Lets take this blog to the next level

If you have a photo of crappy show riding, know of a jerkwad trainer or judge, or someone in the show world that is an abusive piece of shit then send the info to me. This blog is not anti-showing, it's anti-abuse. So there is no truth to the claims from the TWH, ASB, western pleasure and dressage zombies that I'm trying to shut showing down. Instead I'm trying to make showing more honest and to get abusive practices out of the showring! Email me at shameinthehorseshowring@gmail.com



I have a request for my readers: If you have successfully rehabbed a show horse, or gotten a rescue and taken it on to a show career then let me know, I'd love to feature you here!






Friday, October 3, 2008

Show ring genetic defects: Updated

One of the worst aspects of the horse show industry is the fact that the desire to win in the show ring compels unethical people to breed for genetic defects. Or if they aren’t breeding for the specific defect, they take breeding risks that have the potential to produce the defect.

I’m going to address three major defects that have spread and propagated as a direct result of the show ring: HYPP, HERDA and OLWS.

There is no doubt that HYPP (HYPERKALEMIC PERIODIC PARALYSIS) is the one defect that comes to mind when you mention the AQHA show ring. HYPP is a disease that would have come and gone in a few generations if the halter industry had not existed. It was compounded by halter breeders and has endured long past the time the defect would have existed in the wild because of the human interference of selective breeding. All HYPP horse trace back to on AQHA stallion, Impressive. He was the point mutation for the gene.
HYPP serves no legitimate purpose. It does increase muscle bulk, but the muscles are useless. They aren’t geared toward heavy hauling, speed or endurance.




Impressive AQHA stallion


For a long time HYPP horses dominated the halter industry. World and National champions in AQHA, APHA and ApHC were crowned with the judges knowing they were placing a horse with a genetic defect. It is proof of the absolute corruption and back scratching among stock breed judges.

The most horrific thing about HYPP is that people excuse the breeding of the defect with such lame excuses:

He’s such a wonderful horse; he deserves to pass on his good traits.

No dipshit, he doesn’t deserve to pass anything on. He’s a horse; the only thing he deserves is good care. Love him, treat him kind and make sure he’s gelded so that he never reproduces another horse that has to go through an HYPP attack.

HYPP can be managed; it doesn’t hurt the horse if you treat it correctly.

You can’t cure HYPP. A horse may never have any symptoms and then one day fall over and die. You can try to treat the symptoms, but in times of extreme stress, like showing, then the horse can have an attack. Proof of this is that all three stock breeds allow the use of Acetazolimide, a diuretic and drug masker, to be used for HYPP horses. Isn’t that grand? Catering to the defect by allowing drugs that are banned by FEI to be used in the show ring.

This is the fact sheet that AQHA has on their website about HYPP.

http://www.aqha.com/association/registration/hypp.html

Seems pretty bland when you consider the damage that HYPP breeders have done to the halter industry.

I will give AQHA credit for requiring the testing of Impressive descendants and the results marked on their papers. APHA and ApHC have not taken this step because of the political roadblocks.

AQHA has also banned the registration of HYPP H/H horses, but they still allow HYPP N/H horses and do not restrict the breeding of N/H horses to N/H horses. So basically they make it okay to produced more H/H horses that end up being dumped. If they really wanted to stop H/H they would make it so it is illegal to breed two N/H horses, simple solution to a problem.
What AQHA has not done is ban the showing of N/H and H/H horses in halter. They jumped really quick to ban excessive white horses from showing in halter, but it's perfectly okay to show a defect that is far worse then being a little "painty" in the ring. You can have a World Champion H/H halter horse, but you can't have a World Champion excessive white halter horse. Talk about your screwed up priorities!

ApHC and APHA do not ban HYPP breeding in any capacity and APHA does not require the papers to be marked with the horse’s HYPP status. ApHC did finally require the ApHC foals from an AQHA parent, that is HYPP positive, to be tested and have the results printed on the papers, however, non-AQHA foals do not have to have the results listed. So you can breed Appaloosa N/H or H/H to Appaloosa N/H or H/H with impunity and never have a problem registering the foal. And even better, you can breed an Appaloosa to a grandfathered in H/H QH, even if the Appaloosa is H/H.
No one can accuse the ApHC of being proactive toward HYPP. They’ve only had 15 freaking years to get their shit together about it.

