# What does everyone think about blue eyed horses?



## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I have a blue-eyed cremello and really like his eyes. The blue eyes of cremellos aren't as vivid as those of blue eyes caused by pinto genes, and I've had a couple of people tell me that they find the more vivid blue eyes to be kind of disturbing. They tend to be surrounded by white markings/pink skin, which some people specifically don't like. 

There are a lot of myths surrounding blue eyes in horses- that they're spookier, more sensitive to the sun, and have a great chance of eye problems. My horse is certainly not spooky, though sometimes I think he does seem to squint a little bit in very bright sunlight than brown eyed horses (my DH also has light colored eyes and swears he's more sensitive to bright light than I am with my brown eyes, but I'm not sure that's true...) As far as eye problems, from what I've read, having blue eyes is not in itself a risk factor, but the pink skin around the eyes can be; this is one reason some people get 'eyeliner' tattooed around blue eyes. (More information on this here!)


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Our lead/penning Paint mare is a 21 year old bay tobiano with 2 blue eyes. We think she's stunning and has never had any issues.


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## Hollymoon (Aug 13, 2015)

Beautiful!


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## Hollymoon (Aug 13, 2015)

I've never heard of people tattooing black eyeliner on there horses pink eye skin lol


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Hollymoon said:


> I've never heard of people tattooing black eyeliner on there horses pink eye skin lol


Yeah, it's kind of a weird thing to think about, isn't it? :lol: If you're interested, here's an article with some pictures: What the Muck Is That? ‘Eyeliner’ Tattoos for Horses | HORSE NATION


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## Hollymoon (Aug 13, 2015)

Thanks for the link!!


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I prefer brown eyes but it doesn't stop from loving my horse that has a partial blue eye or my dog who has 2 very light blue eyes. Neither one has had eye issues.

Seems like photobucket IS having issues with their share links at the moment so no pictures for now.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Here we go.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Well that doesn't show his eye too well unless you enlarge it. Let me try another but he was going through a very ummm.... awkward stage at the time.


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## zandstrafarms (Feb 14, 2015)

The gene that causes blue eyes in animals also carries the genetics for deafness. Deafness being more common in animals with two blue eyes vs. One. 
I breed boxers and our whites usually have 1 blue eye, so I've been researching blue eyes in animsls. We had one pup last litter with two blue eyes. .. yep he had hearing issues. We also have a 7 yr old saimese mix cat with 2 blue eyes. She is mostly if not fully deaf. 

It's actually pretty tough to figure out though since they are born like that and are used to it. They can still react to the vibration of sound.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I like wall eyes, but I like all eyes that are on a horse.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Since you asked my opinion . . . it is remarkable how many "striking unusual wonderful snazzy" colors and patterns have health problems associated with them. The reason they are striking is because they are unusual and the reason they are unusual is that they are linked to some kind of physical unfitness. What is surprising to me is how people manage to overlook, chance it, or "manage" those health issues for the sake of the color or pattern. 

In other words, I prefer bays without white on them.


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## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

It goes down to personal preference. People have breed preferences, some have strong opinions for or against particular breeds in general. Some might have arguments backed by health, history or the common genetic diseases found in particular breeds. Many have coat color preferences, while some may love a particular color, you will also find others who cannot stand that color for one reason or another, no matter what the quality is of the horse wearing that particular coat color. Same goes with eye color, some will love a particular eye color and others don't like it at all. 

There is no reason why someone's opinion should be right or wrong, it would be like trying to convince someone that their likes and dislikes for the color of their home or car or furniture is something that should be easily agreed on by everyone. Some are completely indifferent to breed, coat color and eye color, judging only on the horse's interior quality. But sometimes we like to look at the frosting decorations on cakes as well, we all have our favorite colors and flavors. While some may love the intense contrast of the blue eyes, others will avoid it for their own reasons. There could be internal issues linked to blue eyes that turns someone away from blue eyes or they could simply not like how it looks.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I read this little Chinese fable as a child and it made a very deep impression on me. 

The Superlative Horse

Essentially it is the story of an emperor who seeks to own the best horse in the world, and the peasant boy who turns out to have the best eye for a horse in China can't tell the emperor the color or sex of the horse he has picked out. 

