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This page is still under construction, and should not be used as an official group guide in designing your foals. Our current official guides are linked on the Design Your Foals page, please use the guides there when designing your foals!

Bay Bases

Please note that this page is for Bay horses which have no dilutes or modifiers, please see the Color Chart and Design Guides main page to see other base coats. 

Bay comes in three forms in Nordanner: Bay, Wild Bay, and Seal Bay.
Which type of bay your horse presents is determined by the form of Agouti your Nordanner carries. For Bay, your horse has regular Agouti (A).

Base Coat: Bay

Occurs as: Ee Aa | EE AA
Bay causes black base coat from the Extension, or "black" gene (E) to be restricted to the horse’s points, leaving the red or brown color, Agouti (A), visible on the main body of the horse. Points include the legs (up to the knee and hock at the minimum) muzzle, and optionally the tip of the ears and around the eye of the horse.  The mane and tail of a bay horse will always be black.  
You may pick the shade of the bay (from red-bay all the way to dark bay) regardless of the parent shades.

Horses with this gene CAN:
  • Range from shades of reddish brown to very dark brown -- see the color bar below!
  • Optionally have a grey or dark-colored muzzle. 
  • Have points on the legs which must reach the knees and hocks at minimum. May darken midway up the upper leg of the horse at maximum, as shown in the first bay example below!
  • Have slight shading and countershading, but not enough to make it appear as though the horse has pangare or sooty -- unless those genes are present. 
  • Have white markings that are not caused by any form of genetic white. Please see the Natural White page to learn more about what is acceptable for non-genetic white. 

Horses with this gene CANNOT:
  • Have any eye color but brown, unless other genes are present which change eye color. 
  • Make your horse a very light, desaturated brown without a dilute present. (Cream, Pearl, etc)
  • Have the base coat be so saturated that it resembles glimmer or merlot. 
  • Have a mane, tail, and points any color other than black, unless a dilute or other gene which modifies them is present.  
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The examples below show only a few of the accepted shades, for you to get an idea of the range of shades possible with Bay. Overall, the color bar above should be your guide for the acceptable range of coloration. 

Base Coat: Wild Bay

Occurs as: Ee A+a | EE A+A+
Bay causes black base coat from the Extension, or "black" gene (E) to be restricted to the horse’s points, leaving the red or brown color, Agouti (A), visible on the main body of the horse. Points for a Wild Bay include the knees, hocks, fetlocks, muzzle, and optionally the tip of the ears and around the eye of the horse.  These points, and the mane and tail of the horse, do not have to be pure black, but must be darker than the darkest point on the body. The points and the mane and tail should also match in color. 
You may pick the shade of the bay regardless of the parent shades. Wild bay differs from standard bay in base coat color, being lighter or more yellow in tone. 

Horses with this gene CAN:
  • Be lighter than a standard bay, displaying a lighter or more yellow tone -- see the color bar below!
  • At minimum, have points limited to either the knees or hocks. At maximum, the horse can have points on the knees, hocks, muzzle, around the eyes, and on the tip of the ears. When present on both the knees and hocks, there must be a gap in the middle where the base coat shows through. 
  • Optionally show points on the muzzle, around the eyes, and on the tip of the ears. 
  • Display points and a mane and tail which are not 100% black. However, the mane and tail must be the same shade, and must be darker than the darkest point on the base coat.
  • Have slight shading and countershading, but not enough to make it appear as though the horse has pangare or sooty -- unless those genes are present. 
  • Have white markings that are not caused by any form of genetic white. Please see the Natural White page to learn more about what is acceptable for non-genetic white. 

Horses with this gene CANNOT:
  • Have any eye color but brown, unless other genes are present which change eye color. 
  • Make your horse a very light, desaturated brown without a dilute present. (Cream, Pearl, etc)
  • Have the base coat be so saturated that it resembles glimmer or merlot. 
  • Have a mane, tail, and points which are not darker than the darkest point on the base coat, unless a dilute or other gene which modifies them is present.  
The examples below show only a few of the accepted shades, for you to get an idea of the range of shades possible with Wild Bay. Overall, the color bar above should be your guide for the acceptable range of coloration. ​

Base Coat: Seal Bay

Occurs as: Ee Ata | EE AtAt
Bay causes black base coat from the Extension, or "black" gene (E) to be restricted to the horse’s points, leaving the red or brown color, Agouti (A), visible on the main body of the horse. Points for a Seal Bay are extended drastically, creating a darker coloring across a good majority of the body, with countershading near the muzzle, eye, throat, underbelly, and rump of the horse. These points, and the mane and tail of the horse, do not have to be pure black, but must be darker than the darkest point on the body. The points and the mane and tail should also match in color. 
You may pick the shade of the bay regardless of the parent shades. Seal bay differs from standard bay in base coat color, being darker in tone with lighter countershading. 

Horses with this gene CAN:
  • Also be simply referred to as "Seal Brown", "Seal" or "Brown". In the presence of dilutes, may simply be called "Burnt" or "Sable". 
  • Have extended points which cover most of the body in a darker color, with the mane, tail, and lower legs being the darkest coloration.
  • Have lighter countershading around the muzzle, eyes, throat, underbelly, and rump, as shown in the examples below!
  • Be so dark that they are nearly black, provided some countershading is present. May also be lighter in color, so long as a majority of the body is darker, and countershading is present. ​
  • Have white markings that are not caused by any form of genetic white. Please see the Natural White page to learn more about what is acceptable for non-genetic white. 

Horses with this gene CANNOT:​
  • Have any eye color but brown, unless other genes are present which change eye color. 
  • Make your horse a very light, desaturated brown without a dilute present. (Cream, Pearl, etc)
  • Have the base coat be so saturated that it resembles glimmer or merlot. 
  • Have a mane, tail, and points which are not darker than the darkest point on the base coat, unless a dilute or other gene which modifies them is present.  
  • Have harsh lines between the countershading and the body, they must be well blended. 
  • Have an overly desaturated or grey tone to the body, unless a gene is present which would cuase such coloration, such as Grey. 
The examples below show only a few of the accepted shades, for you to get an idea of the range of shades possible with Seal Bay. Overall, the color bar above should be your guide for the acceptable range of coloration. 
Please note: Nordanner genes may simplify certain genes from real life. Genes may not present in Nordanner the way they do in real life or in other ARPG breeds, and are as close to being realistic as possible while still maintaining standards within the breed. ​​
How does bay / wild bay / seal bay pass to offspring?