Tuesday, July 17, 2012
GENETIC PROBLEMS WITH PAINT HORSES
One medical issue associated with the breed is the genetic disease lethal white syndrome (LWS). Also called Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS) or, less often, White Foal Syndrome (WFS), it is linked to a recessive gene associated with the frame overo pattern. Horses that are heterozygous carriers of the gene do not develop the condition and are physically healthy. However, when a foal is born that is homozygous for the LWS gene, it should be humanely euthanized shortly after birth, or else will die within a few days from complications involving an underdeveloped intestinal tract. A DNA test is available for LWS so that horses who are carriers of this gene are not bred to one another. Horses can carry the LWS gene and not visibly exhibit overo coloring; cases have appeared in the offspring of both tobiano and solid-colored parents, though all cases to date are horses that had overo ancestors. LWS is also not unique to Paint Horses; it can occur in any equine breed where the frame overo coat pattern is found.
Due to the heavy influx of American Quarter Horse breeding, some Paints may also carry genetic disorders such as Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP), Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia (HERDA), Equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (called PSSM - polysaccharide storage myopathy - in Paints, Quarter Horses and Appaloosas), Malignant hyperthermia (MH) and Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency (GBED). The influence of Thoroughbred breeding puts some bloodlines at higher risk for Wobbler's syndrome.
Due to the heavy influx of American Quarter Horse breeding, some Paints may also carry genetic disorders such as Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP), Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia (HERDA), Equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (called PSSM - polysaccharide storage myopathy - in Paints, Quarter Horses and Appaloosas), Malignant hyperthermia (MH) and Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency (GBED). The influence of Thoroughbred breeding puts some bloodlines at higher risk for Wobbler's syndrome.
THE HISTORY OF THE PAINT
In 1519 the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes sailed to the New World to find
his fame and fortune. Along with his entourage of conquistadors, he brought
horses to help his men search the vast land for riches. According to the Spanish
historian Diaz del Castillo, who traveled with the expedition, one of the horses
was described as a "pinto" with "white stockings on his forefeet." The other was
described as a "dark roan horse" with "white patches." These were the first
known recorded descriptions of early Paint Horses in the New World.
By the early 1800s, the western plains were generously populated by free-ranging herds of horses, and those herds included the peculiar spotted horse. Because of their color and performance, flashy, spotted horses soon became a favorite mount of the American Indian. The Comanche Indians, considered by many authorities to be the finest horsemen on the Plains, favored loud-colored horses and had many among their immense herds. Evidence of this favoritism is exhibited by drawings of spotted horses found on the painted buffalo robes that served as records for the Comanches.
Throughout the 1800s and late into the 1900s, these spotted horses were called by a variety of names: pinto, paint, skewbald, piebald. In the late 1950s, a group dedicated to preserving the spotted horse was organized—the Pinto Horse Association. In 1962, another group of spotted horse enthusiasts organized an Association, but this group was dedicated to preserving both color and stock-type conformation—the American Paint Stock Horse Association (APSHA).
This group thought the varied, distinct coat patterns of the American Paint were appealing. However, being knowledgeable devotees of Western stock-type horses, they insisted that stock-type conformation had to be the first criteria for establishing a registry. Founder Rebecca Tyler Lockhart remembers how the Association began.
By the early 1800s, the western plains were generously populated by free-ranging herds of horses, and those herds included the peculiar spotted horse. Because of their color and performance, flashy, spotted horses soon became a favorite mount of the American Indian. The Comanche Indians, considered by many authorities to be the finest horsemen on the Plains, favored loud-colored horses and had many among their immense herds. Evidence of this favoritism is exhibited by drawings of spotted horses found on the painted buffalo robes that served as records for the Comanches.
Throughout the 1800s and late into the 1900s, these spotted horses were called by a variety of names: pinto, paint, skewbald, piebald. In the late 1950s, a group dedicated to preserving the spotted horse was organized—the Pinto Horse Association. In 1962, another group of spotted horse enthusiasts organized an Association, but this group was dedicated to preserving both color and stock-type conformation—the American Paint Stock Horse Association (APSHA).
This group thought the varied, distinct coat patterns of the American Paint were appealing. However, being knowledgeable devotees of Western stock-type horses, they insisted that stock-type conformation had to be the first criteria for establishing a registry. Founder Rebecca Tyler Lockhart remembers how the Association began.
Welcome
A Minnesota Paint Horse Blog
This is a blog that will be updated with information about the American Paint Horse. Check out my blog if you what info on paint horses. I will try to answer any question that will be asked.
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