KIT

The KIT locus determines whether or not certain white patterns appear on a horse's coat, as well as the rough location and shape of those patterns. A complex, multi-allele locus, it is responsible for a great deal of the variation seen in Indomita's horses. Many of its alleles are strongly linked to island of origin, and expression is affected by the build phenotype.

When creating a custom horse (or using the custom previewer), the user is asked to select the specific genotype at the KIT locus, rather than choosing a phenotype and having the game select an appropriate genotype.

## Alleles

There are five KIT alleles, all told, with a rather complicated dominance hierarchy

### W

Hailing from Manicae and Reveri, the W allele fully wipes out any hint of pigment in a horse's coat, leaving it totally white. With such a strong phenotype, it is perhaps no surprise that W is the most dominant of the KIT alleles; it is dominant with respect to T, R, Sb and n. It has no affect on horses of the Arabian, mule or donkey build phenotype, however. It can be obtained singly using the Add A Gene: W item.

### T

Also hailing from Manicae and Reveri, T behaves like a restricted version of W, wiping out pigment in a patchy fashion. It is recessive with respect to W, co-dominant with respect to R and Sb and dominant with respect to n. It has no affect on horses of the Arabian or donkey build phenotype, however at least one functioning copy is required for the expression of the fr feathering locus. It can be obtained singly using the Add A Gene: T item.

### R

Also hailing from Manicae and Reveri, R removes pigment from scattered individual hairs, leading to a salt-and-pepper appearance. It is recessive with respect to W, co-dominant with respect to T and Sb and dominant with respect to n. It has no affect on horses of the Arabian build phenotype, however. It can be obtained singly using the Add A Gene: R item.

Sb

Another Manicae- and Reveri-specific allele, Sb functions as a somewhat restricted version of R. It is recessive to T but co-dominant with respect to T, R and n. It has no affect on horses of the Arabian or donkey build phenotype, however. It can be obtained singly using the Add A Gene: Sb item.

### n (aka w, r)

Not specific to any island, n (also called w or r) represents the inactive form of the KIT locus, at least in terms of visible pattern. It can be obtained using the Drop Gene item and selecting whichever KIT phenotype the horse is expressing. When the KIT locus is homozygous for n, it is not displayed in the Genetics field of a horse's page.

## Phenotypes

### White (WW, WT, WR, WSb, nW)\*

A white horse is, as the name suggests, totally white, with no pigmented hairs at all, and so are indistinguishable visually from a fully greyed-out grey horse. The only time a white horse will display any colouration at all is if it has a badger face marking, which will show the horse's base-coat colour on the head. Arabians, mules and donkeys do not exhibit the white phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

*\*In the genetics field of a white horse's character page, WT is displayed as Ww/nT, WR is displayed as Rr/WW, WSb is displayed as Ww/nSb and nW is displayed as Ww).*

### Tobiano (TT, nT)

A tobiano horse has its base coat interrupted by large patches of white. These white patches always cover the lower legs and always avoid the chest and throat region, but are otherwise very variable. The patches affect the mane and tail if they happen to cover them. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the tobiano phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

### Roan (RR, nR)\*

The lower legs and head of a roan horse are unaffected by this phenotype, but on the body the coloured hairs are inter-mingled with hairs that have been stripped of all pigment. This results in a speckled, salt-and-pepper appearance that is similar to that seen in varnish roan appaloosa horses. Arabians do not exhibit the roan phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

*\*In the genetics field of a white horse's character page, nR is displayed as Rr.*

### Roan Tobiano (TR)\*

As the name suggests, the roan tobiano phenotype is simply the combination of the roan and tobiano phenotypes. The tobiano patches are devoid of all pigment, while otherwise coloured and white hairs intermingle. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the roan tobiano phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

*\*In the genetics field of a white horse's character page, TR is displayed as Rr/nT.*

### Sabino (nSb)

The sabino phenotype results in white patches on the legs and underarms of a horse, sometimes extending up the neck, shoulders and face. The edges are not clearly defined, as they are in the tobiano phenotype; instead the edges of the patches break up into roan-like speckling. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the sabino phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

### Maximum Sabino (SbSb)

In maximum sabino the sabino patterning extends much further up the horse, breaking up into speckles only along the horse's back. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the maximum sabino phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

### Tobiano Sabino (TSb)\*

Simply the tobiano and sabino phenotypes combined, tobiano sabino horses exhibit the crisp white markings of the tobiano phenotype superimposed over the soft-edged sabino phenotype. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the tobiano sabino phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

*\*In the genetics field of a white horse's character page, TR is displayed as nT/nSb.*

### Roan Sabino (RSb)\*

Another combinatory phenotype, roan sabino horses exhibit the typical roan speckling with deeper patches of white corresponding to the sabino patches. Arabians and donkeys do not exhibit the tobiano sabino phenotype, even if their genetics support it.

*\*In the genetics field of a white horse's character page, TR is displayed as Rr/nSb.*

### Non-KIT (nn)

Lacking any KIT allele that affects a horse's coat, non-KIT horses simply lack white KIT patterns, though they may have white patterns produced from alleles at other loci. All Arabians and donkeys display this phenotype, regardless of their KIT genotype.