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Although white horses are sometimes called "albino" there are few cases of a true "albino" horse. [15] There are also references in literature calling white horses "albino". [16] Dominant white in horses is caused by the absence of pigment cells (melanocytes), whereas albino animals have a normal distribution of melanocytes. [17]
Familiar albino animals include in-bred strains of laboratory animals (rats, mice and rabbits), but populations of naturally occurring albino animals exist in the wild, e.g., Mexican cave tetra. Albinism is a well-recognized phenomenon in molluscs, both in the shell and in the soft parts.
The horses' progeny were also white and the Thompsons called their horses 'American Albinos' although they were not true albinos. [1] After Hudson sold his stake in the business in 1936, Caleb and Ruth set up the registry to register Old King's progeny; the first horse to be registered as Old King's grandson, Snow King. [2]
This Thoroughbred stallion (W2/+) has one form of dominant white.His skin, hooves, and coat lack pigment cells, giving him a pink-skinned white coat. Dominant white (W) [1] [2] is a group of genetically related coat color alleles on the KIT gene of the horse, best known for producing an all-white coat, but also able to produce various forms of white spotting, as well as bold white markings.
Extinct equids restored to scale. Left to right: Mesohippus, Neohipparion, Eohippus, Equus scotti and Hypohippus. Wild horses have been known since prehistory from central Asia to Europe, with domestic horses and other equids being distributed more widely in the Old World, but no horses or equids of any type were found in the New World when European explorers reached the Americas.
However, this is not always the case and many albino animals do not have pink pupils. [9] The common belief that all albinos have pink pupils results in many albinos being incorrectly labeled as 'leucistic'. The neural crest disorders that cause leucism do not result in pink pupils and therefore most leucistic animals have normally colored eyes.
For example, a single horse may carry both dilution and white patterning genes, or carry genes for more than one spotting pattern. Horses with a gray gene can be born any color and their hair coat will lighten and change with age. Most wild equids are dun, as were many horses and asses before domestication of the horse.
A truly wild horse is a species or subspecies with no ancestors that were ever successfully domesticated. Therefore, most "wild" horses today are actually feral horses, animals that escaped or were turned loose from domestic herds and the descendants of those animals. [134]