Piebald color of horses. Unique spotted horse color - piebald

The piebald horse is always in the spotlight, and all thanks to the bright, unusual and even exotic color, which differs from other colors of horses.

A spotted horse is called piebald, but only if there are exclusively white spots of various sizes and shapes on the body. The history of origin and features of the suit is the topic of the article.

Origin story

The spotted horse began to arouse interest in ancient times - ancient Egyptian historical documents testify to this. In addition, archaeological excavations have shown that this suit was often found in the steppe herds of Mongolia and China.

But the spotted horse is not a typical phenomenon, it is not a color characteristic of horses, and therefore the question arises: where did it come from? Specialists in the course of numerous studies have found that these representatives have an anomaly of genes, which is inherited. It is she who leads to abnormal pigmentation of the skin of the horse.

In addition, it has been scientifically proven that different genes are responsible for the color of a certain area of the horse's body. Piegot - partial albinism. For this reason, in horses of this suit, the iris of one or both eyes may have a blue color. There is also a theory of incest with Mongolian horses, among which the same piebald individuals were often found. For this reason, skewbald horses have become common.

Pinto

Attention! As a rule, horses with an incredible color are outbred, of unknown origin. For this reason, they can only occasionally be found in breeders.

In Europe, spotted horses began to be treated with disdain centuries ago. Even in the Middle Ages they were referred to as "gypsy". Their unusual color was considered "cow". The heaviest equestrian labor fell on their “shoulders”. And this despite the fact that they could not boast of excellent health, because many of their diseases are laid down at the gene level. The prospect of breeding skewbald horses did not attract anyone.

As for the American continents, they were treated quite differently there. Horses were brought to North America by conquistadors. Most of the horses are feral. The extraordinary beauty quickly attracted the attention of local residents. The skewbald horse was a symbol of the Wild West, the Indians were sure that such horses would bring them happiness. Name at skewbald horses it was different, they were called - pinto. Somewhat later, an American breed was formed, which is called the American Painthorse.

American Paint Horse

In the middle of the 20th century, a community dedicated to skewbald horses was created. The founders of the club were the owners and connoisseurs of horses. Today, horses are used in equestrian tourism, on the ranch, they perform at demonstration events.

Piebald horse: external features

Often, beginners have a question: what color is a piebald horse? The question is quite common among people who wish to purchase a stallion. A piebald foal can absorb all existing colors. White fragments on the skin can be small in size, and sometimes cover almost the entire body of the animal, including the tail and mane.

In Russia, there are 4 main colors. They are, in fact, classified on the basis of the suit:

piebald not very common, or rather, it is generally difficult to meet her. A characteristic feature of these horses is that the shade of the mane is grayish-white, and the legs, as a rule, are also light. The shape, size and number of light spots may vary. There are also completely white horses that have small spots a little darker.
Piebald. These horses have a reddish skin color to a greater extent, there are not so many white spots and they are indistinct outlines. Although rare, there are stallions with limbs and a mane of completely white coloring.
Piebald Crow It has a beautiful bright contrasting color. The skin is black, there are white marks on them, their number is not very large.
Piebald bay. The body of the horse is abundantly dotted with white spots, the limbs, mane and tail, as a rule, are also white. Also on the tail and mane there may be red and black strands.

Temper and behavior

The piebald stallion is famous for its submissive and calm disposition. In America, it is used for exhibitions, and in Russia they help people in every possible way with the housework. Even a child can ride a well-bred horse.

bay piebald gelding

Many horse breeders are still concerned about the issue of health skewbald. They cannot boast of good health, a large number of their diseases are already at the gene level. The weakest representatives are the frame and overo lines (about them we will talk further). If both parents belong to this type, as a rule, the offspring have underdeveloped organs of the digestive tract, mainly the intestines. Often this leads to the death of the foal. Pathology develops due to the presence of the FR gene in both parents.

Piebald horse color: breeds

American horse breeders use their classification of skewbald horses.

