About Silver

Historic Silvers

The Foxton Silvers

Other Silver Lines

Silver Mimics

Pegasus Persuader and the Foxton silvers



This is Topside Jolly Roger (King's Haven Senator, bay X Yampa Sue, registered as chestnut), a 1966 chestnut stallion who is the fountainhead of the largest silver family known in the Morgan breed at present. Jolly Roger was a red chestnut, but it is evident from his offspring that he carried the silver gene. Jolly Roger's color line comes through his dam Yampa Sue (registered as chestnut, and also said to be red chestnut by eyewitnesses), whose registered as chestnut dam Oughtchoo (Raymond S Sentney X Mae Morgan) goes back to the mare Dan's Bess (by Dan) in an unbroken line of "chestnuts" on BOTH sides of her pedigree. Thus Oughtchoo may actually have been homozygous for silver, but unfortunately she only had one foal- Yampa Sue.

The Raymond S Sentney line was very prolific, especially through the Broadwall horses, so there may be other silvers from these lines out there. There is other support for the idea of Raymond S Sentney (Chocolate X Skiner, out of Dan's Bess by Dan), registered as chestnut, actually being a silver dapple or silver carrying chestnut. Raymond S Sentney produced 49 offspring and most were chestnuts (many of which might have been carrying silver or actually BE mistakenly identified silvers) with only 9 bay/brown. Of those nine, three are most interesting because they are out of registered-as-chestnut mares: Baroosa (bay, out of Bobby Gal, who also has a possible color line to Dan), Phineus Morgan (bay, out of Josephine Morgan, who also has a line to Dan but it is through a bay not a chestnut) and Brown Mae (brown, out of Silver Mae, another mare who has a "chestnut" line to Dan). When bays, browns or blacks are produced when two "chestnuts" were crossed, this is a possible indication that one of the parents was not chestnut as registered. The mistaken color identification might be on the side of Raymond S Sentney, or it might be on the side of the mares. I am searching for pictures of Raymond S Sentney, Bobby Gal, Josephine Morgan, and Silver Mae; can anyone help me?

The beautiful color pictures of Topside Jolly Roger are courtesy of Susan Graf.


This is Pegasus Pogo (Topside Jolly Roger X Topside Holly Hocks, bay), a gelding foaled in 1974 and likely a silver dapple bay.


Pegasus Paprika (Topside Jolly Roger X Topside Holly Hocks), foaled in 1970, was a mare I had also wondered about from her pictures. Long time Colorado Morgan breeder Ellen DiBella, who knew the mare, confirms she was a silver, though it wasn't known at the time. Paprika never had a foal, but she was an outstanding show mare for the Muse's daughter, Judy, who is shown here driving her at the first Grand National in 1973. Paprika and Pogo are full siblings.


This is the late Pegasus Persuader (Topside Jolly Roger X Dainty Dot, bay), registered as chestnut stallion, 1974-2006. Persuader was a dark bay or brown silver and not a chestnut as registered; as proof, consider that when when bred to the red chestnut mare SH Crescent (color verified by color photos), he produced a bay silver, Foxton Pegasus, and a black silver, Foxton Felicia (both pictured below). He has produced at least three other known silvers, and it is likely that many more of his 29 offspring were actually silvers and not chestnuts as registered. The black and white photo above is courtesy Ginny Muse, Pegasus Morgans; color photo courtesy of Nancy Harris, Foxton Morgans.


When bred to the black mare Topside Easter Ann (incidentally, the only black mare he was ever bred to) Persuader produced two black silver offspring, Pegasus Pied Piper ("Big Mouse") and Pegasus Pinwheel ("Little Mouse"), both registered-as-chestnut geldings and now deceased. This is "Big Mouse", Pegasus Pied Piper, f. 1979. Note the dark legs all the way to the hoof (atypical of flaxen chestnuts), dark rooted mane with light hairs at the very tips, and the nearly pure white tail. Photos courtesy Jack and Ginny Muse, Pegasus Morgans, Parker, CO.


Pegasus Polka Dot (Pegasus Persuader X Green Meads Wistful), 1988 chestnut mare. Yes, she is really chestnut! But remember, chestnut can "hide" silver dapple, and since her sire was a silver, this mare indeed inherited the gene- even though it doesn't "show" on her chestnut base color. How do we know she is carrying silver? See the next horse! Polka Dot is owned by Robin Williams of Durango CO. Picture courtesy of Don Britton.


Lone Pine Starlite (Dutch Royal Tribute, bay X Pegasus Polka Dot, chestnut carrying silver), 1998 silver dapple bay mare (registered as chestnut, but confirmed "Ee" via UC Davis Red Factor testing). Breeding "Daisy's" silver dapple carrying chestnut mother, Polka Dot, to a bay stallion allowed a black based color (bay is a black based color, as is any color with black points) to result- which as you see definitely shows the effects of the silver gene! Daisy almost looks like a "normal" bay colored horse, except for the silvering in her mane and tail and the washed out points. Daisy is owned by McKayla Olson. After Daisy's former owner, Norma Garbrick, read my article on silver dapple Morgans in the April 2003 issue of THE MORGAN HORSE magazine, she had her mare Red Factor tested, and mailed me a copy of the results and some pictures. Photos courtesy of Tami Johnson.


