Genetics of coat colour in horses

For thousands of years horses have been linked to humankind, as beasts of burden and in war. In most recent times, the emphasis of use has been on sport and recreation. Though, the colour of horses has little to do with its performance, it is a primary means of identification and also the first indicator of questionable parentage. Tremendous progress in horse’s coat colour genetics resulted in identification of different colour patterns with their mode of inheritance. The main aim of this book is collect all the available data related to coat colour patterns and bring together non-united areas of research. This book covers all major directions in horse coat colour inheritance. The second chapter provides information about melanogenesis and genetics of pigmentation. Chapters 3 and 4 are devoted to detailed description of different coat colour patterns. The molecular basis of different coat colour patterns is presented in Chapter 5. This book is addressed to broad audience, which includes students, lecturers, researchers and horse breeders working in the industry. As such it is hoped that the information presented will provide valuable guidance to scientists and breeders.