Genetics: What Does it All Mean?

Advances in the field of genetics are especially beneficial to those trying to understand equine disease.
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Researchers are making great headway with their understanding of genetics; here’s why this area of study is both important and applicable for horse health

When we think of genetics in horses, we generally think in terms of color inheritance–whether a foal will be bay, gray, chestnut, or have the splashes of color that we desire in our particular breed group. However, advances in the field of genetics reach well beyond coat color and are especially beneficial to owners and breeders that are trying to understand–and avoid–genetic diseases.

Ernest Bailey, PhD, immunogenetics and genomics researcher at the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center, explains that there are basically two aspects of genetic study–creating tests and creating knowledge. Scientists have developed tests to determine if a horse carries certain traits (both desirable and undesirable) such as color, performance, or disease. And by understanding genetics better they are creating knowledge for improved management of horses.

“For example, some horses are thrifty keepers and may get laminitis on lush pasture,” Bailey explains. “We generally don’t think of this as a genetic problem, mainly because we don’t want to address this by genetic selection.” However, if an owner has already chosen a horse for other desired traits, he or she might want to find ways to treat or manage the horse predisposed to laminitis so he doesn’t founder. Understanding the horse’s genetics can help the owner achieve this.

How Can Genetic Research Help Horse Owners?

Researchers are gaining knowledge constantly about genetic traits of interest. They now are familiar with the genes to avoid or eliminate genetic defects such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), overo lethal white syndrome (OLWS), hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA), and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), among others, and have provided that information to breeders

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Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

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