Appy Question

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Ashley

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Is it common for appys to have blue eyes?

Boo has blue eyes. THey are not bright bright blue, but they are blue enough that you notice them. I havent seen much for appys, so dont know if its a common thing or not.
 
ashley i dont think blue eyes are an appy trait. Normally that is associated with pinto. Also if shes young they may change
 
Ashley said:
Is it common for appys to have blue eyes?
Boo has blue eyes. THey are not bright bright blue, but they are blue enough that you notice them.  I havent seen much for appys, so dont know if its a common thing or not.

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I believe they have more to do with the "splash" pinto gene which is present in some Appaloosas (as well as other colors).

I have an Appy mare with one blue eye who had a loud splash filly (not for me!
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) and I've recently bought a verry loud black and white colt who has 2 blue eyes.
 
I dont beleive he has splash. HE looks all appy to me, he is in my avatar.
 
No, is the short answer
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Blue eyes are linked to the Splash and Frame pinto patterns and some Appy breeders believe it is a good idea to cross with a minimal Pinto in order to get what they call more expressed white. I'm pretty sure this does not work but I'm afraid Appy breeders (this was big horses and the breed not just the [pattern) seem to think they can rewrite the rules and that minimal white will not express as maximum white unless they want it too!! So- again short answer, the blue eyes could be an expression of minimal Splash- BUT it is beginning to be thought that blue eyes also are linked to a gene of their own and can appear without a Pinto pattern- this is an idea, not even really a theory yet.
 
Ashley --

Jack, my red leopard "twin" to your Boo, had kind of blue flecks in his eyes giving them a blue-ish cast when I first got him as a weanling. I could see it in some of his early pictures, too. They were not ever BLUE like a pinto or cremello horse's, but not brown like a regular horse's either. As he has grown (a yearling now), his eyes do now look regular brown.

Knowing his breeder, Rhapsody, and her taste in horse colors, it is *very* unlikely that Jack has pinto in his back ground
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Jill
 
Latest research I've read says blue eye gene is unrelated to pinto gene or any other. We purchased a new junior stallion this year who is a near leopard with ice blue eyes. His first foals are due next spring...can't wait!
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Here's Dawgpatch Appy Go Lucky. We just call him "Spot."

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So- again short answer, the blue eyes could be an expression of minimal Splash- BUT it is beginning to be thought that blue eyes also are linked to a gene of their own and can appear without a Pinto pattern- this is an idea, not even really a theory yet.
 
Blue eyes are not common in appys, big or little ones but they do happen. I would not call it an appy trait but I do like it! Below are 2 photos of Fire a 2 year old appy colt that has 2 bright blue eyes. the close up pix of him is a fuzzy baby pix. His dam is a 20 year old leopard appy with both eyes at least partially blue. She has not produced any foals with any overo traits that I have seen, but at her age I have only seen the last 7 or so foals. The sire of Fire, also an appy, is Greenhills Chief Blackcloud another blue eyed appy that seems to have no overo traits. But then I could be wrong, with appys its hard to be sure.

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hairicane said:
Blue eyes are not  common in appys, big or little ones but they do happen. I would not call it an appy trait but I do like it! Below are 2 photos of Fire a 2 year old appy colt that has 2 bright blue eyes. the close up pix of him is a fuzzy baby pix. His dam is a 20 year old leopard appy with both eyes at least partially blue. She has not produced any foals with any overo traits that I have seen, but at her age I have only seen the last 7 or so foals. The sire of Fire, also an appy, is Greenhills Chief Blackcloud another blue eyed appy that seems to have no overo traits.  But then I could be wrong, with appys its hard to be sure.     
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Sorry - I do not know what happened on the first reply.

I have a leopard mare with 2 beautiful blue eyes - I have not bred her yet.
 
Little Wee Horse Farm said:
Latest research I've read says blue eye gene is unrelated to pinto gene or any other. We purchased a new junior stallion this year who is a near leopard with ice blue eyes. His first foals are due next spring...can't wait!
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Here's Dawgpatch Appy Go Lucky. We just call him "Spot."

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I like him
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I am pretty sure he's a 1/2 brother to my silver dapple near leopard mare, "Spirit" (sired by S S Special Request). But, I think I said that before, too (I'm a broken record!).
 
Jill - Yep, they are 1/2 siblings...........when we first got him, you were kind enough to send her pedigree & a picture. I still have both! Does she have blue eyes too? Can't remember & pix is not at my fingertips......But I do recall that she is simply beautiful!
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Note that in all these cases shown here, the horses display not only blue eyes but white on their faces. I would tend to think there is minimal pinto going on there.
 
I agree in these cases, but there is definitely a school of thought suggesting that blue eyes can appears unlinked to a pinto pattern- it is , as I said, only a thought, hardly a theory. Mini Appies are all so mixed up for pattern, though, that it is far more likely the eyes are linked to Splash.
 

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