Curious questions about my baby horse. Enjoy pics and see if you know.?

Question

I'm adding a link at the bottom of this post. It links to photobucket. I've put the best pics I could find at the highest resolution. I have a couple of question pertaining to babies if you know them. I haven't dealt with a lot of babies on a day to day basis and so I haven't noted what changes how dramatically. I've already seen that he's grown dramatically in 2 months. You can see based on the pics. 

One is of him and his mother at 1 day and some of the others are at 2 months. Anyway, my questions are this: First, he's half arabian/ half quarter horse. I think he's got an arabian body with paint colors. He has a short back, his tail flags when he runs, and he has the arabian float when he moves, though he can move like a quarter horse. I don't know about his head though. 

Do you think it looks like an arabian head and do you think it'll change much in his growth. To be honest, the reason I'm asking is because I've seen arabians with super typey heads and some that don't even look arabian though they are pureblood. 

Second, he had a nice big star when he was born and now he's shedding his baby brown for his adult black and the star is almost gone. There are only a few white hairs left. I assume they will grow back, but will they and will it be as big. Third, his eyes are blue. It's hard to see them well because of long lashes, bad angles and glare, but they are a dark blue. 

I've only seen his father, mother and grandmother who all have dark eyes, but he does have paint genes that have come out strongly in his coloring. His grandmother belonged to my uncle previously and she is homozygous for the paint gene and the stallion is a black arabian who is homozygous for the black gene and his over rode hers. Out of something like 12 or 15 babies she had all of them were black except one with a white patch under her belly. 

So for him to be this strongly colored his paint genes have to be strong and they do have blue eyes, some of them anyway. Will they stay this color or turn over time. He's extremely smart and the most I've had to try an excersice is three times before he gets it. 

He's 2 months old and he walks and trots on the lead, backs, drops his head with pressure on his poll, starting to flex, picks up all feet easily, can run a rope up his legs, gouche his arm pits, drop it to his ankles, pick the foot up with just the rope and I can do this on all four feet. He'll also walk and whoa on command and I've given him two bathes on a loose lead and he likes them. 

He's very smart, with a good personality, good conformation and looks good. He is the great grandson of the black arabian stallion named Cass Ole who played the black in the movie The Black Stallion. If you can answer my questions then I would appreciate it. I'm including a link with the best pics I can find to help you answer the questions. Two are of his father at 2 years old. 

Also, I don't want anyone thinking I'm putting too much strain on him at a young age. Lessons are kept short, I don't ask him to do anything I think he can't handle, and I go back if I think he's having difficulites. Like I said, he picks up anything I teach him in 3 tries max. Thanks.

http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee196/M_Hatter/Amigo/

wtevr · Accepted Answer

I only have definite answers about his color. If the stallion is homozygous for the black gene, the foal will be black unless there is a modifier gene on it.  Also, the black gene can't override the paint gene. they are separate genes on separate chromosomes. As for this "paint gene," there are actually 5 white causing pattern genes. Your foal has the tobiano gene, which means that the white starts at the top of hs body and proceeds down, giving him four white legs. Tobiano is actually color on a white background instead of white on a color background. His specific pattern is medim white with "ink spots." He may also carry the sabino gene, which is what causes facial markings and leg markings. Tobiano only affects the body, so for the foal to have a star, he would have to have sabino. Also, many foals are born with larger facial markings than they will have as an adult horse, so his star may grow back some but it will probably be smaller than it was when he was born.
Now for your other questions. I think his head looks a bit araby. He might have an arab head or he might end up like my friend's arab-quarter cross whose head is a mix of the two. I think his eyes will darken to brown. Actual dark blue eyes are very rare, most "blue" eyes are actually wall eyes, which is caused by a different gene. You would see the dark blue eyes in his ancestry if it were there. Wall eyes are a light blue and are caused by frame overo or splash genes, which he does not have. 
Well, good luck and enjoy your baby! I would like to see pictures of him in the future to see if my predictions turned out correctly.
Oh, and paints are quarter horses with pinto genetics. Same with Appaloosas. Many people don't know that

Coonhound Girl(Wallflower) · Answer

He may keep the dished head - even if he is part Quarter- especially if he's got any Doc Bar blood in him. We had a pretty little sorrel mare that was Doc Bar bred and she had the dished Arabian type head, she flagged her tail, and she had the float. The lady that owned the stable said that she loved her way of movement because she moved less like a quarter horse and more like an Arabian. And since all American Thoroughbred horses descend from either/and/or the Godolphin Arab, the Byerly Turk, or the Darley Arabian, there is this extra bit of Arabian blood that many seem not to acknowledge when noting the QH/TB lines. Yet, occasionally all the distant Arabian blood combines and great horses like the Quarter Horse, Doc Bar emerges. A lot of the Doc Bar bred horses have that Arabian look to them. 

She was smart like your baby was too - she picked up on things immediately. Sounds like he might not be too hard to train to saddle. We taught her from the day we bought her as a yearling and she broke to saddle like she was an old pro as we got her used to everything - bits, blankets, - we used a bareback pad to get her used to a cinch. I wish I wouldn't have had to sell her. When I was in my early 20's my mom fell ill and we had to sell her (at age 10) as we couldn't afford the board - but we sold her to the lady that owned the stable - at least we knew she was getiing a good home.

Bohemian_Garnet_Permaculturalist · Answer

Most people don't realize it, but there are several strains of Arab horses.  Some have the very delicate, dished faces, and other strains do not have them at all.

Yes, your boy will keep his fine head.  I have a gorgeous, very delicate, flea bitten grey arab mare I have bred to Friesian stallions.

One foal, the filly, was born with a Friesian head, and her dam's gorgeous big Arab eyes.  The filly was born a blood bay in color.  She is 6 years old now.  She started to turn to her dam's grey color starting at a year old.  She now has a grey face, and morphs into dapples, ending with a still nearly brown rump.  

Her brother was born a dark chocolate brown, nearly black.  He too is turning grey, just as his sister.  He was born with the very delicate Arab head, and has kept it, with no thickening of the head.

Blue eyes...who knows.  I had a goat that was born with turquoise blue eyes.  Simply gorgeous.  At six months of age, they turned to a golden sandy color.

I do not believe your colt will get his star back.  It looks like a "kiss" of color on him.  In other words, not a true star, just a few colored hairs.  Now that he's shedding, you are going to see his truer colors.

Good luck, and have fun with your new foal.  By the way, it does not sound to me like the ground work you are doing is too much.  Just don't do anything that puts too much strain on growing joints.

At that young age, I like to introduce them to scary things, as they are both trusting and currious.  I taught my youngsters all about blue tarps, how to allow them to be dragged all over their bodies and even that they could walk on them.  

That way, when they are adults and plastic bag blows accross the road they will not loose their mind. 

~Garnet
Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years
Horse owner 30 consecutive years

Peanut Palomino · Answer

Ok well first of all, he's not half quarter horse.
A Paint and a Quarter Horse are two separate breeds, and from the pictures you can obviously tell that his dam is a Paint, not a quarter horse. 
But he's cute. I didn't see any pictures that give a good example of his conformation, but from what i san see, he's cute.

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Curious questions about my baby horse. Enjoy pics and see if you know.?

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