Appaloosa color patterns--Intriguing and elusive

This foal is exhibiting sclera the white around the eyes which is exclusive to Appaloosa. Most horses have a certain white around the eye's and in most breeds you try to breed it away. I has been described, by Appaloosa enthusiasts as an "almost a human like quality". I describe it as "an ugly quality". If you walked in an Arabian barn in the morning and found a purebred foal looking back at you like this, you would scream like a women, and run out. This beautiful baby is a half Arabian so I could live with it in this case.
Research conducted by scientists in the Horse Genome Project theorizes that the Appaloosa or LP gene is responsible for Appaloosa patterning and other color characteristics, while other factors, possibly genes, determine the exact spotting pattern. While there is currently no DNA test for the gene, it is believed that it is located on a single autosomal dominant locus, and may possibly be a gene-complex rather than a single gene. It should be noted that not every horse with the Lp gene exhibits hair coat spotting, which caused the controversy discussed in the post below. Some Appaloosa will also lose their spots or they will fade with age. Sometimes, Appaloosas may also exhibit pinto type markings, but these are not desirable and are discouraged by the ApHC registration rules. The Appaloosa Project, a genetic study group, has also done extensive research on the interactions of Appaloosa and pinto genes and how they affect each other. The genes that create these different patterns can all be present in the same horse. However, because pinto genes, particularly the overo pattern, may "cover-up" or obscure Appaloosa patterns, pinto breeding is discouraged by the ApHC, which will deny registration to some horses if they have excessive white markings.