Equine
Would you like to know what color your horse is? Do you have questions about the color of your foal? You've come to the right place.
Solid White Filly
White horses have a special place in the human imagination. Held sacred by many ancient cultures, they still bring to mind images of Pegasus and unicorns. The reality is a bit more mundane although the coloring is still striking. Most of the "white" horses seen in movies and TV are not in fact not white but completely grayed out or light cremellos or perlinos.
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Do KIT Gene Mutations Cause Blue Eyes?
White patterns in horses are known to cause bright blue eyes. The white pattern most often associated with blue eyes in horses is the splashed white pattern. KIT gene mutations (including Dominant White, Sabino, and Tobiano) are not as frequency associated with blue eyes but why? The reason lies with gene function and the distribution of pigment during embryonic development.
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KT Gun in a Million
The brindle color pattern does not often occur in horses. The only mutation in horses that reliably produces a brindle coat color is now known to be associated with skin and other health problems and to be lethal in male foals. All other known brindles in horses are the result of chimerism or other mechanisms that do not reliably reproduce. Chimerism occurs when twins fuse very early in development.
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What does Overo Mean? (And Why You Shouldn't Use It)
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The Case for Sabino
The past several days have been very exciting in the world of Equine Color Genetics. The results from the first round of W20 testing has started to filter into facebook and the results are very popular. However, this has caused a problem. More than once over the past several days, I have found myself explaining why this white pattern (and all white patterns at the KIT locus) should know be referred to as “White Spotting” rather than Dominant White or Sabino.
Then it dawned on me...Why can’t we just call them all Sabino? These white patterns, phenotypically, look like Sabino. Who cares if they are inherited as an Dominant, incomplete dominant or recessive for that matter.
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And Then There Was One: The Abaco Colonial Horse
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Causal Mutation for Leopard Complex Located
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Study of Face and Leg White in Horses Reveals Influence of New and Known Loci
An article was recently brought to my attention (via twitter) regarding the regulation of white markings in horses. This article was published today (December 12th) but the actual paper on which it was based was published back in September and somehow escaped my notice.
Gray Inhibitor in Horses: Possible New Mutation?
Most of us are familiar with gray horses. Horses that are born a solid color but then slowly (or sometimes not so slowly) turn white as they age. We've seen them as the majestic “white” Lipizzaners and the “white” horses in many Hollywood productions including the Lord of the Rings movies. Recently however, it has been discovered that not all gray horses turn white as they age. In fact, some don't look “gray” at all even when at an advanced age. Often these horses have been labeled as Rabicano or even roan but at least one of the more famous has been confirmed to carry the Gray mutation. This horse is Comico IV.
Eye Color in Horses
Most horses have brown eyes but other eye colors are seen. These eye colors can include blue, green, yellow, amber, or hazel. Most variation in eye color is the result of a white pattern or dilution.
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Pictorial Guide to Horse Colors Part 5
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Pictorial Guide to Horse Colors Part 4
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