Stone Pine Logan (PL Chosen For Glory X Lone Pine Starlite), a 2008 bay silver colt, is owned by Upsondowns Morgans and Stone Pine Farm.


The late Pegasus Prime Joy (Pegasus Persuader X Gay Jubilee), 1982 bay silver mare (registered as chestnut). Even age-darkened silvers such as Joy may retain a good amount of light hair in the forelock and top of the tail, as you can see here. This lovely mare was owned and much-loved by Linda Erber and her family.

Erber's April Joy (Erbers CF Onyx X Pegasus Prime Joy), 1998 bay silver mare owned by Karen Burridge and Marilyn Esteb, pictured as a weanling (above left); yearling (above right, top) and two year old in long lines (above right, below). She almost looks chestnut until you look at her lower legs, which are chocolate colored where the black points would be if they had been undiluted by the silver dapple gene. First two photos courtesy of Linda Erber of Glenburn, ND; third photo courtesy of Melanie Pewe.


UDM Mia, 2008 bay silver filly by Hillfield Nightrider out of Erber's April Joy, owned by McKayla Olson.


A silver dapple mystery! This photo of the then newly formed all Morgan Denver Mounted Patrol was taken at the Circle J Regional in 1984. The gelding on the far right is a bay silver dapple (notice his silver mane and forelock and how his "black" stockings are diluted to a very dark brown- they are not as dark as those on all the "plain" bays next to him). MOST frustratingly, the article that I found this picture in did NOT name who the geldings were- nor who donated them. They were all geldings and between 3 and 10 years of age in 1984. I am assuming this gelding is an offspring or descendant of the Muse's silver dapple carrying chestnut stallion Topside Jolly Roger or his silver dapple bay son, Pegasus Persuader. I've gone through the AMHA registry CD checking transfers to the Denver Police, but the only horse I found from this silver family that was donated to them was just a yearling in 1984, and the transfer was in 1988. The Denver Mounted Patrol had no information on this horse; he may have not been with them very long. Do YOU know something about this horse? Please, if you can help me out, I'd LOVE to hear from you!

The Foxton Silvers
Most of the photos of Foxton prefixed Morgans below are courtesy of Nancy Harris, Foxton Morgans, Foxton CO. Nancy is very color genetics knowledgeable and knew these were silver dapples; they tried to register the first mare, Foxton Felicia, as such but at the time, AMHA had no option for silver on the registration application. In February of 2006, the AMHA Board voted to approve new color choices for our registration applications, one of which is silver dapple.


Left: Is this a chestnut foal? Nope, this is Foxton Pegasus (Pegasus Persuader X SH Crescent), 1982 bay silver gelding. The mane and tail color is a confusing grey-brown mix, a clue that this is a bay base color foal showing the effects of the silver dapple gene. Right: here is Foxton Pegasus all grown up. His mane color is darker than that of some bay silvers, but the roots are darker and the tips more pale as is typical of the gene. He looks a lot like the bay silver Welsh pictured in Sponenberg's first book HORSE COLOR!


Foxton Felicia (Pegasus Persuader X SH Crescent, chestnut) 1983 black silver mare, registered as chestnut. Pictured as a foal.


Left: Foxton Felicia had a lighter mane and tail and a lighter colored, more dappled body as a young mare, but check out the second picture to see how her color changed as she aged. Right: Felicia again as a broodmare with her half Morgan silver dapple tobiano filly, RV Serena, at her side. See how dark her mane and tail has gotten with age? This does occur in some silvers as they get older. Although the color may be off slightly in this picture, that odd purplish cast is another giveaway that this is not a liver chestnut. To see another picture of Felicia that shows this, check out her picture in the article on Foxton Morgans that was in the November 1989 THE MORGAN HORSE magazine. Felicia was put down due to complications from colic in 2002. NOTE: To read an in depth article about Foxton Felicia and her descendants, click here (PDF format).


Foxton Smokey Dawn (Topside Midnight X Foxton Felicia), 1990 black silver mare, owned by Nancy Harris. Dawn, like her dam, has a darker mane and tail than her half sister Fawn who is pictured below. The lighter hairs in her mane and tail might even be mistaken for sun fading, but they are not the burnt red-brown more typical of such. This particular shade of silver is so dark that horses colored like Dawn might be misidentified as dark/black chestnut or perhaps even smoky black, demonstrating how the silver gene may have remained "hidden in plain sight" in our breed for so long.


Here is Foxton Smokey Dawn as a baby with her dam Felicia. Now that is an odd colored foal, not easily mistaken for anything else but silver... at least once you know what in the heck it is!


