling that may happen with grey horses). This gene is likely not present as her foundation breeds (Shire, American Saddlebred, Marwari) but because it doesn't show up on the chestnut base so we can't be sure.

So fellow gene nerds how's my educated guess? Anything I should have considered? Nerdy enough for you?

For my non gene nerds, how's my explaination? What terms would you like explained better? Any questions about how I deduced her genotype from her picture (phenotype?)

For my Furrys, anyone have a sona/character they'd like me to attempt? Non standard colors welcome! Also would welcome any background you may want to offer!

Simply message a picture, reblog with a picture or place a picture in a note and I'll let you know if you've been picked!

[pretty-cool-avian]

ok sorry to be horsey on my therian blog but your white patterns might be from a combination of tobiano (medicine hat) and frame overo (blue eyes)

this is because tobiano (and also sabino!) face markings avoid the eyes like crazy:

(this photo is from The Equine Tapestry, one of my favorite horse color blogs, although i'm not sure if it's very active anymore)

(anyways back to what i was talking about)

Overo tends to go over the eyes, causing the aforementioned blue eyes (i can't find any good photos that are not stock photos or from pinterest, but if you search up 'overo blue eyes' you should get the gist

and the genes that cause overo and tobiano can mix, causing what is called a 'tovero', and they can look pretty cool:

also, the fade-y summer patterns could be from sabino, although the photo references you provided seemed more blotchy instead of the roan-y edges of sabino:

(also, i know nothing about deer colors, so people who know anything about that are welcome to add on)

oh and sorry for the kinda random long post, i saw something about horse colors and just started typing

Hey Zephyr I wanted to ask you what your Hippocerf looks like, the description sounds so nice, but I can't imagine what you look like exactly...

[I'm so sorry for the incoming rant]

Oh! So essentially, I'm a combination of a horse (no clue what kind) and deer (I'm roe + fallow).

My head is a pretty even blend of both horse and deer, though my ears are a lot more deerlike, and I do have antlers (they're pretty small, and I haven't ever lost my velvet?). Speaking of antlers, mine never get to more than 6 inches, but they are palmate (like a fallow deer).

My neck is right between a horse and deer: not as bulky as a horse, but chonkier than a deer. I don't have a distinct mane per-se, but moreso longer fur on my neck (similar to how lions' manes blend into their fur, as opposed to how horse manes look separate).

Body-wise, I'm sort of a mix of a stockier, "coldblood" horse (I'm more Icelandic horse + Przewalski's horse in build) and a deer. I'm somewhat more deer-like in proportion (than a horse), but compared to a deer, I'm a bit (what's the word..) beefier? Though, my hooves are cloven.

My tail is similar to a Whitetail deer's tail, but a bit longer and slightly thinner in width.

My coat color changes by season, but I'm way whiter (haha) in winter, with the only brown fur being on and near my ears (look up "medicine hat horse") and some on my legs. In summer my whole front (including a good chunk of my legs) is brown, but I'm what horse people consider "bald faced", meaning my face is mostly white (I don't have a full face, it's only white on the top half).

These are pretty close to my coat pattern (in summer):

Oh, and I have those freaky, blue-ass horse eyes.

[cero-sleep]

Made a website about horse coat color genetics as my final project if anyone wants to check it out!

Its in English and Spanish!

[roguemonsterfucker]

I know it's nitpicky but this line in this article bugs me

The breeding feature so far has been limited to solid colors, but it has always used realistic genetics as a basis, pleasing the sort of horse nerd who knows you have to pair a cremello and a bay to get a guaranteed buckskin (it’s me, I’m that sort of horse nerd).

That's... not correct though. 😭

It isn't a guaranteed way to get a buckskin (at least not in such simple terms).

It is guaranteed to get a cream gene of some sort, but if the bay carries chestnut, you could get a palomino. If the bay carries non-bay, you could get smoky black.

With gene testing, you could have a guarantee of what you'd make but there isn't a clean cut "breed this color to this color and get that color."

In fact, you could breed a cremello to a black and get a buckskin, if the cremello has a bay gene (bay doesn't show up on chestnut based horses). There are several different combos, in fact, that could give you a buckskin depending on what genes are hiding.

Breeding a bay to a cremello is a good way to get buckskin, yes. Without a gene test to know what the horses carry, that is in fact your best bet. But it's not a guarantee.

and yeah, that's nit-picky of me. But for this woman to call herself a horse nerd and then say something that is just not true... It bugs me.

