Video: Rare White TB Foal Born in KY
The filly is descended from the famous white female line at Patchen Wilkes Farm in Kentucky, out of the white mare Beautiful Devil.
True white Thoroughbreds are very rare — gray horses who turn paler and paler with age are fairly common, but true white Thoroughbreds come from a genetic mutation and are uncommon indeed. One more white Thoroughbred has been added to the ranks, however, with the birth of this filly by Revolutionary out of the white mare Beautiful Devil — she arrived during the Super Bowl!
It was believed until recently that white Thoroughbreds were a variation of the sabino pattern, essentially presenting as one giant body-wide white spot. However, recent research indicates that these white horses are genetic mutants, which can present in a number of different ways all referred to in a group as “dominant white.” The Patchen Wilkes horses are perhaps the best-known example — the filly pictured here is from a white damline including Beautiful Devil, Spot of Beauty, Patchen Beauty and White Beauty.
Another recent example of a rare white Thoroughbred was the colt born last February at Rockridge Stud in New York. His white coat coloring came from another family; his dam is a daughter of the famous Airdrie Apache who boasts a mottled coat and is dual registered as a Paint.
“Dominant white” should not be confused with “lethal white,” which is most common in the Paint industry — when two parents are bred who carry the frame overo gene, the foal is born with an undeveloped colon and typically colics and dies within a few days of birth.
Want to learn more about dominant white Thoroughbreds? We recommend the following articles:
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