UC Davis has been the most proactive in the fight against HYPP breeding. Dr. Sharon Spier is the one that “outed” the disease and its famous progenitor, Impressive.

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/hypp.php

Tufts Veterinary School also has a good page about HYPP.

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/sports/hypp.html

I like their use of the word “plague” to describe how HYPP affects the industry. HYPP is a plague, but the fact the plague has not been eradicated is 100% the responsibility of unscrupulous breeders. Yes, I mean all breeders that breed HYPP horses. You are all pieces of shit and should be jailed. You are deliberately breeding for a defect that makes the life of the horse miserable. You are doing it for greed and vanity. You are worse than the Tennessee Walking Horse abusers. I can rescue a horse from the TWH show ring and make his life better. You cannot rescue a horse from HYPP. He’s born with it, and he’ll keep it until he dies. Of course the mortality rate of HYPP horse is high, particularly the H/H horses. Nothing like breeding a disposable product that you can replace every few years. What better way to get rid of HYPP positive halter geldings, which have no future once their show career is over, than letting them die an early death. Poetic.

This article talks about foal deaths from paralyzed airways, which occurred during HYPP attacks. Nothing like watching a foal die gasping for breath to make the value of this blue ribbons seem pretty shoddy.

http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/1995/hypp.shtml

HYPP attack on video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6peGK3GAVg8

I really hate this video because the poor foal is so confused as to why his mother won’t get up.

http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/HVideo.html

HYPP variant (Yes, variants exist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBXtCyCkY9Y

Oh look, all kinds of N/H stallions just waiting to pass on their defective genes for their scum money-grubbing owners.

http://www.halterhorseads.com/classifieds.php?a=22&b=15
http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/HyppLists.html

http://muddycreekfarms.com/stallions.htm
http://www.encorefarm.net/



Here’s a veritable Who’s Who in the halter industry, all H/H and ready to produce N/H foals for whichever POS breeder wants them.

http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/1224HH.pdf


Pathetic! You’d think in this age of information and enlightenment that people would be more ethical than this shit. Stop breeding HYPP positive horses. Just stop! The horse does not deserve it! He doesn’t understand why he has attacks! And if you have to drug the horse to show it then leave the damn thing at home! Seriously, it is just sick for people to keep breeding this easily avoidable defect. And shame on ApHC and APHA for not taking any steps at all to stop the breeding of HYPP positive horses. Organizations that condone HYPP are just as guilty as the breeders creating the horses. You are part of the problem, when will you become part of the solution?

Here's some asshat ads from people that promote breeding HYPP postive horses:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/832804631.html What more can you ask for? Poor conformation, HYPP positive and covered in paw prints! Run out and buy her now!

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/grd/813285172.html Someone actually bought this horse knowing he's HYPP positive. This is where two fools met!


My next genetic issue is HERDA, Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia. HERDA is a horrific disease, and like HYPP is so easily avoidable.

http://www.thehorse.com/images/content/hc_herda/hc_herda2.html

Why would anyone breed a horse, knowing that HERDA could be in the mix?

UC Davis does HERDA testing. Why not spend the money to make sure you don’t produce any horses with this terrible disease?

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/herda.php

Once again the AQHA goes lightweight on the issue. They do not require testing for HERDA, they do not ban the registration of breeding of carrier horses.

http://www.aqha.com/showing/news/herda.html

Why? Because it’s all about the numbers with the AQHA. They have to have “more” horses registered every year than any other organization, even if some of those horses are carriers of genetic defects and suffer greatly because of it. Of course it goes without saying that APHA and ApHC don’t do shit about HERDA. Why should they when Big Brother AQHA doesn’t?


Poco Bueno AQHA stallion

HERDA horses can be traced to Poco Bueno. His descendants are the crème de la crème of the cutting horse industry. But HERDA is not restricted to just the cutting horse lines. Because of Poco Bueno’s progeny, that excelled in other performance events, the gene is spread throughout the reining and pleasure horse industries too. Dry Doc, Zippo Pine Bar, Doc O’lena and Great Pine are QH stallions that were all carriers and their descendants, in whichever stock breed they are registered, can also be carriers.