[sometimesanequine]

7.15.2024

[bonefall]

I don’t think you were mean about cat genetics at all tbh! It’s one of my special interests but I didn’t feel insulted. Honestly if you used actual cat genetics for WC, the characters end up being either ginger, black tabby, or tortoiseshell after a couple of generations. that’s super boring! All the Tigerstar clones wouldn’t even look like Tigerstar! where is the Drama!

though it would be funny in one instance: Nightheart would be a ginger tabby, so he would actually look like Firestar, lmao.

I DIDNT WANT TO SAY IT BECAUSE IVE BEEN TRYING NOT TO BE INSULTING!!

But like I kept thinking, "after a few generations they're ginger, tabby, and tortie and that's boring :(" and I didn't want to be mean!!

I just wanna draw Bluestar's family as doggies man

I'm way more interested in stuff like, how cat taste buds are controlled by two genetics that prevent a specific kind of protein folds, which is why they can't taste sweet or spice, y'know? Or how human hands have a dominant gene to put them on backwards and it's how some geneologists explain how Dominant doesn't mean Definite.

Genes ARE cool I simply don't like using them for my kitty designs

Anyway Nightheart has orange on him and this is a fact because it's funny <3

[profile-for-sims-horse-coats]

I’m having some difficulty getting a Sims 4 horse to look right. I’m aiming for Smoky Cream (two copies of cream genes on a black base coat) with leopard complex spotting.

For Sims 4 fans, this horse is Sienna Grove’s Nez Perce stallion Flapjack. I wanted to add a blanket or full body leopard complex spotting to fit the breed, and also keep him looking somewhat similar to his original coat color (grey with black mane and tail). I wanted to eliminate the original grey genes from his coat color, partially because I don’t think Nez Perce horses are supposed to grey, and partially because I don’t want to have to update and lighten his coat color as he ages. I ended up choosing smoky cream because I know that cream genes are allowed in the breed, so cremellos/perlinos/smoky creams are theoretically possible, and smoky creams are supposed to be darkest out of those.

So far here are the aspects of this coat color that I have considered:

Leopard complex results in mottled skin near the eyes, mouth, and genitals. Cremellos and Perlinos have pink skin in those areas due to two copies of the cream gene, so presumably smoky cream is the same. I think this gives me a free pass to just use the pink skinned preset without painting on any mottling, but let me know if that isn’t accurate!

Similarly I left his hooves white, because I think his cream genes eliminated nearly all pigment from his skin anyways, so any stripes caused by the leopard complex shouldn’t be very visible, if at all. I can’t paint stripes on his hooves, so it was either the pale hoof or striped black-and-white hooves. Pretty sure this is the best I can do.

His eyes are pale blue because of the two copies of cream, but you can’t really tell his eye color from these pictures because Sims 4 horses have massive dark pupils.

I think I made him too greyish, especially the mane, but I’m hoping that’s not the case, because the pale yellowish coat colors look much too yellowish unless they’re basically white, and it deviates too much from Flapjack’s original color scheme. The super pale yellow coat would be fine for a cremello, which shouldn’t look that different from Smoky cream, but I just didn’t like it. Some smoky creams look kinda yellowish-greyish, right? I chose the most yellowish of the greyish tones. Let me know if it looks wrong.

I know that the mane is too dark for smoky cream. The problem is, this is the palest I can get it without it looking jarring and too-pale against the coat color. There are yellowish manes that are about the right darkness but they’re… yellow. And it just doesn’t look like it fits on the coat color. Do you guys think this mane color looks somewhat plausible for an extremely dark smoky cream?

Anyways that’s about all I can think of, let me know if there’s something else about the coat color that I missed! I’m open to other suggestions for breed-accurate coloration that could result in a pale greyish horse with a dark mane as well.

(PS nobody from horseblr follows me, so if anyone is interested in reblogging this so I can get feedback from knowledgeable people I would be super grateful!)

[whywishesarehorses]

Update on 9667 (primarily for her summer coat)

Official color guesses?

BLM Mustangs Mares for Sale - Fallon Maintenance Facility

These horses are part of the January 2024 auction.

