Monday, August 4, 2008

Linus--Bred in Marion, Oregon


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thomas Hunt Morgan (Professor of Experimental Zoology, Columbia University) documented Linus I in "Experimental Zoology" (Published by Macmillan & Co, London, 1910)

A few other cases in mammals, that seem to show discontinuous inheritance, are known. Castle and Davenport [Professor C. B. Davenport, and by Professor C. E. Castle] have both called attention to cases of so-called wonder-horses, i.e. horses with remarkably long mane and tail. In the case of ''Linus I" the mane was 18 feet long and the tail 21 feet. The parents and grandparents of these horses also had unusually long hair, which increased in successive generations. The data are insufficient to show the relation of dominance and recessiveness in this case, but the persistence of the long hair seems to indicate its dominance.

Wade G. Burck said...

Anonymous,
Thank you for that information. I wonder why there are not many documented cases of this. Was it isolated to that family/line? Or is it a gene expressed to a lesser degree in other breeds, such as the Friesian or Andalusian.
Wade

Anonymous said...

There were at least 3 Linuses distinguishable by their white markings.

It appears to be a mainly Spanish trait. It is particularly noticeable and desired in Andalusians. You'll also see it in Florida Cracker Horses (these have Spanish blood). It was also found in Percherons. Some long-mane gray/white Percherons were exhibited around the same time as Linus.

The reason there aren't many documented cases is because for working horses a long mane and tail are not practical. Manes and tails are trimmed and stripped so they don't get caught up in harness otherwise you would probably see a lot more "Rapunzel horses".