Horses belonging to this type are usually called Pinto, they are united by one common characteristic - a multi-colored color and blue eyes. By color they are divided into the following types.

Tabiano

The name comes from the name of the abnormal gene - To. As a rule, horses have dark sides. White spots are round or oval, most often located symmetrically to each other.

On a note. The color of the legs is white to the knees. Body color usually includes two colors.

A gene can manifest itself in different intensities, so such offspring can even come from solid parents. There is an opinion that another non-allelic gene is involved here, which contributes to spotting.

Overo

A fairly large group of horses that have asymmetrical spots.

It, in turn, is divided into three subgroups:

frame overo. The stallion's head, as a rule, is monophonic, it is rarely possible to contemplate marks of a white color. On the body itself, white spots that do not have a border can form in unlimited quantities. Light areas do not cross the back. But there are exceptions when the color of the horse is dominated by white. The limbs are painted in the main color, monophonic. The tail is also monophonic, the cause of albinism is the F1 gene.
Overo splashedwhite. A characteristic feature of such horses is that their color does not have clear boundaries, it seems that the horse fell into the paint and stuck its muzzle there. White spots can be located on the muzzle, sides. Dark color, as a rule, remains on the back and neck. Scientists believe that the SPL gene is the cause of such piebaldness, and the intensity of the manifestation of spots will depend on its concentration in the individual.
sabino overo characterized by the formation of white spots on the limbs, quite often they stain the entire leg. Sometimes white spots can be found on the sides and abdomen. Coloring of the head is also acceptable - in this case, the white spot often touches the upper lip. On the markings, the coat has a pure white color, whitish hairs may also be present on the main part of the body.

Tovero

A unique subgroup that combines the characteristics of Oveiro and Tabiano.

If two varieties are mated together, the offspring will acquire the characteristics of both parents. As a rule, the cub inherits the color of the parent whose white spots are more pronounced. But there are exceptions, it is impossible to predict this.

Tovero horse

When mating, each parent shares their spotting gene, so white markings on a foal can turn out to be completely unusual. For this reason, confusion often occurs in the definition of a stallion variety.

Due to the unusual color, the piebald suit has many assumptions regarding its origin and myths:

Only horses belonging to the Overo group have blue eyes.
In fact, all representatives of the piebald suit can become owners of blue eyes. A common phenomenon is that the area around the eyes also has a white color, which modifies the perception of the true color of the eyes. The non-standard color of the iris does not affect the quality and visual acuity. There are horses with a high sensitivity to sunlight, but vision and eye color have nothing to do with it.
Light spots on skewbald horses are shaded.
Some horses do have this feature, but it is quite rare. This is due to the dark skin tone of the horse, which is visible through the white hair.
In the course of numerous studies, a unique and only lightening gene has been identified in pintos, which has no analogues in pearl. If he is in a homozygous state, then the red horse will acquire an apricot hue.

A piebald mare is a unique animal that, in addition to its power, grace and good breeding, demonstrates its unique and inimitable color. The content of the animal is not very whimsical, but not everyone can afford to buy it.

White spots are scattered across the background of the main suit. The legs are usually incomplete or completely white. The tail and mane are usually either white or a combination. Piebald is partial albinism, like any other white markings on a horse's body.

As a consequence of partial albinism, pinto horses may have blue eyes. Moreover, both and one eye can be equally bright.

In America, horses with this type of color are registered as pintos or paints and are divided into 2 main types of color: overo and tobiano.

Tobiano (Tobiano = tow be yah" no)

Tobiano: dark color usually covering one or both flanks; usually all four legs are white, at least below the knee; usually dark areas have symmetrical oval or round outlines and go down the neck to the chest, forming the so-called shield; the tail is usually two-colored. Glolov completely has the color of the main suit, there may be marks (bald head, star, blaze or whiteness).

Overo (Overo = oh vair "oh)

Overo: White usually does not cross the back between the withers and tail; at least one or even all four legs are dark in color; usually white areas are not symmetrical, but rather scattered or splashed, such a pattern is often called chintz; single tail.