2 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (6746) 13.1hh

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (7037) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (7126) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD ROANSTRAWBERRY FEMALE HORSE (7127) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD ROANRED FEMALE HORSE (7140) 13.1hh

3 YEAR OLD GRAY FEMALE HORSE (7144) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (7228) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD BUCKSKIN FEMALE HORSE (7233) 15hh

3 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (7281) 15.1hh

3 YEAR OLD PINTO FEMALE HORSE (7315) 14hh

3 YEAR OLD DUN FEMALE HORSE (7553) 15.2hh

4 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (8077) 15.2hh

3 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (8084) 15.1hh

3 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (8104) 15.2hh

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8109) 15.3hh TALL

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8116) 16hh TALLLLLLLL

3 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (8162) 15.3hh also tallll

5 YEAR OLD BUCKSKIN FEMALE HORSE (8231) 14.3hh

4 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8271) 14hh

4 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8286) 15.2hh

3 YEAR OLD BLACK FEMALE HORSE (8297) 15.1hh

4 YEAR OLD DUN FEMALE HORSE (8302) 14.2hh

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8335) 16hh and dapples!!!

4 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (8340) 15.2hh - ok I like her a lot.

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8376) 15.1hh

4 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8387) 15.1hh

3 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (8395) 14hh

6 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (9334) 14hh

2 YEAR OLD DUN FEMALE HORSE (9610)14hh

2 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (9667) 14hh

[sandrayln]

Random things on my mind today: I think I know what genetic color Morganstern is, and it's not actually grey. Looks grey, but not actually grey.

I really ought to finish that blog post I started on the subject...

[headspace-hotel]

I looked up some stuff about the "domestication syndrome" in animals because I read a couple times in books the idea that domesticated animals are neotenous, meaning they retain juvenile traits into adulthood. The idea being that humans have essentially created more helpless, more exploitable versions of wild animals to "dominate" and abuse nature.

I thought, "Okay, that sounds like something that couldn't be proven. How much do we even know about the juvenile brain development of, say, wild goats or boars, anyway?"

So I found this review of the literature that goes back to the fur farm fox domestication study and it's even worse than I thought: We don't even know that a 'domestication syndrome' in animals exists at all, let alone whether it is a retention of juvenile traits into adulthood.

So the fur farm fox domestication study: you may have heard of it, it claimed to have demonstrated that within a few generations, by selecting for tameness, the researchers bred "domesticated" foxes with a whole suite of traits that appear in many domesticated animals but seem unrelated to tameness, such as piebald coloration and floppy ears. The idea is that the genes for tameness and for these other traits commonly seen in domestic animals are linked, that is, an animal that inherits one is likely to inherit the other.

There's some major problems. First of all, all the foxes used in the study were from fur farms, and had already been selected for some level of docility and for coat color variation. The foxes didn't get white spots on them because they were selected for tameness, instead the pre-existing population they were selected from had those genes in it to begin with. Also, the effective population size of the foxes in the study was pretty small, meaning a small amount of genetic drift could have a big impact.

Second, there isn't very much evidence for most of the "domestication syndrome" traits in most animals. Even where the "domestication syndrome" traits can be found, they are often particular to specific breeds, and it's unclear whether they are linked to domestication as such or just the development of that specific breed.

This study only deals with a few animals, mostly small animals. It would be even more interesting to see a breakdown of even more animals (particularly more large animals). Off the top of my head, almost none of these would apply to horses, and only in specific cases would apply to cattle. Even in dogs, extreme changes in skull morphology have happened relatively recently with breeders in modern times going after extreme phenotypes.

Particular to cats: extreme skull changes and floppy ears occur as part of some "breeds" because they are specific painful genetic disorders that breeders of cats decided to perpetuate VERY recently. Scottish Folds were deliberately developed from cats that just so happened to have a disease that causes them to be in constant suffering due to their messed up joints, it's not just a variation that regularly pops up in cats to varying extents. Likewise with the smushed-face Persians. Their brains are getting squished into where their spinal cords should go because their skulls are so messed up from selective breeding for an extreme look.

What domestication means has been majorly shaken up in the past hundred years. With companion animals, breeders are in a race to make the most screwed up animal with the most extreme, striking traits possible, and with livestock animals, lots of heritage breeds with more variations have straight up gone extinct because they've been flattened into industrial monocultures to produce meat and milk as efficiently as possible, health and genetic diversity be damned.

To study domestication itself, you would have to study landrace breeds, right?

Basically there isn't one thing that domestication is

[mapsontheweb]

Historic frequency of horse coat colors based on genetic analysis of ancient DNA.

