A Rare Breed

Camarillo White Horses are a striking breed. They are compact and refined, much more than just a color breed. They are Spanish blooded horses with stock drawn from Arabian, Morgan, and Quarterhorses. They are suited for dressage as well as ranch jumping. 

Camarillo Whites made their mark as parade and performance horses. Since the breed's founding, they have taken part in parades across California and have been ridden by many esteemed riders, including Ronald Reagan, movie star Leo Carrillo, and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Mott. Many Camarillo Whites have inherited the easy and gentle temperment of the foundational sire, Sultan. 

They have light pink skin making them true white horses. Many horses thought to be white, are actually grays, as evident by the black coloration around their noses. Camarillo White Horses however, are entirely white and their coats never fade. 

White horses are particularly difficult to breed due to the genes that cause the eye-catching coloration. Though one of the genes thought to cause the white coloration is dominate, a horse posessing two of these genes will suffer from "Lethal White Syndrome" and die before being born. To avoid this, breeders of Camarillo White Horses pair a white horse with a non-white mate for a 50 percent chance of breeding a white foal. 

Camarillo White Horses possess a unique mutation of one of the white genes meaning that they are totally distinct from other white horses. The mutation prevents the expression of color. This was discovered when the horses took part in an international study to observe the genes responsible for the white coloration. Breeders today can check their horses for this mutation by taking them to UC Davis for genetic testing.