Characteristics
The splashed white pattern is characterized by blue eyes and the appearance of having been dipped, feet-first, into white paint. The margins of the white markings are crisp, smooth, blocky, and well-defined. The head and legs are white, and the tail is often white or white-tipped. The underside of the body is white, and a connected white patch often spreads smoothly up either side of the thorax. On its own, the splashed white pattern is seldom responsible for white markings that reach the topline, and so it has been categorized as one of the "overo" patterns by Paint horse and Pinto horse registries.
As sabino-type markings also originate on the underside, some splashed whites can be mistaken for cleanly marked sabinos. Both patterns can be present on the same horse, but splashed white markings are crisp and blocky, and horizontally distributed. In particular, the face markings of splashed whites are straight-edged and bottom heavy, whereas those of sabinos are often tapering or feathered, and often vertical in orientation. The presence of additional white patterning genes can intensify the amount or obscure the characteristics of splashed white markings. The ears are seldom white, though white extending onto the ears is most closely correlated with deafness.
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