[evilminji]

I woke up to this thought? And it made me smile~

Wrong way Au?

It's EASY to fly from point A to point B. Linear. Just on long, no traffic, straight line. And if you get lost? Go higher! There you are! But "normal" reporter families with Totally Human genetics can't exactly DO that.

Plus? It's part of the whole Americana thing!

Childhood.

Gotta do a road trip, see weird road side attractions, camp and hike a bit. Go somewhere other then the farm for once. Soooo~ everyone into the car! Yes, you too, Kon.

And don't look at Lois, kids. She hates this idea as much as you do. But it's for Dad. So we're doing it. Get in the car. Some times loving people means "suuuure, honey! I TOTALLY want to sit in an uncomfortable car for hours for your nostalgic dream trip!", so get comfy.

Problem is? He either can't navigate for SHIT (unlikely) or this patch of nowhere? Possibly haunted? Cursed? Fuckey. Very, very Reality Fuckey. Far more likely, honestly. They THINK that was the a same barn the passed four times now... but it looks... wrong? Off. Worse each time, in ways that are hard to place.

Where the FUCK are they Clark?

According to the GPS?

Here.

(You are Here. You are Here. You are He-)

Oh, THAT'S not cursed! She fucking KNEW they shouldn't have left the city. FUCK the countryside. She likes ONE(1) small town and it's where her in-laws live, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! If they die, she swear to GOD-!!!

Then Jon points to colorful tents up the road. A mix of the kind you buy at big box stores and Ren fairs. Balloons. What the fuuuuuck? "Fenton Family Reunion"?

Was... was that THERE a second ago?

Clark's very deliberate Not Too Tight Grip Of Panic ™ on the steering wheel? Confirms that No Honey, it was not. Kon points out? That eventually they ARE going to run out of gas. They should stop.

Words can not express how little the Kents want to do that. They have KIDS to protect. This feels "magical fuckery" to them. AKA? One of the few things Kryptonians very much CAN NOT handle.

And luck getting ahold of anybody back there kids? No? Emergency lines too?

Fuck ™.

Okay! Guess we're stopping! Stay behind us.

They park.

There are campers and trucks, modified tanks and trackers. A few horses grazing side by side with an honest to God moose and two mules. A Llama. Someone's anchored a dirigible. A boat with spindly chicken footed legs, like it's the house of baba yaga's sea faring love child. The name Fenton is slapped on everything. Peoples faces.

Grinning.

Everything grinning.

As they get closer, the racket gets louder. Crashes and smashes. Roaring laughter. Explosions. The screech of metal failing and the whine of energy overclocked. Fatty meats cooking. Spices from around the globe. Radios and instruments, at least one of which violently cuts off in a smash.

They pass an almost violently balloon choked arch, into chaos.

Grinning giants, everywhere. Every color, every shade, every race imaginable. The spectrum of humanity laid bare. Made large. Grinning, Grinning, Grinning. Crashing into each other, against, through. Smashing and laughing, as everything breaks around them. Titans.

Darting underfoot, children. Fast with wild eyes. Mad grins and fae laughs. Wives and husband's, partners and friends, dancing in and out of the chaos. Just as destructive. Perhaps MORE so. Grabbing meals from grills, laughing and joking, tossing children into the fray, all as they effortless hold conversations of their own.

Like a Dionysian revelry, all madness and joy.

Then they are noticed.

"Cousin!"

One of them booms. Locking eyes on Clark. He doesn't even have time to move, doesn't realize until too late, in all the chaos, that the man meant HIM. A running start is followed by a brutal, full body, flying tackle. Clark is taken skidding to the ground and into a headlock.

"LETS WRASTLE~!!"

He watches in helpless confusion as, with high-pitched war cries, a pair of twins jump Jon. They are wearing war paint. Krypto already taken out by a glowing green dog, now confused and wrestling off to the side. Lois has whipped out her tazer. Kon between her and who ever comes next.

By the time he wrestle his "cousin" off of him, he's lost sight of them both.

Dives into the fray.

Magic be damned, that's his FAMILY!

It... It's the most fun he's had in years. That any of them have. He finds Lois in a breathless, screaming, debate/fistfight with her new best friend. Samantha "call me Sam Or ELSE" Manson-Fouley-Fenton. Kon is in the mud pit, wrestling other teenagers in some sort of battle Royale. Jon? Has become king of the ferals. The other parents are impressed.

