Albino Horse ColorAlbino horse color is interesting to study. The shade is just like that of your regular white horse: the color of pure, white snow. Beneath the hair coat, an albino horse has pink skin, but its eyes are not blue, black, brown or hazel at all… but pink! If you’re hunting for such horse though, you’ll be disappointed. There have been no documented cases of a living “true albino” horse. The truth about these animals is that they are quite short-lived. They die as foals. Occasionally, you’ll hear of white horses being referred to as albinos but in reality, many experts are linking albinism to a lethal trait. Genetics can be a very tricky subject, but you can’t escape it if you really want to know more about albinos and albino horse color. Are you ready? Dominant WhiteJog your memory and stop at white horses. Can you remember that true white horses possess the white gene (also known as the W gene)? Well, the same gene is also responsible for albinism – a term that means “absence of pigmentation.”In 1953, some researchers proposed that whenever the regular W gene is expressed as WW or is homozygous, it becomes a complex “dominant white” gene that can kill not only horses but also bluefrost minks, platinum foxes and Dexter cattle. It took 15 years of tests to confirm this theory. What’s scary is that albino horses do not have any chances of surviving through adulthood. You see, the WW complex can cause the foal to die while it is still a suckling or when it is still a fetus. Owing to this discovery that no true albino horse lives long enough, you can no longer find any American Albino Registry today. The registry was promptly renamed to American White Horse and American Cream Horse Registries for the true whites and the cremello color breeds. Lethal White SyndromeWhen you have a nose for controversy, you’ll enjoy the experts’ dish and debates over the lethal white syndrome or LWS. Some researchers believe that the condition can be caused by two genes. One is the above-mentioned WW gene and another is the OO gene. Meanwhile, breeding organizations think that the condition is practically nonexistent.Well, lethal white syndrome does exist, and the gene which test labs look for is not WW or OO but OLWS which stands for overo lethal white syndrome. If you visit the University of California in Davis, you can find the lab that does this kind of testing on animals suspected of carrying the deadly gene. It’s such a pity that there are some foals who have the homozygous overo gene or the OO gene. Just like those with WW complex, foals with the OO gene die very quickly. If you were to dissect their bodies, you’ll discover that they have an undeveloped colon. If you are a paint horse breeder that has experienced this tragedy, you will know why so much time and effort is spent trying to understand the cause of this phenomenon. The Trouble with Overo AncestryAll horses that were documented to have produced an offspring with the lethal white syndrome have had overo ancestors or displayed a so-called “frame overo” color pattern on the coat. If you do additional readings, you’ll find the American Paint Horses to be commonly cited. There was also a rare case of one Miniature Horse contracting the deadly syndrome.However, just because a horse is an American Paint Horse descendant or has the mentioned overo color pattern doesn’t mean the animal will die, so don’t panic! The best way to check if the animal is indeed a carrier of any lethal genes is through DNA testing. On a brighter note, the albino horse color and any lethal genes don’t appear to be linked to the Sabino gene at all. If the horse does test positive for the Sabino gene, then your horse is not at risk. Horse lovers have a lot to be thankful for. Now you understand why true albino horse color is so rare and is actually not a desirable color for horses.
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