Is it an Overo? Be Sure Before You Buy

http://www.ferrandstriplekfarms.com

I love the genetics of hoses and have read on the subject with hundreds of books left behind in my wake. So I want to touch on a subject that many clients have asked me when coming out to our farm, is that black and white bald face stallion an Overo?

I get this question on all our bald face mares and stallions that have come out of our main stallion Ferrands Triple K Ivan. And I always get to say, "No. They are tobianos that were just born that way. Ivan has a 50/50 chance of doing this to his children it seems. " Then they ask if Ivan is a overo and again no.

So to help out potential buyers and breeder I tell you this, just beacause it's has a bald face or a Medicine-Hat dose not make it over. Just because it has white socks and a white nose doesn't mean its a splash white. So do not buy unless the seller can give you a genetics report on the horse or its parntes proving what they say.

Sellers are now clamming anything as overo when it truly is not. And a big warning sign is that they say its positive for Overo but negative for Lethal white, be warned that this is impossible! It may not be the sellers fault, they may not know that you can not have the overo gean without lethal white. The overo gene is what causes the lethal white. If the horse is advertised as overo without lethal white and has been DNA to show this then know that it is not an over. To hear more on Overo and lethal whites you can contact one of the biggest breeders in the mini world USA, LTD Quarter and Mini Overo Horses, or the Florda Genetics Lab.  Any color breeder that is concerned with quantity

and not quality with years of breeding experience is also a good place to start. But be aware 

of the breeder that never expands their education and tells you farmer tails with no modern facts to back it up (black mares with buckskin stallions will give you more buckskins, or if its a bald face its a over for instance) needs to update their facts. But there are some facts that science says that just aren't true in practical application (that breeding 2 overos you get a 50/50 chance of Lethal white, but in practice the numbers are much higher depending on your stallions genetics or your mares). 

http://www.ferrandstriplekfarms.com

Splash whites I get ticketed over. There is now DNA test out there to prove splash whites but you can call any horse with white socks and a white nose a splash white.  If the Splash white you are looking at could very easily be called a horse with four white socks and a blaze don't shell out the extra money unless they are tested. I have seen even hoses we have sold in the past now being sold as splash whites when I know good and well that that horses mother and father were never even close to being so. Without DNA testing look up hundreds of pics of proven splash whites and compare. Don't get taken or don't let someone else's inexperience cost you. Ask for photos of parents. But one way to know is if the horse meets all color characteristics and is deaf. Not all Splash whites are deaf but it seems to pop up a lot just for them.

So the best thing to do is to do your homework when you are breeding for color and make sure your not getting charged for something your not getting or can't be proven.

I find this article provided by the APHA to be very accurate. Do keep in mind that there isn't a difference between Miniatures and Large horses when it comes to color, pattern, and color Genetics.

http://press.apha.com/pdfs/guidebooks/ColorGenGuide.pdf


Question from an owner of one of our stallions: So what pattern(s) is Ziggy? I was going to get him tested before we breed him to the new mare this summer. When I was comparing him to other horse (google) I get tovero. Thanks Jenny

Ziggy is a tobiano. Neither Mother or father tested positive for Overo. We had a bother of his that was the same and tested negative for the gene. But Ziggy should be Homozygous for black as all of his sisters are, mother and father. I wouldn't bother with the pattern testing as nothing his father had ever given us has been overo but check his black/red factor. What are you breeding him too? What color are you trying to get? This is exciting news to hear from you again!