Blue Eyes

[lilhorseladie]

Ok...so if you have a mare who is solid color with appy characteristics what is the possiblility of her throwing a blue eyed babe. Are blue eyes recessive? Spill your guts, tell me what you know...my book isn't specific on blue eyes.

 

[ohmt]

I'm pretty sure blue eyes are recessive as I had a black roan pinto mare with brown eyes and no history of blue eyes bred to a sorrel stallion w/brown eyes and blue eyes about 5 generations back produce a black pinto colt w/blue eyes! It's really hard TRYING to get blue eyes. usually the foals born w/blue eyes are the ones that are overo or homozygous pinto. Every oncfe in a while one of our appy's will turn up w/blue eyes which is also fairly common if it's in the hors'es history. If you really want a foal w/blue eyes I'd suggest finding an appy stallion w/blue eyes or getting into overo's. I, however, may be wrong on this. It's just what I have learned from experience. I am NOT an expert by any means!! Good luck and by the way, appy's with blue eyes are my FAVORITE!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Blue eyes are not connected to the Appy genetic. They are connected to Splash and Frame and occasionally occur just for the heck of it in case we started to think we knew what we were talking about

 

[Sarah]

As Jane said blue eyes are caused by Splashed White or Frame, but horses with those patterns don't necessarily have blue eyes themselves and their parents may not have blue eyes either. This isn't a case of the white marking gene being recessive, the gene is just minimally expressed. Many minimally marked Splash or Frame horses have brown eyes, but they reproduce blue eyes in their offspring. Appaloosa patterns alone don't cause blue eyes, they must be combined with either Splash or Frame. Many full sized Appaloosas, especially the Bright Eyes line, are Splash.