White "Sea Horses"

Google Translate is pretty awesome.  With it, I can read Norwegian forums about Norwegian Fjord Horses...even though I only speak about 10 words of Norwegian.  The problem is that it's just a computer program, so sometimes you get odd translation errors.  "Fjordhest" - Fjord Horse - sometimes gets translated as Sea Horse.  :)

Most Fjords are "brunblakk" - bay dun - but they also come in several other colors: "rodblakk" - chestnut dun, "gra" - black dun, "ulsblakk" - buckskin dun, and "gulblakk" - palomino dun.  Most breed references will tell you that these are the 5 accepted colors of Fjord Horses.  You can see pictures and explanations here: http://www.bluebirdlane.com/the-colours-of-the-norwegian-fjordhorse.html

HOWEVER....there is one more extremely rare color.  Kvit.

 "Kvit" means white, and actually covers three colors: perlino dun, cremello dun, and smoky black dun.  All of these colors are double dilutes, meaning they have two cream genes.  For example, a horse with a bay base color with one cream gene will become buckskin.  Two cream genes will make it perlino.  To get a double dilute, both parents must carry the cream gene, so a kvit Fjord must have parents that are either ulsblakk, gulblakk, or possibly gra (all fairly rare colors at present).  A brunblakk or rodblakk Fjord cannot have a kvit foal.  Double dilute horses have blue eyes and lighter skin.  They are not albinos.  Albinism is a lack of pigment; double dilutes simply have lightened pigment.  Dun factor markings (or white markings, in other breeds) are usually still visible, just very pale.

As in many breeds, traditionally, blue eyed horses were not favored, and so they were selected against.  But genetically, kvit is a normal color resulting from breeding Fjords with accepted colors.  Kvit Fjords are registerable, though there is enough bias still that the color is usually not intentionally bred.

 In a perlino dun Fjord, the dun factor markings will be a darker yellowish color.  Most of these pictures are of a perlino dun mare named Fia.  A cremello dun Fjord will likely have very indistinct cream colored markings, if visible at all.  I have not found any photos of a smoky black dun Fjord.

 If you look closely, you can see the very distinct yellow dorsal stripe in Fia's mane, and that her tail is mostly yellow with white "frosting".

 This last horse is listed as a gulblakk, but is pale enough in this picture that he looks similar to what a cremello dun should look like.  A cremello would have a pinker nose, though.

The following pictures are not of Fjords, but of other perlinos and perlino duns, to better show what dun factor markings look like on a perlino.

Perlino blue eye with flecks of green

Perlino Dole Trotter.  Another Norwegian breed, this is how dark a perlino's mane and tail are without the dun frosting.

Perlino dun

Dorsal stripe on perlino dun

Leg barring on perlino dun

Another perlino dun.

I hope you enjoyed this look at a very rare color!  None of these photos are mine, and unfortunately I'm not sure exactly where I got them.  I've posted them simply for educational purposes.  If the owners of these photos don't want them on here, I'm happy to take them down if they request.