smokey cream

Like everyone else I've considered smokey cream with the perlinos. This is partly because people (including owners) often can't tell whether any particular horse is a perlino or a smokey cream. Partly it's because smokey creams are sometimes called smokey perlinos. Partly its because although finding smokey cream horses is not as bad as searching for hens teeth, it's getting that way! But really, and especially with genetic testing available for both the extension locus and the cream gene, I suppose those are just excuses! After all I haven't classified blacks with the bay or brown horses. The smokey cream is a beautiful color and deserves recognition! So here we go...

Smokey cream horses have a black base coat but are homozygous for the semi-dominant C^Cr allele at the C locus (the cream dilution gene). The C^Cr allele does not occur in some breeds, such as Arabs, Haflingers and many of the draught horses. In these breeds there are therefore no smokey cream horses or smokey blacks.

Cream dilution can have a very subtle effect on black pigment and horses with a black base color are diluted to smokey black (when heterozygous for C^Cr) and smokey cream. Smokey black horses may be very difficult to identify and may look bay, brown, liver chestnut or faded black. They are sometimes called dilute black (especially in the UK) or black buckskin.

Like the other cream horses smokey cream horses have cream coats with pink skin and blue or glass eyes. Smokey creams often have a very attractive coffee colored hue. Rather like coffee with a lot of cream poured in, or cream mixed with a little coffee! Smokey creams may have a mane, tail and points that are coffee, yellowish, smokey blue or sooty. If they are not white (due to socks or other white markings) the lower legs may be a darker shade than the body.

Smokey cream horses can be used to produce smokey blacks (by crossing to a black). If both parents are heterozygous at the extension locus then there's a 25% chance of a palomino foal. The chance of palomino can be increased to 50% by crossing a heterozygous smokey black with a chestnut. Breeding a smokey black to a bay or brown might result in any of the single dilute colors - palomino, buckskin or smokey black.

Cream horses are sometimes called pseudo-albinos. In other animals (including humans) there are recessive alleles at the C locus that cause true albinism. Individuals homozygous for these alleles lack pigment in the hair, skin and eyes. Their eyes and skin are pink (due to the effect of the blood vessels beneath the surface) and albinism is often accompanied by various congenital defects. No true albino horses have ever been observed and presumably they are inviable (i.e. die in utero). The author also notes, from experience, that people often refer to cream horses as being white, although this is not the case.

Cream horses have traditionally been shunned by some breeders and breed authorities, but are now gaining increased acceptance, thanks in part to the efforts of the Cremello & Perlino Educational Association (CPEA). Their research and campaigning helped to finally get the American Quarter Horse Association’s rule against the registration of cream horses withdrawn in 2003 (rule 227(i), formerly 227J). Under this rule cremello, perlino and smokey cream foals couldn’t be registered as pure-bred American Quarter horses even if the sire and dam were AQHA registered pure-bred champions with other AQHA registered foals. In the UK The Cremello Society - set up to promote the recognition and appreciation of cream horses - was officially registered in 2004. The Society provides a registry for all dilute colors, including cremello, perlino and smokey cream, as well as palominos, buckskins and smokey blacks.