Penny Makinson runs the TawnyDun Stud as a rare Connemara Pony Stud - it is possibly the only stud in England and Ireland not breeding with grey Connemara ponies, but using bay & dun ponies so that the foals will not carry the dominant grey gene. Penny says ‘my foals will carry the agouti (bay) gene & sometimes the creme gene to produce dun Connemara ponies'. We aim to breed the best quality dun ponies - we have four pure bred Connemaras & one 7/8 Thoroughbred mare, all in foal to Connemara stallions. Our sane & sensible youngsters will make ideal rides for teenagers & small adults. BREEDING DUN PONIES Although connemara ponies are known as dun, they are actually buckskins. I have only ever seen one 27 year old mare in Clifden who was a true dun, and at the time I did not know what I was looking at. The true dun gene is a ‘simple dominant’ - if the foal has the gene it will be a zebra dun with dorsal stripe and barring on its legs. If it does not have the gene, it will not be dun. The buckskin is something completely different, diluting the agouti (bay) gene with the creme gene. This makes the bay body of the pony dilute to the lovely golden colour, but leaves the legs, mane and tail black. The creme gene is an ‘incomplete dominant’ - if one is thrown then it dilutes, but if two are thrown this produces the blue eyed crème. It is reckoned, genetically speaking, that out of four coverings of buckskin to buckskin, there will be two buckskins, one bay and one blue eyed creme. This is why the buckskin colour is hard to breed, because it is not easy to guarantee the colour. TawnyDun Stud is one of the very few studs who will breed buckskin to buckskin. It does mean that I get blue eyed creme foals. However, the benefit is that our blue eyed creme offspring do not carry the grey gene, making them very rare. Also, as all our mares are homozygous for agouti, this makes the blue eyed creme offspring Perlino in colour (not Cremello) - again extremely rare. Perlino is a double dilute of creme with an agouti base, whereas Cremello is a double dilute of creme with the red factor base. A Perlino will produce buckskin when put with a bay, whereas a Cremello will produce palomino when put with a chestnut.