His years of Damian wrangling finally paying dividends, apparently.

By the time Clark FINALLY tracks down Krypto, there is already crowd and it apparently six heel turns deep into the WWE Grand Saga of the Fenton Pet's League. Krypto, what the hell. No. No you may NOT "form one last alliance against my sworn wrestling enemy, to prove the true meaning of Christmas!" It's the middle of SUMMER!

Clark... Clark is so tired.

He's also a Fenton now. Yes, he KNOWS that's not how anything works. YOU try explaining that! He's on the call list and card list. It's like the Addams family out here! They just... just DECIDED him and his family were related! They've apparently DONE THAT BEFORE!

They leave with directions, fudge, more leftovers then anyone could possibly eat, and a massive new extended family. One that honestly? The Justice League SHOULD have known about. The sheer destructive chaos they get up too? EVERYONE should be aware of them. It seems impossible NOT to be! But? According to THEM, it's a "family thing". Reality tries to ignore them for "it's own sanity"? What???

So yeah.... no more road trips.

How was YOUR weekend?

@hdgnj @legitimatesatanspawn @nerdpoe @the-witchhunter @lolottes @babbling-babull @dcxdpdabbles @hypewinter @mutable-manifestation

[rainbow-banana-slug]

eye strain warning

gummy 🌈🐬

[plain text: gummy 🌈rainbow emoji🐬dolphin emoji]

(^ shark emoji not blue enough)

[id: dark skinned black person with williams syndrome in decora kei fashion walk with posterior walker. person have pink hair with rainbow bangs n all sorts hair clips in hair & stickers on cheek. have many rainbow necklace include one with double yoke egg. wear blue sweater with white cloud where one sleeve is yellow horse with pink leash thing. there many pins on sweater include gummies (gummy shark, peach ring, gummy worm, gummy bear) & green crayons & others. she wear cross body green dino plushie (bag?). rainbow vertical stripe pants with rainbow n star chain. one shoe red one shoe blue. posterior walker made of different color crayons. there text around character describe her which be functionally described below. end id]

🌈🐬.

girl (complicated gender) with williams syndrome n love decora kei fashion & bright colors (she call them happy colors/excited colors)!! she has lotssss of bows n head pieces n hair clips n necklaces n bracelets n other decoration & big wardrobe with bright colored clothing! she love wear different outfits but it consistently decora kei.

she love gummy candy & named herself after them >:) blue/red gummy worm & blue gummy shark her favorites (blue gummy shark also my favorite. to look at.)

williams syndrome (also known as williams-beuren syndrome) is genetic developmental disorder micro-deletion of some of chromosome 7. for gummy, WS lead her have moderate intellectual disability (ID) & global developmental delay, level 2 autism, ADHD-c; congenital heart defects (CHD); hypotonia (low muscle tone), & loose joints.

like many people with WS, gummy very friendly & social! she love hugs & talking to people & talk lot & very physical in show affection! but also often struggle tell when other people not want be social / be social with her, be called “a lot” & “too much,” which lead her have trouble make n keep friends n make her sad—even tho WS make her extra outgoing, she also still get sad n mad n not hide it. she also struggle with danger awareness & often treat strangers like would with friend, n it been something that her support team very focused on work with her entire life because this lead her be very easily taken advantage of n be put in danger.

also like many ppl with williams syndrome, language & verbal abilities her strong suit—tho it’s relative to her moderate ID, so one shouldn’t expect she write speak communicate like average person without struggle. her words more simple, n still need many help for communication, including various form of AAC & aide person.

she has aides that pretty much 24/7 present because WS & moderate ID but working on skills so can be more independent! it something she been work very hard on entire life n she quite proud of progress.

she has many classic facial features associate with williams syndrome, like epicanthal folds at eye, upturned nose, wide mouth & small teeth, small jaw, full cheeks (badly drawn), n large ears.

