names for horses with blue eyes
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Horse
The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.
25 and 30 years
Horses are adapted to run, allowing them to quickly escape predators, possessing an excellent sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight response. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down, with younger horses tending to sleep significantly more than adults. Female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under a saddle or in a harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.
Cold bloods
Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited “hot bloods” with speed and endurance; “cold bloods”, such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and “warmbloods”, developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, developed for many different uses.
Horses and humans interact in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, as well as in working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, and pharmaceuticals extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. Humans provide domesticated horses with food, water, and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers.
Biology
Lifespan and life stages
Depending on breed, management and environment, the modern domestic horse has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. Uncommonly, a few animals live into their 40s and, occasionally, beyond. The oldest verifiable record was “Old Billy”, a 19th-century horse that lived to the age of 62. In modern times, Sugar Puff, who had been listed in Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living pony, died in 2007 at age 56.
Regardless of a horse or pony’s actual birth date, for most competition purposes a year is added to its age each January 1 of each year in the Northern Hemisphere and each August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere. The exception is in endurance riding, where the minimum age to compete is based on the animal’s actual calendar age.
The following terminology is used to describe horses of various ages:
Foal
A horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling, and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling. Most domesticated foals are weaned at five to seven months of age, although foals can be weaned at four months with no adverse physical effects.
Yearling
A horse of either sex that is between one and two years old.
Colt
A male horse under the age of four. A common terminology error is to call any young horse a “colt”, when the term actually only refers to young male horses.
Filly
A female horse under the age of four.
Mare
A female horse four years old and older.
Stallion
A non-castrated male horse four years old and older. The term “horse” is sometimes used colloquially to refer specifically to a stallion.
Gelding
A castrated male horse of any age.
In horse racing, these definitions may differ: For example, in the British Isles, Thoroughbred horse racing defines colts and fillies as less than five years old. However, Australian Thoroughbred racing defines colts and fillies as less than four years old.
Horses with Blue Eyes (Breeds, Colors, Problems, FAQs & Pictures)
Blue-eyed horses are not something you see every day, but they do exist. While some people are startled by their eeriness, others find them mesmerizing. They sure make for a special sight, and because of that, a number of myths and beliefs circulate about them to this day.
Many people tend to associate blue-eyed horses with light sensitivity or a crazy temperament. But how much truth is in these allegations and why do horses have blue eyes?
Blue eyes are often seen in horses with white markings or dilution coat colors such as cremellos, perlinos, palominos, or buckskins. The cream gene responsible for these coat colors also makes the eyes less pigmented. While blue eyes are more common in some breeds, they can appear in virtually any horse breed.
Horse breeds with blue eyes
As blue eyes in horses are closely linked with coat color, they most often occur in breeds displaying these white or cream type coat colors.
The most common horse breeds with blue eyes are the Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse, Paint Horse, and Appaloosa. Other breeds frequently wearing blue eyes are the Akhal Teke, Gypsy Vanner, or Miniature Horse.
There have also been reports of an increasing number of Thoroughbreds and Arabians having blue eyes. However, this is still an infrequent occurrence.
Horse coat colors and blue eyes
Whether a horse will be born blue-eyed or not is more dependent on coat color than anything else. Double-dilute colorations will always come with blue eyes, like the cremello and perlino. These are horses with a chestnut, bay, or brown base color that has been diluted twice by the cream gene.
Single-dilutes like palominos or buckskins can also have blue eyes, although less frequently. Blue eyes are scarce in horses with base colors such as bay, chestnut, or black, but not unheard of. These horses will almost always have white markings.
Are horses with blue eyes rare?
Horses with blue eyes are quite uncommon. There hasn’t been a study to estimate what percentage of the horse population has blue eyes, but they are more common in certain breeds.
We can guess that there are definitely fewer blue-eyed horses than humans relative to the whole population, where this number is around 8-10%. Perhaps when the origins and genetics of this phenomenon in horses will be better understood, scientists will calculate a rough estimate.
It is no surprise however that blue eyes are such a rare occurrence in horses. Being a prey animal, a glowing pair of blue eyes would have been more likely to reveal horses to predators in the wild. Traits that decrease the chances of survival in a species are naturally selected out during evolution.
Meet horse racing’s latest “blue-eyed boy”
Thoroughbred racing in the US has a colorful new standout in the striking colt Southern Phantom.
The bay son of Bodemeister is from the plain bay mare Out For Revenge, who has no white markings at all.
He has one blue eye and one brown, the tip of his tail is white, he has stockings past his knees and hocks, and a belly patch. And he already has a legion of fans on his Facebook page.
Southern Phantom got his name in a competition run by Blood Horse magazine when he was born. The name refers to his trainer Eric Guillot’s Southern Equine Stables, and the Phantom of the Opera.
So far, Southern Phantom has had only three races, notching up a third place in one and fifths in the other two.
Guillot, of Midway, Kentucky, said Southern Phantom had to wear sunblock when he’s out in the paddock as his pale skin is so sensitive.
Even if his race career doesn’t pan out, Guillot said he had plenty of takers lining up to have him as a stallion or sport horse prospect.
“I think he’s going to be all right. He’s getting better,” Guillot told CNN. “I don’t know if he’s a superstar, but he’s gonna be OK.”
Are blue-eyed horses sensitive to light?
Although decreased pigmentation in the iris of blue eyes means more light will be entering the eye, this doesn’t cause light sensitivity in horses with blue eyes. The only structure that’s more sensitive to light in blue-eyed horses is any unpigmented skin around the eyes.
Are horses with blue eyes blind/deaf?
Horses with blue eyes are not blind and their eyes work just as well as horses with different eye colors. Blue eyed horses are also no more prone to diseases than any other horses.
There have been a couple of studies investigating deafness in Paint Horses with blue eyes. A recent paper published in 2019 has revealed a genetic link between the splashed white coat pattern, blue eyes and increased risk of deafness in this breed.
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