Actually Overo includes three varieties:
1. Frame Overo
2. Splashed white (Splashed White)
3.

Frame Overo

This option is specific and beautiful, especially when pronounced. The name "frame" (from English - "frame") allows you to accurately describe this option: white spots are located on the sides of the horse, as if in a "frame" of the main suit that surrounds them. The overo frame is found in an exceptionally small number of North and South American breeds and is thought to have been inherited from Spanish horses.

Splashed white (Splashed White)

Pretty rare option. These horses are characterized by both light blue eyes, a white muzzle (lantern) or a completely head, all four legs are white, a completely or partially white tail, white on the body is distributed according to the scheme: from the very bottom of the abdomen to the shoulders, to the hips and from bottom of the neck - up. The most accurate description of this apprentice is as if the horse had been "dipped" into a vat of white paint.

In most horses, the body has the color of the main suit. In Australia, deafness is not uncommon in such animals.

The term "Sabino" in Spanish means "pale" or "motley", and in Mexico and Argentina, this term is used to describe blond gray horses, or other suits with fine spotting. In Europe, and more recently in the United States, the term "Sabino" is used to describe a unique and interesting subset of white speckled horses.

Sabino have a color and markings very similar to roans, but they are still genetically different. Like roan horses, the main color hair on the body is mixed with white, but in addition to this, Overo's characteristics are also inherent in such animals: high stockings, a white muzzle and white spots extending from the abdomen to the sides. Moreover, the spots do not have the correct shape with even borders, but, as it were, in torn patches.

The eyes are usually blue. But some Sobino may have one eye blue and the other brown.

The main suit can be bay, black, brown, etc. Which are used for better identification. Then they say: "bay sabino", "brown sabino", etc.

Sobinos are found in a wide variety of breeds throughout the world, including the Paint, Thoroughbred, Clydesdale Draft and many others. But in some breeds, Sabino's piebald foals are culled. These breeds include British pony breeds and the American Quarter Horse.

Tovero (Tovero = tow vair "o)

Toveros are horses that combine the characteristics of both Overo and Tobiano.

When breeding horses from Tobiano and Overo, a foal may be born, which is likely to carry a mixture of both types. Such a foal will inherit the type of the parent with the highest percentage of white on the body, but this is not always the case. That is why, when crossing two various types it is not possible to guarantee that a foal of a certain color type will be obtained, because each parent passes on their "spotted" gene to the foal. And in the end, the foal gets a huge chance of having very unusual markings with characteristics of both types.

Due to the fact that Toveros combine the characteristics of both Overo and Tobiano, sometimes there is confusion during registration. They are often mistakenly registered as either Overo or Tobiano, but there are several distinguishing characteristics that accurately describe Tovero as a distinct type:

"Tobiano", having a "hat" or a bald head (lantern) - almost always Tovero. Serrated, Overo-like spots are also a distinguishing feature of the Tovero.

"Overo" with predominantly white in the mane - under suspicion. Predominant white on all four legs may also be a cause for doubt, although actually white legs are not very significant in Tovero's identification. An Overo with Tobiano-like spots but without a single white hair on its back is usually a Tovero, and well-defined spots without "raggedness" are also a tell-tale sign.

As mentioned above, the question of an unambiguous definition of Tovero is very confusing. There are cases when the only way to determine exactly what type of piebald a particular animal has is a thorough study of its offspring. All this makes life only more difficult, because. some "Toveros" are actually Tobianos with "Tovero" features!

Misconceptions and Facts about Pinto Horses

Misconception #1:"Blue and gray eyes are unique to Overo."

Fact: It has been documented that blue and gray eyes are found in horses of all varieties of pinto.

The splashed white, frame overo, sabino, and tavero also have this feature because the color of the coat around their eyes is often white, and in this case this affects the color of the eye. Sometimes Tobiano also has one or two blue or gray eyes. It should also be emphasized that horses with blue or gray eyes are not blind! Pintos may be more sensitive to sunlight than normal horses, but this does not affect their vision in any way!

