Broken Colours - again!

[Latika]

Ok, the blond in me is starting to show!

So how do we determine if our horse is more than one colour pattern? Does gene colour testing verify this? or is it simply what they look like and recognising the patterns accurately?

For eg, Medicine hats - shall I test for Tobiano & Sabino & LWO to determine if all patterns exist.. ?

and with my Tobiano, I intend to test for LWO, and if positive would that verify him carrying overo coat pattern? would it be worth testing for sabino also?

Sorry, I know these topics are getting abit old - but i still not full bottle on the ones that carry more than one pattern... geez, much easier when they were all just "pinto" LOL

 

[crponies]

You can tell a lot by visual observation of not only the horse in question but also the ancestors and offspring. DNA testing could confirm that the horse has some patterns but there aren't tests available for all patterns, tobiano, LWO/frame, and sabino1 (there seem to be more than one gene involved in sabino). The only pattern that really is important to know for sure is LWO/frame since it can be a life and death issue for foals. Of course, if one of your breeding goals is pinto it can be good to have it half-way figured out as well.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Read and observe is basically the only way, but a good input of common sense and the ability to be seen to be wrong helps- I drove people nuts at shows for a few years just asking them and talking to them about it- it odes not matter what size the horse is, the rules stay the same, so anyone that looks approachable- go and talk to them!!

Books I found a lot less than helpful- some have very good photos but I have not found one that is not flawed in the most basic way, so take a camera and take pictures of your own.

As cr has just said the only pattern that has to be identified is Frame and it can be tested for- all the others are just reference points, really.