White Horse

Whitehorse or White Horse may refer to:

White equines

Mythology and symbolism

Coat colors

People

Places

Cities, villages, towns

White (horse)

White horses are born white and stay white throughout their lives. White horses may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant white (W) genes, are rare. Most horses that are commonly referred to as "white" are actually "gray" horses whose hair coats are completely white.

True white horses

White horses have unpigmented skin and a white hair coat. Many white horses have dark eyes, though some have blue eyes. In contrast to gray horses which are born with pigmented skin they keep for life and pigmented hair that lightens to white with age, truly white horses are born with white hair and mostly pink, unpigmented skin. Some white horses are born with partial pigmentation in their skin and hair, which may or may not be retained as they mature, but when a white horse lightens, both skin and hair lose pigmentation. In contrast, grays retain skin pigment and only the hair becomes white.

White colorings, whether white markings, white patterns or dominant white are collectively known as depigmentation phenotypes, and are all caused by areas of skin that lack pigment cells (melanocytes). Depigmentation phenotypes have various genetic causes, and those that have been studied usually map to the EDNRB and KIT genes. However, much about the genetics behind various all-white depigmentation phenotypes are still unknown.

White horse (mythology)

White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot, with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well. Both truly white horses and the more common grey horses, with completely white hair coats, were identified as "white" by various religious and cultural traditions.

Portrayal in myth

From earliest times white horses have been mythologized as possessing exceptional properties, transcending the normal world by having wings (e.g. Pegasus from Greek mythology), or having horns (the unicorn). As part of its legendary dimension, the white horse in myth may be depicted with seven heads (Uchaishravas) or eight feet (Sleipnir), sometimes in groups or singly. There are also white horses which are divinatory, who prophesy or warn of danger.

As a rare or distinguished symbol, a white horse typically bears the hero- or god-figure in ceremonial roles or in triumph over negative forces. Herodotus reported that white horses were held as sacred animals in the Achaemenid court of Xerxes the Great (ruled 486-465 BC), while in other traditions the reverse happens when it was sacrificed to the gods.

White Horse, New Jersey

White Horse is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 9,494.

History

The community's name derives from a local tradition that holds that George Washington rode through the area on a white horse on his journey from Virginia to New York City for his first presidential inauguration in 1789.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 3.138 square miles (8.129 km²), of which, 3.074 square miles (7.963 km²) of it was land and 0.064 square miles (0.167 km²) of it (2.05%) was water.

Demographics

Census 2010

At the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,494 people, 3,875 households, and 2,682 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,088.0 per square mile (1,192.3/km²). There were 4,018 housing units at an average density of 1,306.9 per square mile (504.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.91% (8,346) White, 5.59% (531) Black or African American, 0.07% (7) Native American, 2.19% (208) Asian, 0.09% (9) Pacific Islander, 2.62% (249) from other races, and 1.52% (144) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.55% (812) of the population.