Date: February 2003
Q: I've seen some AT bays with that, and also some chestnuts(look like bay and red duns).
But have you ever seen any blacks that look dun?
Leg barring is usually a pretty good indicator of dun, but I know there are a lot of countershaded/smutty or other horses that mimic dun.
The reason I'm asking about this is because Sponenberg lists "D" as a gene in the breed, along with Ccr....
I also know the hair structure of an AT is different than that of other breeds, and I don't know how accurate viewing the pigment arrangement in the hair would be.
Do you know of any books/websites that have information on tests or research done on ATs?

A: I have not seen any D-diluted black Akhal-Tekes. The ones that carry the
Ccr-gene have the same fenotype as the blacks.
I do not know when and where Phil Sponenberg found the D-gene within the
Akhal-Teke breed. If I had seen this facts published by at least one more
genetesist I would consider the statement a little bit more trustworthy.
Unfortunately we lost a very good scientist when Ann T Bowlings died. Phil
Sponenberg classified one of our mares, registered as palomino, as red dun,
after that she gave birth to a cremello colt.
There have been no scientific reasearch ever performed on any aspects of
the Akhal-Teke breed. So you must validate everything you read about the
breed yourself.
I do not know if the hair structure of the Akhal-Tekes are unique from
other breeds as no research have been done on that subject.
I know though that there are new findings in the reasearch of the Ccr-gene
and its dilutions which will be very interesting to read about when the
research results will be published.