Misconception #2:"Tobianos have a white body with colored spots, while Overo has white spots scattered over the body of the main suit."

Fact: Each variant of the piebald color has a full spectrum, ranging from almost completely white to almost completely dark animals, with slight deviations in pigmentation.

Misconception #3:"Piebald horses usually have 'tinted' spots."

Fact: In many horses, the spots are shaded, but in the total mass their percentage is small. Shaded spots are more common in tobianos than in other types, but most horses do not have shading.

The effect of shading on the edges of the spots is obtained due to the fact that white hair grows on dark skin. And since white hair is more "transparent" than dark hair, you can sometimes see where the dark skin starts underneath the hair. Seen through white hair, dark skin appears gray or a lighter shade than the main suit, and creates a soft, shaded effect around the spot.

The Big Trouble of Pinto Horses

Despite all the efforts of breeders when breeding pinto horses (Pite, Pinto, etc.), it is never possible to guarantee with 100% accuracy that a foal will have a particular type of pinto.

But this is not the worst problem. A striking example of this is the crossing of two Overos. With such breeding, it would seem to the uninformed observer that this idea is an excellent chance for the birth of a foal with a bright appearance, considering that both of his parents are pronounced Overos. This is often the case. However, if both Overos carry the frame overo gene, there is a one in four chance that there will be a stillborn white foal.

Research shows that if both parents are Splashed White, then the above case is not the case with very rare exceptions. The same is true of Sabino.

The result of crossing different types is shown below.

TYPE	Sabino	Tovero*	normal pigmentation ***
Sabino



Tovero**
normal pigmentation ***			normal pigmentation

Safe crosses that do not produce stillborn white foals. If you do not want stillborn white foals, use this option in your breeding program.

Rarely give stillborn white foals (less than 1 in 4). These crosses are relatively safe, but stillbirths do occur from time to time.

At least 1 in 4 foals ends up with a stillborn white foal. The statistical probability of such an outcome is 25%. Such crosses should be AVOIDED.

* This capital does not give problems only when the horses are accurately identified as Toveros. A large number of Overos have heterogeneous overo genes, so there can be doubt that "frame" is not present in the expected "safe" cross. Also, Sabino very rarely produced stillborn white foals - however, the breeding may have had "hidden" frame genes.

** If Tovero's overgene is not a frame gene, the cross is safe or practically safe; if the overo gene is a frame gene, then an unfavorable outcome is rare in no more than 1 in 4.

*** Do not forget that the frame gene is "invisible" in horses with normal pigmentation, and if a stillborn white foal is born, then only in one case from a number of "safe" crosses, where there is a frame gene in a latent form.

In the Russian expanses of piebald colors, horses are used to distinguishing precisely by the main suit. Against the background of their main suit, snow-white spots that have an uneven shape are scattered. The legs of such horses are either completely snow-white or not entirely white. Such as the mane and tail are most often white or combined white.

Piebaldness in horses is partial albinism, like any other snow-white markings on horse bodies. And, a consequence of partial albinism in pinto horses, there may well be blue eyes. And fair-haired can be equally, both eyes, and one of them. In the States, piebald animals are always registered as either paints, subdivided into two main types of color. such as tobiano and overo.

When coloring with the name tobiano, in horses a dark shade most often covers both sides or one of them. Often all four legs are snow-white. At least if we talk about the area that is under the knee. Most often, all dark areas are symmetrical and they are round or oval in shape. And at the same time they go down to the chest along the neck of the horse, forming the so-called shield. And the tail of such horses most often has two shades at once. The tobiano gene may well manifest itself in varying degrees of intensity. And leads this moment to the fact that sometimes piebald foals can be born from parents who are not piebald.

