susanne
dB
[This is a follow-up to a question on the other dwarf thread...since I had replied to the question there and then removed it as not fitting the discussion, I felt I needed to repost it here. Hopefully, posted without the question, this post will not seem out of the blue]
The question of whether it takes both parents to create a dwarf is, from what I've read, still a matter of conjecture, and part of what John's research is seeking to discover.
The results of his study will hopefully provide information, tools with which to work, but it is obviously up to each breeder how he or she will use this information.
Still I believe it would make an enormous difference.
If a test becomes available through the results of isolating a gene, one would get a fair measure of a breeder's integrity by whether or not they tested and made public the results.
Some breeders would no doubt choose not to test or opt to keep the results secret, but the buyer would then see the absence of test results and could choose not to buy from that breeder.
Of course, as with HYPP and LWO, some will choose to play the odds, hoping that they will be amongst the lucky few, but at least potential buyers have the ability to make an informed choice.
I'm speaking as a non-breeder, but I do believe that if John is able to isolate a dwarf gene it will give great hope for future generations of miniature horses.
The question of whether it takes both parents to create a dwarf is, from what I've read, still a matter of conjecture, and part of what John's research is seeking to discover.
The results of his study will hopefully provide information, tools with which to work, but it is obviously up to each breeder how he or she will use this information.
Still I believe it would make an enormous difference.
If a test becomes available through the results of isolating a gene, one would get a fair measure of a breeder's integrity by whether or not they tested and made public the results.
Some breeders would no doubt choose not to test or opt to keep the results secret, but the buyer would then see the absence of test results and could choose not to buy from that breeder.
Of course, as with HYPP and LWO, some will choose to play the odds, hoping that they will be amongst the lucky few, but at least potential buyers have the ability to make an informed choice.
I'm speaking as a non-breeder, but I do believe that if John is able to isolate a dwarf gene it will give great hope for future generations of miniature horses.