Moral is to try to master seeing the inner truth, not the outer trappings. Still worth reading!


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## MyBayQHFilly (May 13, 2014)

I don't care for them. Especially with a lot of pink skin.


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## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

zandstrafarms said:


> The gene that causes blue eyes in animals also carries the genetics for deafness. Deafness being more common in animals with two blue eyes vs. One.
> I breed boxers and our whites usually have 1 blue eye, so I've been researching blue eyes in animsls. We had one pup last litter with two blue eyes. .. yep he had hearing issues. We also have a 7 yr old saimese mix cat with 2 blue eyes. She is mostly if not fully deaf.
> 
> It's actually pretty tough to figure out though since they are born like that and are used to it. They can still react to the vibration of sound.


Not always, in horses the splash gene is linked to deafness, but as far as I'm aware none of the other genes that cause blue eyes in horses are, and that's generally loud splash, not minimal. I would say it's going to be more linked to white heads (especially around the ears) then the blue eyes. Most the deaf boxers I have known were brown eyed (although I've known at least one with one blue).

Currently here I have 5 blue eyed goats, 1 blue eyed pig, 1 blue eyed cat, 1 blue eyed dog and two with one of each, 1 blue eyed horse, and one with partial blue. Only one deaf is the blue eyed white dane, and that is linked to the merle (double merle) gene. 

I've had 5 deaf pets in the past, 3 were blue eyed whites (one ferret, two dogs (danes, so again the merle gene)), and two cats, one a gold eyed white, and one a gold eyed tortishell.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Here is a discussion of deafness in blue-eyed paints

Deafness in American Paint Horses Examined | TheHorse.com


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Our lead/penning Paint mare is a 21 year old bay tobiano with 2 blue eyes. We think she's stunning and has never had any issues.


I may be creating another myth, but imo, blue eyes set against a solid brown or black, like above helps their eyesight, just like when football players smear black underneath their eyes to eliminate glare. It could just be my personal preferances. =b


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Our lead/penning Paint mare is a 21 year old bay tobiano with 2 blue eyes. We think she's stunning and has never had any issues.


I don't mind blue eyes when they're like this- white blaze, but no white around the eye area. I am NOT fond of horses with white surrounding the eyes, blue eyes or not. I'm generally not fond of pinto markings, and the vast majority of blue eyes I've seen are on pintos. So, generally speaking, I prefer brown eyed horses. 

I think that blue eyes in dogs are intriguing, especially when the dog's coat has a contrasting color. However, it's not something I'd ever breed for specifically nor would it be a deciding factor when choosing a dog. In my breed (and with a large number of others) blue eyes are not allowed. I did have a blue eyed (blue pointed with blue eyes) kitty that I thought was very lovely. She never had any health issues associated with her color, but I have known a number of pointed/blue eyed kitties that were extremely cross eyed. My girlie was a Russian Blue, and they're not supposed to come in that pattern. But, due to outcrosses to Siamese kitties post WWII when the breed was in decline they still pop up now and then. 

I now have a 5-6 week old foster kitty whose eyes are still blue/starting to change colors. It's surprising how many people comment about her eye color and how beautiful it is not knowing that it'll change and all kittens are born with blue eyes.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Avna.. the article does not show , you have to put in an email address.

I think the blue eyes are pretty. I have heard that the white horses with blue eyes are the deaf ones, but have not seen a white horse in a long time ( white body pink skin blue eyes ) and the one that i was around as a kid was not deaf and would come to his name. I do think they need fly mask in summer for the glare (besides for the flies) and where I live it gets hot, stays hot, and any horse with pink skin ends up with a sun burn at some point in summer, Unless they box stalled during the days.
Duck.. pretty mare !! neat looking


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

My dog has selective hearing but he's not deaf when you say walk or treat or ice cream etc... LOL


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## Tee Cees mum (Jan 30, 2013)

My boy has one blue eye and the other is a partial blue eye, it is very common among Paints. He has great hearing. I love his blue eyes but my granddaughter thought that he looked a bit scary to her when she was little.


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

Meh, not my favorite (purely esthetic), neither in horses nor in dogs. So given the choice I would rather pick an animal with dark eyes.