But overo, there are three types at once:

Frame-overo. Where frame, translated into Russian, will mean the word "frame". And the suit has this name for that reason. That either an oily or a snow-white spot arrives surrounded by a different shade, as if it is in a frame. At the same time, snow-white spots are scattered along the main suit, with torn edges. The so-called "chintz" pattern. The snow-white area can never cross the line of the back, with the exception of those rare cases when this shade is in serious predominance or when only the painted top remains with the ears from the entire main suit. This pattern is also called the "medical cap". With this option, the head area has a shapeless color, and the eyes of such mares are blue without any impurities. Well, the legs, or at least three legs, coincide with the main suit. As for the tail, it is of a single-colored type.

frame overo

sabino overo: On the legs of these horses there are snow-white marks, which often can rise quite high. Almost the entire length of the leg. Often they are located on the stomach, given the capture to varying degrees of two sides. On the head with this color variant, there is something in the form of a bald head or an extensive flashlight, taking into account the capture of the lower lip. And this manifests itself, either in the form of the purest snow-white spots with torn edges, or in the form of snow-white hair, which is mixed with the main suit, and this strongly resembles a roan. But at the same time, it has absolutely nothing in common with her in genetics. And ordinary white marks on the legs and head are also manifestations of sabino.

sabino overo

Overo splashed white. The snow-white shade is located in the direction from the bottom to the top, and the horse looks like it accidentally walked through one rather deep puddle, in which white paint was spilled, also putting its ears with a muzzle there. This is an incredibly unique feature.

Photo of a bay-pinto horse

Toveros are horses that combine both the characteristics of Tobiano and Overo. In the process of breeding horses from Overo and Tobiano, such a foal may well be born that will resemble a mixture of both types of its parents. Due to the fact that the Tovero shares characteristics of both species, confusion can often arise in the process of registering such a horse. It happens that they are registered erroneously. And, in principle, never with such animals, there is not the slightest guarantee associated with the attitude to a particular species. Such foals may well have absolutely unusual-looking marks that have the characteristics of both species at once.

Those of the tobianos that have a bald head (lantern), which is mentioned above, or a “hat”, almost always turn out to be Tovero, in fact.

Tovero's hat

And Overo-like, or jagged spots, also belong to the distinguishing features of Tovero. Those Overos whose manes are predominantly white are under deep suspicion. And if white prevails on four legs, one can also doubt it, but often Toveros do not come with snow-white legs. So here, it's a little easier to decide. In fact, the issue with an unambiguous definition of Tovero is too confusing. There are cases when there is only one way to determine.

Tovero with dark legs

To understand what kind of piebald color a certain horse has, in difficult situations, you will have to thoroughly study all its offspring as a whole.

Piebald horses may be more sensitive to the light of the sun than ordinary animals of this kind.

However, this moment does not affect the quality of their vision in the slightest. But some believe that horses with similar shades of eyes are simply blind. Those people who believe that snow-white spots are scattered over the body of Overo of the main suit are also mistaken, while Tobiano has a white body with colored spots on it. In fact, any of the variants of the piebald suit has a full spectrum, which starts from almost entirely snow-white, to almost entirely dark animals, which have not so significant deviations in their own pigmentation.

selective breeding

Despite all the efforts that breeders strive to put into their own difficult business, in the process of breeding skewbald horses. You can never guarantee with complete certainty that the foal will end up with a certain type of piebaldness. However, this is not some too terrible problem. A striking example of this can be the process of crossing two Overos. When such breeding is going on, it may seem to an observer who is very little privy to the essence of the matter that this undertaking represents an excellent chance for a colt with a colorful appearance to be born. Most often, this is true. But, if both of these Overos carry a special gene that is responsible for the “frame overo” appearance, there is a possibility that a white foal will be born dead.

Based on a special study, it can be argued that with both parents possessing such a species as "Splashed White", the case described above, with rare exceptions, cannot take place. The same can be said about Sabino.

The beauty of skewbald horses

The colors of these horses are so outlandish and unusual that it seems that great artists created it. The horses are piebald in color and invariably remain very picturesque. In ancient times, the Indians always chose such horses for themselves. There was an opinion that it was they, with their such an unusual color, that could bring good luck in battle, protect the rider from injury. In all films, circus performances, you can always meet piebald horses. They certainly riveted the views of the public from young to old.

