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What do YOU want to see happen with Wild Horses & Burros?
Tell the Obama Team!


Main Sections in this website:

Home
Adopt A Mustang Wild Horse
Mustang Wild Horse History
Mustang Link to History
Wild Horse & Burro Watching
How to Gentle A Wild Horse
Burros!
Mustang Mules
Our "Wild" Horse Herd
Herd Management Areas
Mustang * Horse Colors
Videos from Video Mike
Mustang & Burro Events
The Future?
Mustang Links
Mustang Stamp Petition

3-STRIKES RANCH EMERGENCY
If you cannot adopt, please consider making a donation to the Humane Society of the United States, Habitat for Horses or Front Range Equine Rescue. The cost of caring for these horses and supplying them with their initial care has been staggering.


Download this booklet

For more information about the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, please call (866) 4MUSTANGS or Click HERE

This website is owned and created by Nancy Kerson, a private citizen - I am not the givernment

Information about BLM adoptions is offered as a service, to help mustangs find homes and to promote public appreciation of wild horses and burros.

Please direct adoption questions to the BLM, not to me.

And I sure as heck am not a Mustang car dealership!

I have NO horses or burros for sale and not interested in buying or listing your sale animals!

This website:
Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
All Rights Reserved.
I am happy to share, but please give me a credit when you "borrow" things off my website! Thanks! Just say, "author, Nancy Kerson www.mustangs4us.com "

VIDEOS OF INTEREST TO MUSTANG & BURRO ADOPTERS:


Kitty Lauman:
From Wild to Willing:
Using the Bamboo Pole to Gentle Mustangs
More from Lauman Training available now!

DVD or VHS
(2-DVD or 2-VHS set) almost 3 hours of instruction!

$39.95 plus $5 shipping/handling = $44.95 total

BUY 2 DVD Set:

Can't Order Online?
No Problem!

Just email us and we'll tell you how to mail order


Lesley Neuman:
The First Touch
Gentling Your Mustang
$45.00

Lesley works with 3 wild horses at a BLM adoption, and very clearly explains what is happening, what she is doing, & what she sees in each horse as it progresses. Study this video and you can learn "pressure and release" gentling techniques to gentle your own new mustang!

Format:


Help for Burro adopters!
Crystal Ward
Donkey Training

All the basics of gentling, handling, and training. A MUST for new burro adopters! Good for domestic donkeys, too!

FORMAT

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1-877-345-6748
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Download, Print & Share this Petition for a U.S Postage Stamp to Save Mustangs
 

 

 

 


left to right: White Mustang of undetermined genetics, Champagne+Creme "American Cream Draft" horse, Perlino Mustang, and Maximum Sabino Mustang
White and Whitish Horses

WHITE HORSES
are the usually end result of
THE GREY GENE's progressive greying process, or the purest expression of the CREME or
CHAMPAGNE  genes. They can also be Maximum White Overo pintos (which look like, but ARE NOT Lethal Whites) , or - rarely - Dominant Whites.


White as end result of Greying

Cremella mare


American Cream Draft Horse
Ivory Champagne Stud horse

Most horses that appear white are actually "grey", meaning they were born another color and then turned grey as the pigment was gradually eliminated by the "grey" gene. 

Cremello "White" horses are pink-skinned and blue-eyed.

WHITE
can also be Dominant White.

"Dominant White" is a genetic allele that produces a pure white horse with pink skin and dark eyes.

Dominant White horse (photo: UC Davis)

This is an uncommon gene, however, though there are horse breeders who specialize in it.
"Gretchen," adopted by Gwilda Byrd, may be a Dominant White. She has pink skin, pure white hair, and dark eyes. However, Maximum Sabino may also have these traits.

Horses that appear white may be cremello, gray, perlino, ivory champagne, or an extreme form of one of the appaloosa or pinto patterns, in which the colored areas are so small as to be virtually undetectable.

There also is a true "Dominant White" gene. It is caused by a dominant allele that is probably an embryonic lethal in homozygous form - although breeders of Whites dispute this! Scientists haven't located the gene on the DNA of horses yet, but it most likely does exist--some farms are breeding for it now.

Please note that, despite common usage of the term, true "Albino" horses do not exist, or have never been documented to exist.

A true Albino would have pink eyes - albinism is the total lack of any pigment, including the skin and eyes. Look at an albino rabbit or mouse to see a true albino animal. Horses called Albino are usually Cremello - which is a pale cream color with blue eyes, or Maximum Whites - again, with blue, not red or pink eyes.

LETHAL WHITE: There is a particular genetic disorder, always fatal within a few days of birth, that occurs in certain pure white foals. It is called OVERO LETHAL WHITE SYNDROME (OLWS). It results from being homozygous for the recessive gene that - in heterozygous form - is associated with the lovely Frame Overo pinto color pattern.

Overo Lethal White foals are born alive, but die soon - generally within 72 hours - after birth, due to an incompletely developed digestive tract.  

Any white horse older than just a few days is NOT a lethal white. Sabino and Tovero can occur in maximal form, called Maximum Sabino and Maximum Tovero. These horses appear as pure white horses from birth. They may have one or a few tiny dark spots somewhere on their body, or they may not.

For this reason, when a pure white foal is born, DO NOT DESTROY IT until you are sure that it is a Lethal White!!! The newborn foal above was originally believed to be a Lethal White, but the owners wisely waited for symptoms, which never occurred, and today he is a happy, healthy weanling colt!


Maximum Sabino foal
 

 

This foal, owned by Tammi Vogel, is alive today thanks to information Tammi was able to learn from this website! When the pure white foal was born, he seemed normal, but local hore folks all warned that it was only a matter of time until symptoms would start and he would die a painful death - so she should call the vet out and have the foal put down.

Tammi made the vet appointment but luck was with her and the vet couldn't come out until much later. During that time, she researched Lethal White on the Internet and came upon this website, where she learned of Maximum White Overos - in this case, Maximum Sabino, judging from the mother's lacy spotting pattern.

I happened to check my email early that morning and my heart jumped to my throat when I saw the photo and the diagnosis. DON'T PUT THAT FOAL DOWN! I responded and called her on the phone. We had a nice conversation and she was very relieved to be able to give the foal a chance.

Three days later he was still fine, so the vet never needed to come out to do the dreaded deed.

Many months later, "Go Check Whitie" (named for the frequent text message Tammi sent to her family while she was away at work) is healthy and strong, a completely normal weanling colt!

 

 


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MAIN SECTIONS OF THIS WEBSITE:
Adopt A Mustang Wild Horse | Mustang Wild Horse History | Mustang Link to History | Wild Horse & Burro Watching | How to Gentle A Wild Horse | Burros! | Mustang Mules | Our "Wild" Horse Herd | Herd Management Areas | Mustang * Horse Colors | Videos from Video Mike | Mustang & Burro Events | The Future? | Mustang Links | Mustang Stamp Petition

HORSE COLORSGENTLING & TRAINING  MUSTANG HISTORY GALLERY OF HERD AREASVIDEOS

copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Nancy Kerson, all rights reserved - I'm happy to share, just need to be asked and credit given where due.

NOTE: This is NOT a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) website.
For BLM, click HERE

Disclaimer: Horses are inherently dangerous. Use the information contained within this website at your own risk.