When we talk about the Albino Horse we must distinguish in what sense we mean, that is, whether we want to talk about the breed, or about the Horse called Albino who has entered history for his exploits but who is not at all white-haired.
If we mean the breed, it is American and is called American White , it indicates a horse with milky white fur and very light blue eyes that are very sensitive to the sun. Officialized around 1900, this breed is characterized by a docile and gentle nature and a robust and strong physique just like the founder Old King . If we look at the genetics we can say that pure albino horses are very rare to meet and can be recognized because they have the dominant white gene (W), for the rest they are very often horses that appear white but in truth they are gray horses, whose coat has become white.
Albino Horse: Origins
We explained that this breed was born recently in America, when the Albino American Association was also founded to define it, because otherwise albino would simply be the color of a coat. To try to understand a little more we can investigate the characteristics of the founder, the stallion Old King, who many believe to be of Arab and Morgan blood.
Albino Horse: Characteristics
As an animal it is mesomorphic, it is characterized by the color of the coat more than anything else which must be milky white or cream colored. As for its measurements, the standard indicates an average height at the withers of about 150 – 158 cm and a weight of around 500 kg. If we look at its morphological characteristics we can say that there are different conformations that the Albino can assume going from those of the Quarter Horse, or the Morgan, or even the English thoroughbred and the Arabian.
The head is usually short and has muscular and evident jaws, the blue eyes are very large and can rarely be black or hazel even if the light color is prevalent. The nostrils are large, the withers are medium developed, the shoulders are muscular and strong while the rump is quite long and ends with a bushy and medium length tail. Like the rest of the physique, the limbs are also structured and equipped with very expressed forearms.
Albino Horse: Aptitudes
A horse with these characteristics is extremely versatile but we can point out that the disciplines in which it excels are show jumping, dressage and all western disciplines. It is also an excellent horse when it comes to learning exercises for which it has been widely used even in Hollywood, it is also a show horse and is used in circuses and in dexterity exercises.
Albino Horse in History
When Cavallo Albino does not refer to the American breed that we have described so far, then it refers to the horse named Albino, also known as Albino the horse of Italy. This animal does not have much of the breed that we have described because it is clearly a bay Maremma horse that after growing up with the child-owner was requisitioned by the Army for the war and then joined by the now grown boy who enlisted to share his fate in the distant Russian steppes.
There is also a book that tells the story, dating back to 1958 and also republished in installments in Il Corriere dei Piccoli in 1962 but the true story is more exciting and full of legendary episodes. The horse Albino was born in 1932 and as a foal he was included in the Savoia Cavalleria even though he had vision problems in one eye, problems that did not prevent him from providing extremely important service.
This horse followed the Regiment in the famous Russian campaign (1941-1943) and played a leading role at Isbuschenskij, because it managed to save the lives of thousands of Italian soldiers in danger when the enemies managed to break through the front. Our Albino was in the 2nd Squadron, ridden by Sergeant Major Giuseppe Fantini. He bravely took part in the charge and was wounded, but his owner had a worse fate, dying on the spot. The horse then managed to return to Italy with the Regiment and lived through the dramatic times after the armistice of 8 September 1943 on the side of the RSI, included in the autonomous Squadron of the Army General Staff and surrendered to the Allied units, with military honours, at the area Command in Via Verdi, Milan.
After this glorious period, he was sold to a farmer and began a second, much quieter career, pulling a cart. Until he was seen in Somma Lombarda by the old commander of the Regiment, Colonel Alessandro Bettoni Cazzago, and the old commander of his Squadron, Captain Francesco Saverio De Leone. Together with other horses, he was purchased and then transferred from the historic headquarters in Milan to Merano. This is Albino’s third life, who at this point was able to spend peaceful moments surrounded by lots of attention and with a “little house -box” all his own, among the tanks, with the walls lined with photographs and letters that children wrote to him from various parts of Italy.
The famous horse died on October 21, 1960 , after many reckless adventures, simply of old age. He was stuffed and is now in the Department’s museum.