# Horse with permanent whites of eye showing?



## horseNpony (Sep 27, 2013)

I know that some horses always have the whites of their eyes showing, I'm pretty sure its a common thing in Appaloosas. My lesson horse is an appa and always has the whites showing. Whats odd is that its only in one of your horses eyes, maybe he was just born this way, like how some horses can have different coloured eyes, he has white in one but not the other.
I guess it could be because of an injury, but i dont know any that would do that, so id go with he was just born that way.


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

I know that a lot of colored breeds can have it, especially Appys but as far as I know he's a grade QH and hasn't had any injuries to his eyes :-|


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## ALegUp (Sep 26, 2013)

The sclera is the white part of the eye that surrounds the iris. A lot of horses, including Arabs and QH, have a visible sclera, though most people associate it with the Appaloosa breed.


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

Is it normal for it to just be one eye?


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## ALegUp (Sep 26, 2013)

JavaLover said:


> Is it normal for it to just be one eye?


Sorry, I had read your first post quickly and missed that. It is not abnormal to have one eye with a white sclera. Some horses have one, some have both and some don't have any visible white. It's just genetics.


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

Okay, thanks!


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

Yes, it is just a white sclera...not a pigmented one like on many horses. It is most common on horses with white on their faces- particularly a large blaze, but can be on any horse. One of my greys has one white sclera and one dark one. He has a tiny irregular star 4" away from his white sclera'd eye, with minimal sabino markings (now obviously greyed out)


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

your horse could also be an Appy . A solid Appy, doe he have mottled skin around his mouth ? he is a pretty horse.


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

He does have quite a bit of white. He has a decent sized blaze that travels down to his lip.


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

stevenson said:


> your horse could also be an Appy . A solid Appy, doe he have mottled skin around his mouth ? he is a pretty horse.


I don't think he has any mottled skin


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

sure don't see any mottled skin. He is a cute horse. he could also be a crop out paint. 
he is a stock type horse .


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## JavaLover (Nov 7, 2009)

The last picture I posted of him makes him look very much like a QH. Maybe when he's completely filled out, he does look like a QH but now that he's a lot thinner he doesn't look like one to me. He has a very large head also lol. He's on the track to gaining weight though


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yep, a white sclera can be caused by the LP (appaloosa) gene or it can be caused by a pinto gene (not sure which one though). He clearly has some sort of pinto gene so that would explain it. Any horse with white on them carries some sort of pinto/LP gene, even if they are pure bred QH, TB, Arab, etc.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I have several registered QHs with white Sclera showing in one or both eyes. Some have quite a bit of white and others have little. Most are sorrel that I have had with this kind of eye (frequently called a 'human eye') but I can recall at least one bay (with a blaze) that had it. I've seen a lot with Joe Reed / Leo breeding -- but then they also produce a lot of cropouts.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I had one that belonged to a customer that had a white sclera on one side. She was a Rocket Wrangler and Perfection John bred horse. Bay with a white star and 2 hind socks.


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## Janasse (Nov 22, 2008)

My arab has it and is one of the things I love about his face. It adds so much character to his expressions


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