That being said, a good horse/dog has no color.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

stevenson said:


> Avna.. the article does not show , you have to put in an email address.


Shows for me. It is the url you need to put in. Which I did. But if it doesn't show for you, just google 

deafness in american paint horses examined

It should come right up.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Avna said:


> Shows for me. It is the url you need to put in. Which I did. But if it doesn't show for you, just google
> 
> deafness in american paint horses examined
> 
> It should come right up.


You just have to create an account and log in with an email address and a password to read the article.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> You just have to create an account and log in with an email address and a password to read the article.


Oh. I forgot about that. Sorry. Summarizing article then, for those who do not wish to sign up for an account on The Horse,

UC Davis study comparing deaf and normal Paints found that
_All 14 deaf American Paint Horses had abnormal brain auditory-evoked response tests;
Most but not all deaf American Paint Horses had splashed white or splashed white-frame blend coat patterns;
Other coat patterns noted in deaf horses included frame overo and tovero;
Extensive head and limb white markings were observed in deaf horses;
Most deaf horses had two blue eyes;
Most deaf and suspected deaf horses (31 out of 34, or 91%) had the endothelin B receptor gene mutation, and
Deaf and suspected deaf horses could be used successfully in performance events._

It is well known that, whatever gene or genes cause deafness in animals, it is a lack of pigmented hairs within the inner ear that is the problem. 

The other interesting (okay, to me disgusting) thing I discovered with a little googling is that deafness in Quarter Horse paints is spreading rapidly, because of a famous winning reining horse line which is predominantly deaf. That is, no one cares a bit that the horses are deaf, as long as they win. They keep breeding them without any concern about what they are doing.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Avna said:


> _Deaf and suspected deaf horses could be used successfully in performance events._
> 
> That is, no one cares a bit that the horses are deaf, as long as they win. They keep breeding them without any concern about what they are doing.


As one who has bred to the line you're discussing, it isn't that I don't care that the horse will be deaf, I don't see it as a handicap at all. The horses don't seem to have any problem with their training, surroundings or any functionality issues as a result of their deafness. The top sire in that line was shown and ridden for YEARS before it was even discovered that he was deaf. So, sorry if you don't agree but for me, and I suspect many others, it's simply a non-issue. BTW, I don't compete in reining or cutting or anything, so winning is not a motivator. The extremely good dispositions and athletic talents of that line are.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> As one who has bred to the line you're discussing, it isn't that I don't care that the horse will be deaf, I don't see it as a handicap at all. The horses don't seem to have any problem with their training, surroundings or any functionality issues as a result of their deafness. The top sire in that line was shown and ridden for YEARS before it was even discovered that he was deaf. So, sorry if you don't agree but for me, and I suspect many others, it's simply a non-issue. BTW, I don't compete in reining or cutting or anything, so winning is not a motivator. The extremely good dispositions and athletic talents of that line are.


I don't even want to start this discussion. I've seen this slow-motion genetic disaster movie (in other domestic species) too many times.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Avna said:


> I don't even want to start this discussion. I've seen this slow-motion genetic disaster movie (in other domestic species) too many times.


You're entitled to your opinion.


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## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

On that note, I'll lighten things up with some pics, because who doesn't like pics?
These are some of my current blue eyed beauties!








(Quest's partial, it's about 50/50, but most the blue is at the top)








































(can't see her eyes, but I assure you they are blue)


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

The infamous Honey Boo Boo, giving me her, "Oh I'm so cute! Look at my big baby blues. Can I have that carrot now?" look. 

In foal to Gunner On Ice, another blue eyed beauty










And Skippy, my cremello fellow


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## Southern Grace (Feb 15, 2013)

Cancer. Honestly I don't mind the blue eyes, it's the pink skin around the eyes that I avoid. So those rather rare horses with blue eyes and dark skin around the eye don't bother me. I have known a number of overos that have the big apron face, resulting in blue eyes with pink skin, to get skin cancer around the eye and then have the cancer spread to the eye itself. It can probably be prevented with fly masks, but I'd rather just avoid that pink skin around the eye period.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

^Haha, I was going to say 'that's what fly masks are for' ;D But it was in the end of your post!

Dreamcatcher--I always love your posts that include pictures <3 They're all gorgeous.


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