Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome
OnWe are nearly ready to offer testing for Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome. WFFS is a bit like HERDA, but in Warmbloods: it is a defect in the skin means that it is weak and easily torn. Skin on the legs is most…
Connemara Hoof Wall Separation Disease: we need just ONE sample from a carrier!
OnConnemara Hoof Wall Separation Disease is an inherited disorder where affected ponies have their hoof wall easily break away from the underlying tissue. In severe cases they end up walking on their soles. It’s an autosomal recessive disease, meaning that it can…
SB1 + W20 horses: Case study three
OnWe have one last example of a SB1 + W20 horse to share. This is Zips Stormy Showdown, a Paint horse colt. Zips Stormy Showdown is a chestnut with both sabino 1 and W20, but no other known pattern genes. Just like…
Research project: horse blood groups
OnOur big research project this year is to find the genes responsible for the horse blood groups. Horse blood group systems are more complex than the common human blood group system ABO and Rh. Their blood group systems are called A, C,…
SB1 + W20 horses: Case study two
OnWe’ve already shown you one example of how much white you can get when a foal inherits a copy of sabino 1 from one parent, and a copy of W20 from the other. Here is our next example: Tahmathor Park Colonial Jasper….
Free Testing Offers March 2018
OnWe’re going to do three concurrent free testing offers. But don’t get too excited yet – not all horses and ponies are eligible. In order to be eligible, each horse or pony needs to be a carrier of the particular trait that…
SB1 + W20 horses: Case study one
OnAs many horse breeders would know, foals sometimes turn up looking completely different to what was expected. This Miniature horse foal is Yarreh Lane Flash Gentleman Jack. His dam (Yarreh Lane Morning Star) is black with a small star, and his sire…
Naked Foal Syndrome tests
OnWe are currently working on tests for Naked Foal Syndrome which occurs in Akhal-Teke Horses. NFS is a lethal disorder and is just as strange as it sounds. Pic is from the G3Journal : NFS phenotype. (A) An NFS affected colt (case…
Research into the family tree of today’s horses sheds new light on the origins of the species
OnPioneering research into the family tree of today’s horses sheds new light on the origins of the species. The earliest known domesticated horses are not at the root of today’s modern breed’s family tree, as had previously been thought, new research has…
Understanding W20 and the other W mutations
OnCadbury Creme Eggs I first wrote this article comparing the KIT gene product to a pipe clamp. But it’s heading toward Easter now, and Cadbury Creme Eggs are in the shops! I think they make an even better analogy. Cadbury Creme Eggs…