There is no treatment for HERDA. Horses that are carriers can live out normal lives. Horses that are symptomatic are usually euthanized by the time they are four. Crossing two carriers is like playing Russian Roulette with a living creature that has no choice in whether to play or not. Why take the risk?

Is it really worth it not to test and prevent the birth of another HERDA symptomatic horse?

The answer to the above question appears to be yes. People routinely line breed Zippo Pine Bar horses. The cutting industry is so immersed in Poco Bueno lines that he is in two out of every three pedigrees. And they still line breed, and still end up losing money on every double positive foal. To cutting horse breeders the risk is worth it. What is the pain and suffering of a horse worth against the potential to make money? Not a damn thing.

Kudos to this breeder for having a HERDA explanation page on his website so people can read about the disease. But a big thumbs down for continuing to breed a HERDA carrier stallion. There is no stallion or mare worth so much that it needs to reproduce or pass on defective genes. http://www.flyingvquarterhorses.com/

And a big thumbs down to this idiot, who should know better than to breed his HERDA N/H stallion Ducelena, scroll down to about half way: http://www.horsedeals.com.au/horses-for-sale.php?horseTypes_id=22&subType_id=32&doSrch=doSrch&horseAge2=&horsePrice2=&horseHeight2=&page=10&PHPSESSID=4055a2147822eca16c42d585a798c679

The last defect I’ll address for now (although I’m sure there will be more later) is OLWS (Overo Lethal White Syndrome)


Frame Overo

OLWS is another genetic defect that can be easily avoided through genetic testing and wise breeding choices.

The Paint, Pinto and AQHA breeders that do not exercise due caution will find themselves with a lovely white foal one morning and shortly thereafter they will have a lovely white and very dead foal. OLWS is 100% fatal. OLWS is different from the other two diseases in that you can usually look at a horse and get a good suspicion that he’s a carrier. How? Most OLWS carriers often exhibit a pinto coat pattern known as Frame. Frame overos are usually quite pretty and visually striking. However, breeding two together can be a big risk. Not all frames carry OLWS, and not all non-Frame horses are free of it. The diseases has shown up in Thoroughbred, Quarter Horses, Paints and Pintos. It will probably make an appearance in Appaloosas, if it hasn’t already, due to the fact that AQHA removed their white restrictions and ApHC will now allow pinto marked horses to get ApHC papers, as long as they have two Appaloosa parents. Breeding excessive white to excessive white is a good way to get this disease up and running in the ApHC. Breeds that do not carry the Frame gene do not have OLWS.

OLWS is a condition that not only affects pigment cells, it effects enteric nerve cells. The colon does not work. OLWS foals are usually full term and look like normal healthy foals, all the more heartbreaking when they die within a few days.

Here is the description of OLWS from the APHA.

http://www.apha.com/breed/lethalwhites03.html

APHA is quite happy to tell you about the disease, but they aren’t about to demand testing or block people from breeding carriers. Who cares how many little white dead foals litter the highway to the show ring?

Why take the risk to produce that produces these foals?
Color sells! It’s that simple. In order to get color you have to roll the color dice. And if the color dice comes with a fatal genetic defect then so be it. There are people that breed mares that have produced several OLWS foals. They take the risk that at some point the genetic dice will roll in their favor. How fricking stupid can you get? It’s costs at least $1,500 to take care of a mare for a year of gestation. Add in the stud fee, vet care and loss of the foal and you can be out several thousands of dollars with no foal to show for it. Wouldn’t it be better to test for OLWS and then not breed carriers? Sure it would, but you can’t make any money on non-breeding horses unless you train them to have a job.

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Outback/2936/OLWS.html

Photos of some cute, and ultimately dead, lethal white foals.

And WTF is up with this website?

http://www.stallingspainthorses.com/lethal-white1.htm

They're willing to explain OLWS, but then give the excuse that breedig overos requires the risk of crossing and that losing one foal out of three is acceptable. No it isn't. It is "never" acceptable to risk a foal's life with a genetic defect!

