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Red based horses will say Liver or Chocolate when tested, except cremellos. But a link will help:] If it's a foal out of a Freaky Friday mare they are all DP.

DP is a hidden gene, so you can't always tell. Since it's a darkening gene, you can sometimes develop an eye for it, but there are other genes that will also darken a horse's coat as well, so a darker color doesn't always mean DP. Mostly you have to use clues based on the horse's parents and offspring, or if it qualifies for the Liver club (and what Sooty alleles it has). If one parent is Hom DP (like a Freaky Friday RS) then the horse will definitely have (at least) one copy of DP. Whether it can get a second DP depends on if the other parent is Het or Hom DP.

To be considered a Liver Chestnut or Chocolate Palomino, a horse has to have a combination of Sooty and DP genes - three of the four possible alleles. So, they can have SstySsty and one copy of DP (two copies will make them a Black Liver) or SstyS and two copies of DP.

Thanks for all your comments, and sorry for no link here is the foal I wondered if was DP.

913905

Thanks ObsidianKitsune, I'll ask :)

Thank you Starfire Acres

There is only a 25% the foal is het DP since his dad does not have DP and his mom is only het DP but there's still that 25% and he is pretty dark

Her mom is only S Sty so she would have to be hom DP because there has to be 3 darkening genes present and since only one parent of hers is het DP there is no way she is Hom DP now that I look at it I don't think the horse in questions mom has DP the mare above is who I'm talking about :)

@StarfireAcres, to clarify, I believe in order to be liver/chocolate you need to have three darkening genes present on a chestnut base.

The posed question asked if the offspring might be DP and the only possible inheritance of DP comes from the dam's side of the pedigree.

Oh cool I did not know that..I learn something new everyday on here lol:)