sabino

The SABINO arabian is one which displays what many people used to refer to as 'wild white' or 'high white'. Classically, white stockings on the legs will extend past the knees and or hocks, but variations can include solid legs with irregular patches of white, (especially over the joints), or socks with ermine marks, 'sharp spikes' of white, and other ragged or 'indistinct' edges. White markings are also often seen on the belly as 'flashes' or mottling, and some horses will display such extensive white on other areas of their body that they may also be eligible Pintos. There are even purebred arabian sabinos that have so much white that the only dark colouration left is found on the ears - these are catergorised as 'extreme', and are often referred to as 'Medicine Hat'. Only white markings that have underlying pink skin are considered when determining if the arabian is eligible for pinto registration.
White markings (often 'baldy') on the face may also extend along the jaws/ underjaw and lower lip. One or both eyes may appear normal, ringed by white, or even blue in colour. The status of the genetics responsible is greatly debated at this time; entirely different sources have quoted the trait as being recessive, dominant and polygenic!
In arabian horses, the pattern may not appear until several generations after an ancestor exhibited it - in fact, solid coloured parents may produce a very loud sabino foal, apparently right out of the blue, even without minimal expression of sabino in their phenotypes!
Arabians with white on the lower lips and chin are considered to minimally expressed sabinos and are therefore carriers of the gene.
Sabino patterning can also have extensive 'ticking' associated with it, as well as 'feathering' along the edges of the white markings. Ticking seen in the coat pattern without banding in the tail is most likely to be sabino- related. Sabino patterning in the purebred arabian horses is genetically different to say, a quarter horse or paint horse that exhibits almost identical markings; arabian sabinos cannot produce lethal white, due to the absence of the 'frame' factor in their genome.
Sabino patterning has been recognised in many breeds, and may be tested for (SABINO-1), however because the genetics are obviously different in the purebred arabian, (and are as yet still largely unidentified), genetic testing is currently unavailable for the breed. Interestingly, some other breeds such as Clydesdales (which are exclusively sabino), do not test for Sabino1 either.
Finally, arabian sabinos may be heavily ticked with white hairs or just have bold white markings without any sign of ticking at all. If rabicano patterning is not obvious (see below), this suggests that genetically, sabino in the arabian horse probably is polygenic. (More than one gene involved).
The Sabino Arabian Horse Registry (SAHR) has been set up to recognise this beautiful coat pattern in purebred arabians - there are 4 divisions in which horses can be registered if they have the patterning....Minimal, Moderate, Extreme & Maximum. Click here to visit their site to find out more.

Rabicano (rubicano) patterning is responsible for 'coon' or 'skunk' tail and ticking or roaning throughout the coat. This type roaning is often 'clumped ' and can appear anywhere on the body, but is most often seen around the flanks. True Rabicano patterned horses always have white ticking (and especially 'banding') at the head of the tail - sometimes only very few hairs are present, (in which case the pattern may be missed), and sometimes the majority of the tail may be white. The pattern is often seen running through generation-to-generation; it is less occassionally seen in concert with Sabino coat patterning, even though sabino horses may have a sizable degree of non-rabicano ticking. Rabicano is not the same gene responsible for the true roaning seen in many other breeds of horses, although it can give the appearance of true roan in heavily expressed arabians. Although once thought to be another expression of the sabino gene, it is now believed to be an entirely separate coat pattern.