Stars and white horses
Dec. 21st, 2020 12:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feng_shui_houseIn which I ramble. BUT, really, Dec 21 tonight there's supposed to be visible the Christmas Star-
On Dec. 21, a bright "Christmas star" will appear in the night sky – something that hasn’t happened in nearly 800 years. Jupiter and Saturn will appear to be a double planet. They make a close approach nearly every 20 years, but they haven't made an alignment this close since March 4, 1226. The site I saw said to look in the southwestern sky just after sunset.
Even when I know about in advance, usually I miss viewing astronomical goodies (usually clouds or buildings or the desire to SLEEP interfere), but I hope some folks get to enjoy this rare sight.
It started because I watched the full collection of William Boyd's 'Hopalong Cassidy' TV show, where Topper, his 'white' horse, was pretty much his co-star. I googled and found many sites saying that:
Topper was purchased as a two year old white stallion in 1937 (before the TV series, when Hopalong Cassidy movies were being made), and was originally a stunt double for a white horse named King Nappy. When King Nappy was injured, Topper took over the leading role. The sites all say that Topper got his name from Boyd's wife Grace, whose favorite book series was “Topper”.
And I just... no. There are a number of ways a horse can be 'white'. The most common is for it to have a graying gene, and start out as a dark color that gradually changes through shades of gray to finally become totally white. It's very rare for a graying gene horse to be totally snowy white at the age of two.
Also- I REALLY DOUBT that Topper was a stallion. Stallions are generally high-strung at the least, so are rarely used in movie/tv work. Mares are probably not used very often either for similar possible temperament issues. Topper was an exceptionally calm (called bomb-proof in horse people parlance) horse, so I'm betting he was a gelding.
So, how else could Topper be a 'white' horse. There are a few genetic ways a horse can be born white and healthy. One is if it has the Dominant white gene. (This occurs in some breeds, and there are now Dominant white thoroughbreds- they look beautiful, and I think a few of them did well in racing. They have no markings, and their skin is pink- most noticeable around the nose.)
BUT Topper had markings! King Nappy was totally white (not pink nosed, though). I suspect King Nappy was an older gray horse (quick google says they usually turn completely white between 6 and 8 years old).
Topper had dark ears, and there were other markings that varied in visibility in the TV series (I've just started watching the COMPLETE 66 movie collection and so far Topper isn't in them). He always had dark ears, and on the occasions when the wind ruffled his forelock I could see the top of his head was dark. There were splotches of 'not white' down his lower neck, and there was a palm sized spot of 'not white' on his rump, just before his tail. I'm not absolutely certain, but I THINK I saw a dark circle around one eye, once.
Going on to his eyes- both eyes have lighter areas in the eyes themselves. This is not uncommon in pinto horses, which are usually born with whatever white markings they have, up to totally white (if they also have the graying gene they could become even more white with age). A totally white pinto would have 'maximum' expression of the white gene, and in the case of one type of white patterning, Sabino, is fairly harmless.
Another type of pinto is very beautiful if the horse gets one copy of the gene- 'frame overo' typically has dark on the top, and on the bottom- so likely to have dark legs and belly and back, tail and mane often dark, and usually very minimal white on the face- their sides have white that looks framed'. BUT if it gets two copies of the frame overo gene, it will not survive- they are born either totally white or with very small dark marks on ears or rump- and their digestive tract is dysfunctional. Breeders today can have horses tested to see if they carry color genes that can cause problems- it's possible for a solid color horse to carry the gene but not show it.
'Leopard' appaloosas are spotted horses, mostly white, with varying amount of spots. If a horse gets two copies of the 'Leopard complex' it will have few, or no, spots, and can appear to be white, and may lighten even more with age. The 'few spot' leopard may have 'night blindness', a non-progressive condition present at birth in which they see very poorly in low light.
Then again there are genes that affect coat color which in combination can make a horse appear 'white' from birth- combining the 'cream' and 'champagne' dilution factors results in an 'Ivory Champagne' coat, which is so light, it could be mistaken for white.
White markings (not a result of graying) that cover the ears and a large proportion of the face can be accompanied by deafness. This isn't necessarily fatal, as people can train deaf horses- indeed one famous and popular line of 'cutting horses' are often 'bald faced' and deaf. Horse's eyes are situated to give them a wide angle of vision, so being deaf is less of a problem for them then it would be for a species that depends more on their hearing to avoid being startled.
I believe Topper's markings were cosmetically hidden, and he was actually a subtype of pinto called a 'Medicine Hat horse'. Ideally a Medicine Hat horse would have a dark 'shield' on the front (where Topper has hidden markings) and on the head as A HAT. A Hat - like a TOP HAT. In 1930's jargon, that would be a TOPPER.
Doesn't that make more sense than naming him after a character who lived with a couple of ghosts and their pet ghost dog? Far-fetched. Maybe people thought 'ghost=white'... but in that case why not name him after one of the ghosts? Ok, well. 'George Kirby' would be not a very good name for a movie horse... but why not call him 'Ghost' or 'Spirit'? No, he had a hat and that's that.
And as a side note (in my rambling looking for the text of 'Topper' just now I've discovered that Project Gutenberg has closed their old site and the new one apparently doesn't have Topper, but Project Gutenberg Australia DOES...
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600241h.html)
As a final bit of more you never wanted to know... there are poems related to the idea that white legs are weaker than dark ones (absolutely no proof of this.)
One white foot—buy him. Two white feet—try him. Three white feet—look well about him. Four white feet—go without him
And a lesser known version:
Four white socks keep him not a day, three white socks send him far away, two white socks give him to a friend, one white sock keep him to his end.