70% or more people with WS have some sort cardiovascular problem, n so do gummy. she has supravalvar aortic stenosis (narrowing of aorta) which form of congenital heart defect (CHD). hers not very severe n be closely monitored.

she also have hypotonia & loose joints due to WS & uses posterior walker full time to get around. she really like her posterior walker, it shaped like many crayons :D also wear SMOs but forgot write it so oops

art fight character profile

[reblog welcome but please no repost]

[serpentface]

Four (relatively) distinct types of livestock guardian dogs in the Imperial Wardi region. (Left to right: hnorai dam, chin-tsimouna, dírgrahdain, and chin na Hittsanaedi)

Dog breeds in the modern sense of the word in which a dog is selected for highly specific physical traits and carefully bred to retain 'purity' is virtually nonexistent in this setting (and where similar practices occur, it's usually as an outlier situation surrounding a single dog rather than as a standard practice). Most working dogs first develop out of landraces via natural selection, and are bred according to their function above all else. Their forms are the results of natural pressures from their environments, the demands of their jobs, genetic isolation (or lack thereof), and often some degree of selectivity or preference for coloration or features.

These are the four types that occur within the region, all derived from a progenitor landrace guard dog (the last common ancestor of all four contemporary types probably existed about 950-1000 years before present). All share commonalities of a large size, rain-resistant hair, notably dense winter coats, a loud and deep bark, thick muzzles, and strongly sloping chests. They must be able to hold their own (usually through intimidation but occasionally in fights) against large predators that often physically outmatch them- lions, king hyena, hyenas, and wild dogs being most threatening to livestock. They also may have additional functions in dissuading theft and poaching of livestock by humans, and they may sometimes double as basic guard dogs of homes or villages.

Dogs here are bred almost entirely according to their function (you breed LGDs with LGDs, it doesn't usually matter if they look different or come from different stock), with the main exceptions being 'breeds' that are aspects of important cultural heritage or that have specific culturally/regionally preferred aesthetic traits. The chin-tsimouna is the most common of the three and is the result of minimally selective breeding (though some populations form unique strains or have a selective local status), while the other three are semi-isolated heritage types (the hnorai dam for some North Wardi groups, the dírgrahdain for most of the Hill Tribes, and the chin na Hittsanaedi among Ephenni Riverlanders).

---

Hnorai dam: Very rare in the contemporary, with undiluted animals of this stock surviving in some of the most isolated parts of the region's north. This type is distinct for typically having a somewhat stockier build than the others, solid coats, pointed ears, and a tail held upright and curved when relaxed. Most are solid white, gray, or black, and will often be assigned to horses of matching color. This is also the most 'basal' of the regional LGDs, a dog close to this in form (but probably not with solid coloration) was the common progenitor of all other livestock guardian breeds in the region. Variants on 'hnorai dam' are the common name, simply meaning 'guard dog' in the North Wardi language (as they are often used as village/household guards as well as livestock guardians).

Chin-tsimouna: This is the most ubiquitous type, occurring region-wide (and beyond) and used by a variety of peoples (throughout the core Imperial Wardi sphere and among the Cholemdinae, with some usage among the North Wardi, Hill Tribes, and Wogan). They have the most significant foreign ancestry (largely from Burri and Yuroma dogs) and most frequent 'crossbreedings' with feral populations. Due to these factors, the look of these dogs is highly variable (with the 'chin-tsimouna' name functionally being a catchall for any LGDs not of an otherwise specified type). There ARE some broad commonalities (beyond strictly the underlying features common to all these LGD types). The ears are rarely pointed, and usually are bent or lay flat. Fawn coloration with a melanistic mask is by far the most common, with white, gray, and black dogs coming in second (often semi-selectively bred or chosen to match the coats of their charges). Solid colored chin-tsimouna are very rare. There are numerous regional names for type-variants, but 'chin-tsimouna' is the most common descriptor for the overall type, meaning 'horse-dog' (in reference to their typical charges, who they uniquely live among).

Dírgrahdain: This is the native livestock guardian dog of the Highlands. They are the most physically distinctive from their counterparts, and their traits are among the most consistent (due to rarity of feral dog populations in their native range and their status in shared cultural heritage encouraging maintenance of their distinctive traits and discouraging crossbreeding). The most distinctive features are a dense mane, pointed ears, and tightly curled tail. An extended melanistic mask is highly common, and very pale 'evil eyes' are favored in this population, believed to be the most frightening to predators and evil spirits. The name dírgrahdain means 'liondog', mostly referring to their mane. [Extended dírgrahdain post here]

Chin na Hittsanaedi: This is the 'youngest' of the distinct types, and derives from a period of significant crossing between dírgrahdain and chin-tsimouna within the Ephenni riverlands (region south of the soutwestern Highlands, between and around the convergence of the Erubin and Nedachemi rivers) due to significant interaction and overlap of territory between the Ephenni and the West Rivers Hill Tribes under Imperial Burri occupation. The curled tail and pale eyes of the dírgrahdain is common in this population, though the pointed ears are rare and the 'mane' is less developed or absent. Most other traits are typical of the chin-tsimouna type. Dogs of this stock are mainly used in rural parts of the province of Ephennos, and their significance to aspects of modern era Ephenni cultural identity dissuades intentional breeding with both of their progenitor types. The name chin na Hittsanaedi means 'Riverlands dog' (more literally 'dog of the Riverlands').