Video of lethal white foal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMZFDjAzPSQ

So here we have three genetic defects, all easily avoidable, none banned by the organizations that promote the stock horse show industry. Why? Greed! It is pure greed that does not ban a defect that is ultimately harmful to the horse. Why AQHA, APHA and ApHC have not banned the breeding of HERDA carriers is a mystery to anyone that has the best interest of the horse at heart. Greed! Nothing but unmitigated, inexcusable greed!

So Shame On You, AQHA, APHA and ApHC. Shame on you for being so fricking greedy you will let horses be born with fatal flaws and stand by while breeders continue to produce these doomed horses. You have an obligation to the breeds you represent to stop the breeding of these defects! All of these defects are propogated by show ring breeders. All are kept going because people think having a show champion, regardless of how genetically defective, means you can breed it into perpetuity! Stupid greedy people!

27 comments:

Rowenryo said...

Thank you for posting this. I have been wanting to know what OWLS was and this has helped out a lot. Google was not my friend on this. All the information on the other diseases are very useful also. I have learned a lot from this blog, along with FHOTD.

Carrie Giannandrea said...

TJM:

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/544547.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7844011

I am wondering how many more Olympians will be losing their place in the historic Bejing Olympics due to drug use in their horse?

Also, the Harness industry article is interesting in that Epo is not something I am familiar with. Guess I need to do some research on this Epo!

Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms

Carrie Giannandrea said...

As for HYPP, HERDA and OLWS; People ARE getting a clue about HERDA, they HAVE gotten a clue about OLWS.........but for some reason, the stupid Halter Industry just HAS NOT gotten a clue about HYPP!

If a horse is listed in the AQHA or Appaloosa Journal as a Halter Horse with no HYPP status, it should be avoided like the plague that it is!

Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms

Anonymous said...

Carrie said... "http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/544547.html

Also, the Harness industry article is interesting in that Epo is not something I am familiar with. Guess I need to do some research on this Epo!"

Happens all the time. There are certain trainers that will get away with this kind of stuff time and time again. It's like certain ones tubing them at the friggin track! For the most part Harness trainers are not this way, but those that are wont ever be punished, they have the money owners behind them and in turn the guys who enforce the rules.

Carrie Giannandrea said...

horseandhounds -

Check out this interesting article. Good reading about Drug use in racing.

http://www.harnesstracks.com/2003_DRF/DRF_January_16_2003.htm

After reading about Epogen and what it does for humans and why, seems to me you would not want to risk it on your horse.

Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms

ZTIG said...

People are always unscrupulous. I know of a vet back east who will actually preform surgery in an attempt to correct a cryptorchid. And for the right price NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW.

I would label a crypt rather low on the list of genetic defects, but this is responsible breeding 101. You don't breed something that is sick/diseased or could potentially create another sick animal. You don't do it.

My best bitch retired after her first liter when she developed food allergies and her patella started slipping. YOU DON'T BREED IT. At this point in history, we were just starting to become aware of the patella issues within the breed and nobody was testing for it yet.

I don't care how good the animal is, don't breed it! She was the WHOLE package, conformation, looks, intelligence, attitude, herding, hunting, you name it she could do it. However, you DON'T breed it! She had genetic defects that she could pass on to her pups.
Repeat after me...I solemnly swear, as a responsible breeder, I will not breed an animal with a known genetic default. And if a default shows up after breeding I will remove the animal from the gene pool by surgical means, and make owners of previously breed animals aware of issues.

Gigga said...

OMG! Im horriefied at HERDA!

Why why why?! would any one breed the carriers, Im about to throw up..

GoLightly said...

ztig
Your last paragraph should be put into law, and should apply to all of our animals, (eg. DOGS!!! cats, what f-ing ever).
I am aghast, as always, by what people will do in the name of $$..
The OLWS, that I didn't know anything about, until I started reading this blog, is almost as shocking as the HYPP and HERDA.
WTF is wrong with these so-called breed organizations?? What is their role, if not to protect/improve the Breed????
It's been proven, time and again, that excessive white is a bad thing...
Take at look at our poultry industry. Rapist Roosters, chickens/turkeys that can't grow up, because they'll flip over and die.
It is the SAME thing in mammals. Deaf white cats & dogs, no-one learns from past mistakes, it seems. Why is white such a desirable trait?? My black & tan kelpie is constantly feared out in public, cause she's black. Oooh, scary dog.

