Everything you wanted to know about about coloured horses and the terminology used.

Coloured Overo - Breeding and Genetics Information from Angrove Stud

Angrove Stud in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, is set in beautiful park land in the North East of England. Leafy with enclosed woodland and meadows; secure stock fencing, and green pastures: Angrove Stud is the ideal setting to relax a mare ready for stud. Our facilities are safe and comprehensive. Our visiting mares receive the highest standard of attention and care.

 

Coloured Overo

In an Overo, like Tobiano, there is equal or more black or brown on white, but where the Tobiano has rounded markings, the Overo has distinctive irregular shaped markings. Overo's sometimes have a white head and a wall (blue) eye and its lower legs are typically dark coloured.

In horse genetics, Overo is known as a "recessive" gene, meaning it has two of the same allele - see our page on homozygous horses for more information.

The Overo gene is linked to a fatal genetic disorder called Lethal White Syndrome, however not all Overo's carry this gene; indeed, it has also been found in studies of Tobiano's and solid-coloured horses. A foal born with the condition arrives pure white and missing important parts of its digestive system. It dies soon after birth.

There are a few different types of Overo:

  • Frame Overo: Any solid colour with white jagged markings and dark lower legs and tail
  • Splash Overo: Any solid colour with the appearance of white markings "splashed" on
  • Sabino Overo

Read more about the other coloured horse types: Tobiano and Sabino.