tracking bloodlines

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Abby

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Does anyone know of any studies being conducted that traces bloodlines in dwarfs?

I thought about this after seeing the foaling results for this year. Could there be a genetic linc to dwarfs from a particular breed line?

Just a curious thought.

Lee
 
I just thought it would be benneficial to know if a certain bloodline was prone to have dwarfs or carried a gene or something.

Lee
 
The dwarf issue is debated at least once a year here on the Forum. It is a major hotbutton issue with many people and there are lots of opinions, conjecture and some solid facts but very little research so far. There has also been talk of research into the dwarf gene, etc., but I haven't heard if it is moving forward or not.

I'm of the opinion that not all dwarfism is genetic and much can be environmental - nutrtition, toxins, etc., plus some eggs/sperm may not be perfect and result in an abortion along the way - is this a 'dwarf issue'? I don't know. I won't throw a horse out if it had a dwarf, but I would be scrupulous in investigating it's other produce, parents, siblings, etc. to see if it had occurred elsewhere in that line and would not repeat the breeding.

You also need to consider, in older breeding animals, as in humans, the chances for defects are higher. I haven't seen that with our horses, but it would make sense to me at least.

So, I'm not ready to label a horse or line a 'dwarf carrying line' without lots of research.

It just pays to know from whom you're buying a horse if it's for breeding, and to really research available information from the owner, studbooks, past owners, etc. if possible.
 
I think the dwarfism gene is in ALL bloodlines. but thats just my opinion
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I have heard certain farms say they have never had a dwarf in their bloodline but i dont think thats true. How could you ever prove that a horse you bred never had a dwarf unless you tracked every horse you ever sold! Reputable farms are more honest and openly admit they have had dwarfs.

Since there isnt enough funding to really research dwarfism we may never know how it passes on etc.
 
I didn't want to start any trouble.

I just thought, so much has been acheived in QH and Paints with genetics I was curious.

I didn't want to suggest that any particular line was defective. I just hear of so many of these special little ones that I didn't know about until I came to the mini world. Big horses had HYPP and LWO and such, just wondered if there were studies being done.

Lee
 
Malamutes have a very common problem with dwarfism (and the resulting pups having MANY of the same conformational attributes that the mini dwarf foals have), and their organizations have done lots of research into it. I haven't really thought about it until now, and it's been many, many years since we owned any, so I haven't kept up with the research done by them, but I'm wondering if there could be any information that might 'mirror' what happens in minis, and could be used to help further the mini dwarfism research.
 
CountryHaven said:
Malamutes have a very common problem with dwarfism (and the resulting pups having MANY of the same conformational attributes that the mini dwarf foals have), and their organizations have done lots of research into it. I haven't really thought about it until now, and it's been many, many years since we owned any, so I haven't kept up with the research done by them, but I'm wondering if there could be any information that might 'mirror' what happens in minis, and could be used to help further the mini dwarfism research.
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It happens in Holland Lop rabbits, too, which we raised and showed for a number of years. Dwarfism in Holland Lops is usually fatal with the affected kits failing to thrive. They are called "peanuts" and look normal at birth but three days later their littermates have outgrown them in leaps and bounds and they succumb shortly thereafter. The opposite happens too in that you can get an oversized Holland that is ineligible for showing and registration. They tend to thrive VERY well.

A vet at Cornell told us that "any time you breed a mini you run a 50/50 shot of getting a dwarf." (His words, not mine so please keep the flames to a minimum here.)

I was alarmed by his stated fact but had not had any dwarf horses until 2004 in 11 years of breeding (1-3 foals a year). Now I am a "member of the club" with two dwarf horses and I am not breeding anymore until more is known about the condition. One of the dwarf horses came from stellar lines. She resulted when I repeated the breeding with a son of the sire who was siring those beautiful foals when crossed with my mares (long necks, straight legs, proportioned bodies and good bites - the color was a plus - the breeding was definitely a "nick" or improvement on the parents!). The son of the sire's dam's side (sorry this is confusing) consisted of all beautiful champion show horses - very refined, long necked, elegant... beautiful animals. So was it environmental? A WNV vaccine reaction? A genetic quirk? Oh, I would love to know more about this condition - those better educated than me have been most helpful but it is heartbreaking all around as some folks have to put their babies down due to problems and some slug it out with theirs - mine are little toughies who have attitude galore and they are very sweet but my vet warns me there may come a time...
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Denise

Silversong Farm
 

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