It is exactly what color the main suit is that gives us reason to divide horses into red-skewbald, crow-skewbald, bay-skewbald and other colors.

Some myths and facts about pinto horses

Myth 1. Only Overo can have gray or blue eyes.

In fact, different types of piebalds can have similar eye colors. With light shades of the eyes, the susceptibility to light increases, but does not affect visual acuity.

Myth 2. Tobiano, have colored markings on a white body, while Overo have light spots on the main background. But it's not. Each individual of the piebald color has its own version of the location of the spots. It is not excluded and the predominance of a dark color.

Myth 3. Piebald colors of horses have "shaded" spots. In fact, shading is present in many skewbald horses, but not all have such spots. The shadow is obtained due to the fact that light hairs grow on dark skin.

Horses have always evoked a feeling of admiration in people. Indeed, these noble animals, like no other, have a special gait, proud posture and a devoted character.

Among the many existing suits, there is one that is completely different from all others. Many people like the pinto horse, but there are those who dislike the spotted horse. What kind of suit is this, and what are its distinctive properties?

What is piebaldness?

Piebald is albinism, but in a partial form. Any spots or markings on the body of a horse can be considered piebald, for example, the presence of blue eyes (one or two), which does not affect the animal's vision in any way. Basically, piebaldness is characterized by large white spots that are devoid of pigmentation. They are scattered all over the skin of the horse's body. Otherwise they are called - pezhin.

Kinds

Pinto animals are divided into 2 types: tobiano and overo.

Characteristics of Tobiano

Characteristic features of Overo

white spots on the body are scattered;
the limbs are entirely dark in color;
plain tail and mane;
the ridge of the animal does not cross the white spots;
modifier gene - OV.

Varieties

Overo is divided into 3 varieties:

Frame ( frame overo), which means "frame". The horse has the same color tail and mane, the head is shapelessly colored, white does not cross the line of the ridge. hallmark is a large light spot, which is surrounded by the main color, as if in a frame. The Fr gene, which defines this type of overo, appears only in the homozygous individual and is lethal. In a white foal, underdevelopment of the colon is possible. The newborn animal does not have a function of defecation, colic appears, which lasts for several days, and the foal dies. The Americans found a way out: they do a DNA analysis of the horse and, if the Fr gene is detected, they mate it only with the stallion that does not have it.
Splashed white (otherwise Splashed White). A distinctive feature is the white color, which is necessarily present in the lower part of the animal and passes to upper part. Back, crest - dark. The muzzle is white, but the ears are the main color of the suit. The Spl gene is dominant. It is detected depending on the amount of Spl in the horse's genotype.
Sabino or "motley" (Spanish) is the most common breed among American horses. The main suit is red, black, bay. A distinctive feature is the marks on the legs, stomach and sides. There are horses of the Sabino breed with blue eyes or heterochromic, when both eyes have a different color: blue and brown.

Determination of the color of the future foal

In addition to the main varieties of skewbald, there are shades: there are about 10 of them. It is never possible to say exactly what type the future foal will inherit. He can "take" the color from both parents, which belong to different types piebalds: Tobiano and Overo. There is a third type of piebald suit: Tovero, which just combines the features of the first two types.

What kind of suit is this - piebald? What should a horse look like in order to be considered the bearer of this suit? An experienced horse breeder will never ask such questions, because he knows the answers to them for a long time. But for a beginner, this might be interesting.

A piebald horse is distinguished by irregularly shaped white spots.

Review part

Let's start with a general definition. The first indicator of a piebald suit is the presence of white spots in the color. They are usually large and irregular in shape. Spots can be randomly scattered throughout the main color.

Experts believe that spotting is not entirely natural for horses, they believe that this is a pigmentation disorder. However, this statement did not stop the spread of the suit around the world. Piebald beauties and beauties today can be found in any corner, although initially this suit was associated with North America. Since it was first seen among the Indians.