On Dec. 21, a bright "Christmas star" will appear in the night sky – something that hasn’t happened in nearly 800 years. Jupiter and Saturn will appear to be a double planet. They make a close approach nearly every 20 years, but they haven't made an alignment this close since March 4, 1226. The site I saw said to look in the southwestern sky just after sunset.
Even when I know about in advance, usually I miss viewing astronomical goodies (usually clouds or buildings or the desire to SLEEP interfere), but I hope some folks get to enjoy this rare sight.
It started because I watched the full collection of William Boyd's 'Hopalong Cassidy' TV show, where Topper, his 'white' horse, was pretty much his co-star. I googled and found many sites saying that:
Topper was purchased as a two year old white stallion in 1937 (before the TV series, when Hopalong Cassidy movies were being made), and was originally a stunt double for a white horse named King Nappy. When King Nappy was injured, Topper took over the leading role. The sites all say that Topper got his name from Boyd's wife Grace, whose favorite book series was “Topper”.
And I just... no. There are a number of ways a horse can be 'white'. The most common is for it to have a graying gene, and start out as a dark color that gradually changes through shades of gray to finally become totally white. It's very rare for a graying gene horse to be totally snowy white at the age of two.
Also- I REALLY DOUBT that Topper was a stallion. Stallions are generally high-strung at the least, so are rarely used in movie/tv work. Mares are probably not used very often either for similar possible temperament issues. Topper was an exceptionally calm (called bomb-proof in horse people parlance) horse, so I'm betting he was a gelding.
So, how else could Topper be a 'white' horse. There are a few genetic ways a horse can be born white and healthy. One is if it has the Dominant white gene. (This occurs in some breeds, and there are now Dominant white thoroughbreds- they look beautiful, and I think a few of them did well in racing. They have no markings, and their skin is pink- most noticeable around the nose.)
BUT Topper had markings! King Nappy was totally white (not pink nosed, though). I suspect King Nappy was an older gray horse (quick google says they usually turn completely white between 6 and 8 years old).
Topper had dark ears, and there were other markings that varied in visibility in the TV series (I've just started watching the COMPLETE 66 movie collection and so far Topper isn't in them). He always had dark ears, and on the occasions when the wind ruffled his forelock I could see the top of his head was dark. There were splotches of 'not white' down his lower neck, and there was a palm sized spot of 'not white' on his rump, just before his tail. I'm not absolutely certain, but I THINK I saw a dark circle around one eye, once.
Going on to his eyes- both eyes have lighter areas in the eyes themselves. This is not uncommon in pinto horses, which are usually born with whatever white markings they have, up to totally white (if they also have the graying gene they could become even more white with age). A totally white pinto would have 'maximum' expression of the white gene, and in the case of one type of white patterning, Sabino, is fairly harmless.
Another type of pinto is very beautiful if the horse gets one copy of the gene- 'frame overo' typically has dark on the top, and on the bottom- so likely to have dark legs and belly and back, tail and mane often dark, and usually very minimal white on the face- their sides have white that looks framed'. BUT if it gets two copies of the frame overo gene, it will not survive- they are born either totally white or with very small dark marks on ears or rump- and their digestive tract is dysfunctional. Breeders today can have horses tested to see if they carry color genes that can cause problems- it's possible for a solid color horse to carry the gene but not show it.
'Leopard' appaloosas are spotted horses, mostly white, with varying amount of spots. If a horse gets two copies of the 'Leopard complex' it will have few, or no, spots, and can appear to be white, and may lighten even more with age. The 'few spot' leopard may have 'night blindness', a non-progressive condition present at birth in which they see very poorly in low light.
Then again there are genes that affect coat color which in combination can make a horse appear 'white' from birth- combining the 'cream' and 'champagne' dilution factors results in an 'Ivory Champagne' coat, which is so light, it could be mistaken for white.
White markings (not a result of graying) that cover the ears and a large proportion of the face can be accompanied by deafness. This isn't necessarily fatal, as people can train deaf horses- indeed one famous and popular line of 'cutting horses' are often 'bald faced' and deaf. Horse's eyes are situated to give them a wide angle of vision, so being deaf is less of a problem for them then it would be for a species that depends more on their hearing to avoid being startled.
I believe Topper's markings were cosmetically hidden, and he was actually a subtype of pinto called a 'Medicine Hat horse'. Ideally a Medicine Hat horse would have a dark 'shield' on the front (where Topper has hidden markings) and on the head as A HAT. A Hat - like a TOP HAT. In 1930's jargon, that would be a TOPPER.
Doesn't that make more sense than naming him after a character who lived with a couple of ghosts and their pet ghost dog? Far-fetched. Maybe people thought 'ghost=white'... but in that case why not name him after one of the ghosts? Ok, well. 'George Kirby' would be not a very good name for a movie horse... but why not call him 'Ghost' or 'Spirit'? No, he had a hat and that's that.
And as a side note (in my rambling looking for the text of 'Topper' just now I've discovered that Project Gutenberg has closed their old site and the new one apparently doesn't have Topper, but Project Gutenberg Australia DOES...
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600241h.html)
As a final bit of more you never wanted to know... there are poems related to the idea that white legs are weaker than dark ones (absolutely no proof of this.)
One white foot—buy him. Two white feet—try him. Three white feet—look well about him. Four white feet—go without him
And a lesser known version:
Four white socks keep him not a day, three white socks send him far away, two white socks give him to a friend, one white sock keep him to his end.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-21 06:58 pm (UTC)I am very frustrated because I could not see the Geminids meteor shower nor this exceptional event of a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. Our sky is constantly overcast or it is foggy. Did you see it?
no subject
Date: 2020-12-21 07:01 pm (UTC)I have to wait until sunset to try to see the conjunction- that's about 3 1/2 hours from now. There are clouds, but not many, so it's possible!