# Is this horse a Tobiano or Tovero?



## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Hey guys. So, the other day the question came up of what color this horse at my stable is. Her name is Sioux; she's a little paint mare. I believe she's either a Tobiano or a Tovero. I would say Tobiano for sure but her facial markings don't fully cover her head and her markings aren't as "blocky" shaped as the other Tobianos I've seen. Toveros seem to have less white than Tobianos and their markings more sporadic, like Sioux's, but it looked like they had less color on them than she does. But some Toveros did have some more color on them. So, just input your guesses, I guess:tongue: And as for her color I'd guess chestnut or bay...she has brown in her mane and black in her tail and no color on her legs to help, so your guess, once again, is as good as mine 
Here's some pictures to help identify (they're not the best but I didn't take them to win a photo contest, just to identify color :lol

Sioux compared to Tessa (my tobiano)









Sioux's left side









Sioux's right side
















Sioux's face


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

Here's an article about coat patterns:
Tobiano, Overo, Sabino, Tovero




I would think that he's a tovero like this one:










My gelding is a tobiano and looks more like this:


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## FrostedLilly (Nov 4, 2012)

Tovero is a very generic term for tobiano + any other white pattern under the overo umbrella. Overo is basically any pinto pattern that's not tobiano. 

My guess would be tobiano and sabino and possibly frame. I say sabino because of the roany and jagged edges on her spots. From what I recall, sabino also puts white on the bottom of the face. I think frame is also a possibility because of her large blaze, but I'm not sure if that's something that can be caused by sabino as well.


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## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

Glynnis said:


> Tovero is a very generic term for tobiano + any other white pattern under the overo umbrella. Overo is basically any pinto pattern that's not tobiano.
> 
> My guess would be tobiano and sabino and possibly frame. I say sabino because of the roany and jagged edges on her spots. From what I recall, sabino also puts white on the bottom of the face. I think frame is also a possibility because of her large blaze, but I'm not sure if that's something that can be caused by sabino as well.


Sabino makes messy jagged edges (spreads random white hairs all over), prefers high hind socks with a sharp upward spike on the top, facial markings are typically centered down the face. Extreme sabino expressions tend to make the horse look very roaned, lots of messy jagged areas of white. 

Splash makes clean edges, prefers higher front socks, bottom heavy facial markings which tend to slide off the side of the face. Extreme splash expressions tend to make the horse appear as though it ran through a large puddle of white paint. 

Frame makes lots of horizontal running white markings, stretching sideways on the face (towards the eyes). In extreme frame expression, the horse will have the profile view of the horse's color framing the white interior, while having dark legs, mane, tail, and topline. 

Combining any of these together will give a huge range of patterns and even more confusing when adding in tobiano. 

When I look at the horse in question, I mostly see tobiano and frame, likely sabino and possibly splash. The tobiano chest shield is likely being destroyed by splash, the facial white says splash and sabino mostly at play while frame stretches horizontally to the eyes. The way the pattern on the neck moves, says frame all over it (the pattern shape and edge are very typical to frame, rare to be imitated by other patterns). 

But as far as color testing, the only patterns that could be reliably tested on an APHA test subject are tobiano (very obvious without testing) and frame (very likely but not guaranteed). Splash has tests but there are a limited number of splash mutations that have been identified. Even fewer sabino mutations are testable, I believe the testable mutation of sabino is mostly found in miniatures.


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## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Glynnis said:


> My guess would be tobiano and sabino and possibly frame.





SunnyDraco said:


> When I look at the horse in question, I mostly see tobiano and frame, likely sabino and possibly splash.


Thank you both for your responses; both are very helpful helpful :smile: It looks as if you both agree that Sioux might be a tobiano, sabino, and frame and could also be splash. Not that her color really matters for what she's used for, but it's interesting trying to figure out what she is


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