[rayless-reblogs]

Sharing this Horse Coat Color Calculator because it's fun to play with, and I find it helpful in breaking down Why Is a Horse This Color?

This is completely off the wall, and idk TOO much abt horse genetics or even history, but from what I DO know, chestnut is a super common, considered p basic color but it's essentially recessive to... anything else? Literally any other coat base and/or modifier? Is that right? And based on cave paintings and Przewalski's, it doesn't seem like the original, primitive, wild horse breeds would've been chestnut. They had more bay or dun coloration, primitive markings, etc. So do u think part of the reason chestnut is so common is bc, at some point in human history, it WASN'T considered this basic plain jane color, it was actually like "OOOOH, this horse is RED!! It's JUST RED!!" and people tried to breed for that and it became more common bc it WAS considered special at some point? And then ofc some horses were used to establish breeds where types and colors were restricted and bam, proliferation, but my point is, it feels like chestnuts get overlooked a lot as rly plain, but do u think at one point they were considered special and sought after? idk im emotional i saw that post abt how pigeons were once loved and cared for and now they're treated like rats with wings and idk why i started thinking abt chestnut horses but do u ever think something similar happened??? im drunk and sorry

you sound like me when i'm manic i can't give an honest answer cause i am not a genetics nerd and haven't looked into the history but i mean they could have been like "hell yeah dude it's red, lets name it ruby.. and that one too" thus creating the never ending cycle of red mares named ruby

[she-is-ovarit]

Advantages to being female ("AFAB").

Biological differences in being female are often discussed negatively in order to indicate our disadvantages and where and how we are exploited within patriarchal societies.

On Ovarit, there was a thread in which users shared some biological differences to being female that illuminated our strengths. While of course biological differences in males vs. females is directly rooted in reproductive evolutionary strategy (whether someone develops down a reproductive pathway geared towards an overall reproductive system that supports gestating life and creating larger ova vs. not) I thought I would share some examples of advantages not directly connected to childbirth and childbearing. This is not an exhaustive list.

We are more flexible than male people.

We have better stamina and endurance in some extreme long-distance sports in comparison to male people (such as in ultra-marathons).

Some animals (especially other mammals such as wolves, horses, cats, etc.) are instinctively threatened by males, even if they have never been harmed by them. This is not the case with women.

We have better immune systems and survive viruses better than male people.

We survive famines and epidemics overall better than male people.

We survive variations in temperature overall better than male people.

We have better sense of smell than men.

Our chromosomes provide us with extra protection against certain genetic diseases like hemophilia, and we have more genetic diversity.

We have better balance due to our center of gravity being lower, in our pelvis's, while males have their center of gravity in their torsos. This makes us naturally better at sports like rock-climbing, gymnastics, certain martial arts, etc.

"The male fetus is at greater risk of death or damage from almost all the obstetric catastrophes that can happen before birth.2 Perinatal brain damage,3 cerebral palsy,4 congenital deformities of the genitalia and limbs, premature birth, and stillbirth are commoner in boys,5 and by the time a boy is born he is on average developmentally some weeks behind his sister: “A newborn girl is the physiological equivalent of a 4 to 6 week old boy.”

Women and girls have better color perception than males.

Multiple orgasms.

We're biologically better suited to being astronauts and living in space (note: and this was discovered 15 years ago yet this work was never published)

Some articles (debatable on credibility) suggest that we are better able to withstand complete sensory deprivation for several hours in comparison to men, who were able to withstand complete sensory deprivation for minutes.

For unknown reasons, we do not experience the same percentage of macular degeneration that men do in space.

We have a different adrenaline response. Our hormone systems work differently and so we do not lose as much decision making ability and fine motor control as men do in a crisis, making us better snipers and pilots thanks to our reaction time.

We have better life expectancy overall.