MadSci Network: Zoology
Query:

Re: Are all horses eyes brown in color?

Date: Tue Jul 4 00:42:32 2000
Posted By: Bradley Kelley, Grad student, Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University
Area of science: Zoology
ID: 960310211.Zo
Message:

Dear Paul,

Horses most certainly have differing color eyes, although they are not 
common.  The following text is quoted from Dr. R.M. Miller's book "The 
Revised Health Problem of the Horse" published by Western Horseman Inc. 
1988.

"When horsemen speak of a glass-eyed horse, they refer to an eye that is 
any color other than normal [brown], but the eye is usually some shade of 
blue.  A 'china eye' is blue, a 'wall eye' is part blue and part white, and 
a 'watch eye' is a mixture of yellow and blue.

Glass eyes are hereditary and may be seen in any kind of horse, although 
they are most common in Appaloosas and paints.  A horse may have two glass 
eyes, or one glass eye and one normal eye.  Horses with glass eyes have 
perfectly normal vision.  There are a lot of old wives' tales around about 
such horses having poor vision or being susceptible to snow blindness.  A 
glass-eyed horse is no more susceptible to snow blindness than a blue-eyed 
man as compared to a brown-eyed man.  One often hears that glass-eyed 
horses are night-blind.  This is not ordinarily true.
….
Another popular fallacy is that glass-eyed horses are spookier or wilder 
than other horses.  This is simply not true.  The white around the eye, or 
'staring' effect, often makes them LOOK wilder, but the glass eye is not 
related to disposition.  There have been many well known horses with glass 
eyes."

There also is an explanation of glass-eyes and some OK pictures at the 
following site. http://www.ara
bian-horses.com/feature/margo/glass.htm

Sorry I couldn't find any other pictures.  Hope this answers your question.
BK




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