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A frame overo. Overo refers to several genetically unrelated pinto coloration patterns of white-over-dark body markings in horses, and is a term used by the American Paint Horse Association to classify a set of pinto patterns that are not tobiano. Overo is a Spanish word, originally meaning "like an egg". [1]
Horses can carry the LWS gene and not visibly exhibit overo coloring; cases have appeared in the offspring of both tobiano and solid-colored parents, though all cases to date are horses that had overo ancestors. LWS is also not unique to Paint Horses; it can occur in any equine breed where the frame overo coat pattern is found.
Tobiano is a spotted color pattern commonly seen in pinto horses, produced by a dominant gene. The tobiano gene produces white-haired, pink-skinned patches on a base coat color. The coloration is almost always present from birth and does not change throughout the horse's lifetime, unless the horse also carries the gray gene.
The Tovero (also known as Tobero) [1] coloration is a mix of tobiano and overo colorations in Pinto horses and American Paint Horses. The genetics of pinto coloration are not always fully understood, and some horses have a combination of patterns that does not fit cleanly in either category. A tovero horse with blue eyes and "Medicine hat ...
A horse with tobiano-like spotting depicted on a Corinthian black-figure column krater from 570-560 BC. The earliest known pinto horses appeared shortly after horses were domesticated. Analysis of ancient horse DNA found a tobiano horse that lived about 5600 years ago, [8] and a sabino-1 horse that lived about 5000 years ago. [3]
Currently, the American Paint Horse Association categorizes horses as tobiano, solid, "overo", and tovero. [21] The association breaks down "overo" into three categories: Frame, Splash and Sabino. [21] In the past, "overo" was used even more loosely, to refer to spotted animals that were "Paint, but not tobiano". [21]
The APHA currently registers horses that exhibit the overo (which, under APHA categories, includes sabino), tobiano, and tovero spotting patterns, as well as solid colored horses with Paint bloodlines. It also keeps track of each horse's performance and progeny record.
A similar effect is observed in pinto horses with both the tobiano and frame overo pattern; these "toveros" often have more white than either tobiano or frame overo-patterned horses. Similarly, two apparently solid-colored horses with separate factors for white markings may produce a foal expressing both, with more white than either parent.