page_title: Champagne gene
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Champagne gene / History
caption_attribution_description: Many champagne horses exhibit this unusual sheen.
context_page_description: The champagne gene is a simple dominant allele responsible for a number of rare horse coat colors. The most distinctive traits of horses with the champagne gene are the hazel eyes and pinkish, freckled skin, which are bright blue and bright pink at birth, respectively. The coat color is also affected: any hairs that would have been red are gold, and any hairs that would have been black are chocolate brown. If a horse inherits the champagne gene from either or both parents, a coat that would otherwise be chestnut is instead gold champagne, with bay corresponding to amber champagne, seal brown to sable champagne, and black to classic champagne. A horse must have at least one champagne parent to inherit the champagne gene, for which there is now a DNA test.
  Unlike the genes underlying tobiano, dominant white, frame overo spotting and the Leopard complex common to the Appaloosa, the champagne gene does not affect the location of pigment-producing cells in the skin. Nor does the champagne gene remove all pigment from the skin and hair, as in albinism. Instead, the champagne gene produces traits known as hypomelanism, or dilution. Champagne is not associated with any health defects.
context_section_description: The champagne gene was located in 2008, but is not a new mutation. It is widespread among American horses, and has likely been present in the genepool for more than a century. The Palomino Horse Breeders Association (PHBA), which registers "palomino" horses based on appearance, includes allowances for freckle-skinned and hazel-eyed palominos. Furthermore, while the registry typically disallows horses with pink skin, it allows American Saddlebreds with skin of any color to be registered. The PHBA was incorporated in 1941. Further back, the foundation mare of the American Cream Draft horse breed, "Old Granny", was born around 1905 in Iowa. Her cream-colored coat, pink skin and amber eyes are defining standards for the breed of her descendants, which are now known to be gold champagne.
  The superficial similarities between gold champagne and palomino, and amber champagne and buckskin, may account for the relatively recent identification of champagne as a separate trait. Gold champagnes were sometimes called "pumpkin-skinned palomino." Classic champagnes, which lack the primitive markings of true duns, were similarly called "lilac duns." The mare that brought the champagne coat color family to the attention of modern researchers was a Tennessee Walking Horse named "Champagne Lady Diane" born in 1969. A classic champagne, Champagne Lady Diane was described as "a genetic color accident" after her hairs were sent to several universities, although current evidence suggests that the champagne gene predates Champagne Lady Diane.
  It was not until many years after the name "champagne" was ascribed to Champagne Lady Diane that the term appeared in scientific literature. It was first studied and described by Sponenberg and Bowling in 1996. They studied the ratio of champagne-to-non-champagne offspring of champagne horses, and designated the causal mutation as the dominant Ch allele on the hypothetical Champagne locus.
caption: This classic champagne Tennessee Walking Horse illustrates the unusual sheen common to many champagnes.
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