Foxton Frosty Dawn (Foxton Society Beau X Foxton Smokey Dawn), 2002 dark bay or brown silver mare, shown on the left as a newborn on her feet for the first time, and on the right as a three year old. Frosty is owned by Tocara Farm Morgans, VT.


Unconventional (Gone Gold X Foxton Frosty Dawn), 2006 bay silver dapple stallion, gelded 2016 (pictured as a weanling) owned by Ruth Burke You can see more foal as well as adult pictures of him here. Photo by Laura Behning.


Coulee Bend Orion (Unconventional X Coulee Bend Contessa), 2009 chestnut (UC Davis tested to be carrying silver) stallion. Orion was the first silver Morgan to be foaled in Canada. Sadly deceased.


Anticipatng SterlngSilver (Coulee Bend Orion x Coulee Bend Anticipation), 2012 black silver filly bred by Sterling Morgans and owned by Shannon Olson of Promise Farms PRE.


Wham It Sterling (Coulee Bend Orion x LMSterling Breez Whamette), 2012 bay silver colt owned by Justapesty Morgans.


LMSterling Hidden Silver (Coulee Bend Orion x RG Paris Hilton), 2012 chestnut (tested to carry silver) filly.


LMSterling Silver Rose (Coulee Bend Orion x Coulee Bend Anticipation), 2013 black silver filly, sadly deceased.

Coulee Bend Pure Silver, 2010 chestnut colt, tested to be carrying silver- making 3 out of 4 silvers for his sire, Unconventional! His very lovely dam is Dody Little Bell SRDA. Bred by  Coulee Bend Morgans and now owned by Pat Kearney.


Coulee Bend Quasar (Unconventional x Dody Little Bell SRDA), 2011 palomino (UC Davis tested to be carrying silver) filly bred by Coulee Bend Morgans. She was sold and is the first silver Morgan in Australia!


Coulee Bend Ricochet (Unconventional x Dody Little Bell SRDA), 2012 chestnut (tested to be carrying silver) gelding owned by Caitlyn Thompson.


Coulee Bend Rolls Royce (Unconventional x Silverstone Firefly Ash), 2012 black based gray + silver colt owned by Coulee Bend Morgans. His color test results came back as E/e a/a N/Z N/G, confirming that he is the first silver + gray Morgan in the breed!

 Coulee Bend Talisman (Unconventional x Mirabellas Mesmerized), 2014 bay silver dun colt owned by Hamars Horses.


Coulee Bend Tres Bien (Unconventional x Coulee Bend Nirvana), 2014 buckskin silver filly owned by KDA Morgans. (deceased)


Positively Charmed (Gone Gold X Foxton Frosty Dawn), 2007 smoky black silver filly, pictured at 24 hours old (left) and 6 weeks old (right). The weimeraner-like coloring of the newborn black silver foal quickly sun-fades to a beige coloring by the time of its foal shed. "Charli" also had blue eyes as a newborn, an indicator that she also had the cream dilution, which was later confirmed by color testing. She was the first smoky black silver in the Morgan breed. Owned by Brookridge Morgans, and you can see pictures of her as an adult there.


Edgefield Vermeil (Edgefield Sun Gold X Foxton Frosty Dawn) is the third foal and the third silver from Foxton Frosty Dawn. She is a 2009 buckskin silver filly. Owned by Edgefield Morgans, photo by Laura Behning.


Foxton Frosty Dawn produced her fourth foal- and fourth silver!- in August 2010. Tocara's Silver Twilight, a brown silver filly by River Jordan, was bred by Tocara Morgans and is owned by Sara Criner.


Left: Foxton Fawn (Society Statusmaster X Foxton Felicia), 1987 brown silver mare, pictured after shedding her foal coat as a weanling. This color is very different from a chestnut foal, from the darker face masking across the forehead between the eyes, the grayish shading on the lower legs to the flat "dead grass" body color and white mane and tail- and palominos would tend to have more of a gold cast. Right: Here is Foxton Fawn as a yearling.


Here is Foxton Fawn in November 2005, and a close up of her head taken in 2002. Both photos by Laura Behning. There is another picture of Fawn on the Morgan Colors website. Fawn has been tested homozygous for black by UC Davis. She is owned by Lisa Bock-Holec of Senoia, GA.

Back to the top.
On to page three to see more modern day silver dapple Morgans!
Back to the Silver Dapple Morgans Project home page.



What is silver dapple?

Historic silver dapple Morgans

Pegasus Persuader
and the Foxton silvers


Other present day
silver dapple Morgans


Silver Mimics: when it looks like a silver, but isn't



Anfarra Morgans

Brookridge Morgans

Coulee Bend Morgans

Edgefield Farm

Foxton Morgans

Hamars Horses

KDA Morgans

Mia-Mar Morgans

Mountain Home Morgans

Poderoso

Stone Pine Farm

Sunrise Ranch

Thomas Morgans






Laura Behning
75 Glass Spring Rd.
Covington, GA 30014
770-385-1240

morgans@mindspring.com
 
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