White spots on the main color may be a sign that the animal is a partial albino. The piebald color of horses often coexists with blue or multi-colored eyes. This does not affect the horse's vision, it just causes heightened interest because of the oddity.

A characteristic of this suit is the partial or complete white color of the legs. The manes and tails of piebald horses can be clarified, white or black and white.

Pinto horses often have blue eyes

Color origin

Experienced horse breeders are sure that the piebald color has the same ancient history like monochrome colors. The first mention of spotted mares is present in the cultural heritage of Ancient Egypt. However, even scientists have not yet been able to find an answer whether the piebald beauties are a separate type, or whether they descended from monochrome breeds. Even carrying out genetic tests could not dot the "and".

Today, wanting to get a piebald suit, breeders cross spotted horses.

Appearance: piebald types

In the post-Soviet space, 4 types of suit were distinguished:

Piebald - a horse with white spots of an indistinct shape, against the background of the main red color. They often have whitish legs and a mane.
Bay-piebald - an animal with the main bay color, over which white spots are distributed. The color of the mane, tail and legs is light. The mane can be combined with red and black areas.
Crow-piebald - a view against the background of a black color. There are usually not many white spots.
Grey-piebald is one of the rarest varieties. The animal may have a gray-white mane. The legs of representatives of this type are most often light.

The size of the spots and their number can be different. The animal may generally be almost white, with small areas of color.

Pinto horse

How do Americans see it?

The American has identified other types of piebaldness for himself. Horses with blue or multi-colored eyes they called pinto (paint). And the color types are called tobiano and overo.

In the first case (tobiano), the horse has one or both sides of a dark color. These areas are almost symmetrical. On the chest, dark spots look like a shield. The name is derived from the dominant To gene. Foals of this species can be born from monochrome parents.

The second type, overo, has asymmetrical spots. The legs may be dark, the tail and mane are most often plain. This species is divided into 3 subspecies:

frame overo - white spots are surrounded by a frame of the main color. The head of the animal most often has a basic color;
sabino-overo - spots of pure white, torn edges. This color is most common in America. It is very reminiscent of the spots on the sides of cows;
oversplashedwhite - spots of a subspecies of color are whitish. They are located from the bottom up, usually light spots capture the muzzle.

If tobiano and overo are crossed, then foals are born with beautiful white legs. Spots can capture the stomach, and sometimes the sides. Be sure to have a white spot on the head, which will capture the lower lip of the animal. When registering offspring from such a cross, they cannot always accurately determine the type and subtype of the suit. Sometimes the offspring of such a cross is registered as a separate type - tovero.

tobiano horse

Health problems

Representatives of the piebald suit cannot boast of excellent health. Some of their problems are laid down at the genetic level. Horse breeders consider the frame-overo line to be the weakest link. If both parents belong to this subspecies, then there is a high probability that the offspring will have an underdeveloped colon. It will most likely lead to death. The culprit of this pathology is the Fr gene.

When crossing, breeders must ensure that this gene is present in only one parent.

Unwanted couples, from which the maximum number of dead babies are born, are:

frame overo + frame overo;
frame overo + tovero;
tovero + frame overo.

Abroad, in large farms, before crossing, an analysis is carried out for the presence of this gene.

A piebald horse may have a genetic disorder

Major misconceptions and myths

Among horse lovers, there are some misconceptions about piebald animals:

Many people think that blue-eyed and gray-eyed horses can only be of the overo type. But it's not. Abnormal color can be with any type of piebaldness.

Another misconception says that a piebald horse of the tobiano type has scattered colored spots on the white color, while the overo type has the opposite.

The following myth claims that the white spots in skewbald horses are shaded. But it's not. The shading effect occurs when a white spot is located on the dark skin of an animal.

Behind all these complex and difficult to pronounce names are very beautiful animals. Sometimes it seems that the animal has left the canvas, and sometimes it seems that a child was playing with paints. So do not be afraid of piebald beauties, they will delight you with their unusualness and originality.