As usual, I just don't get it.
Fascinating reading, thanks TJM.
To the horses, let's keep 'em Healthy.

Oliver Twist said...

Hey TJM, interesting related thread on the FHOTD forum... Thought you might be interested.

I'm glad to see that most people posting seem to be in agreement that HYPP = bad, and breeding H/H stallions is a complete asshat move, but amazingly, there are some shit-for-brains kids claiming that HYPP "isn't a big deal" and "is actually really easy to manage."

http://fhotd64476.yuku.com/reply/283157

But anyways, good post. I liked the links about OWLS - I must admit I don't know very much about it, and since I am about to acquire a APHA stud colt I really need to get my butt in gear and learn more about it.

anniebanannie said...

Jaz Platinum Prince, the stallion whose owners you gave kudo's to is a HERDA carrier.

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Annie,

Is her HERDA of does the hh stand for 14.3 Hands High. Because if he was a double H he'd be dead by now.

TJM

anniebanannie said...

trojan mouse,

I'm not sure to what you are referring when you say: "Is her HERDA of does the hh stand for 14.3 Hands High. Because if he was a double H he'd be dead by now.

I don't know who "her" is and I do know that "hh" stands for "hands high.

On the Flying V Quarter horse web page (the one that you cited as being responsible for having a HERDA explanation), their stallion Jaz Platinum Prince is a carrier. I don't care if they only breed to non-carrier mares, as long as he's bred to any mare, 50% of his progeny will be carriers. Please read the quote from their webpage.

NOTE: All of Flying V Ranch mares carrying the above bloodlines are HERDA tested N/N and all outside mares who carry the above bloodlines looking to breed to Jaz (N/H) must also test N/N. A UCD HERDA certificate must be submitted before semen will be shipped to mares that carry the above bloodlines.

Anonymous said...

Carrie Giannandrea Wrote:

"horseandhounds -

Check out this interesting article. Good reading about Drug use in racing.

http://www.harnesstracks.com/2003_DRF/DRF_January_16_2003.htm

After reading about Epogen and what it does for humans and why, seems to me you would not want to risk it on your horse."

That name sounds very familiar... Sending the article to my dad to see if its someone he knows. (Dad's a harness horse trainer)

Carrie Giannandrea said...

horsenhounds said:

"Sending the article to my dad to see if its someone he knows. (Dad's a harness horse trainer)"

Cool! Can't wait to hear what he has to say!

Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms

http://myappyadventures.blogspot.com/

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Annie,

Okay, got it, glad you picked up on that, now I must go edit.

This is what I get for posting late at night!

TJM

Allison.Lowe said...

that last video was just heartbreaking. I feel bad for the mares whose babies have OWL.

I couldn't agree with you more about the breeding restrictions these horses should have on them, the illnesses are deadly but oh so preventable... one of the girls who lives in my dorm got an Impressive bred stud colt and just gelded him right off the bat, he was later tested and was N/N but better safe than sorry in her eyes (kudos to her, I think) I just wish there were a way to enforce rules about this shit.

Thanks for posting it, it really was educational (especially for me, who shows Arabs)

Tuffy Horse said...

I find it very disturbing that almost 20 years after HYPP was outed all three stock breed organizations still do nothing to stop the breeding of N/H horses to other N/H horses.

I find it disturbing that none of the stock breed organizations require testing for HERDA.

I am flat out amazed that APHA doesn't require testing for OLWS.

Tracy M
http://www.thehorsediary.net/

mxmom said...

I came across this website quite by accident. There was an ad for a yearling filly out there that indicated HYPP N/H as an Attribute of hers! 5 of 16 horses listed for sale are N/H!!!

http://www.nccranch.com/horses-for-sale.htm

Tricky said...

I'm not 100% on it, but from what I've heard from people in the Australian Paint and Appaloosa industries they do have regulations about HYPP, and the QH association is moving on it as well.
HERDA on the other hand, since it is only "a problem" when it is homozygous has been a totally different story.
As for OLWS, with knowledge and good breeding practices it can be managed in a way as to NOT create the problem. I don't believe there are enough people out there who do have the knowledge or good management, and when it comes down to it it is just a colour - and with careful breeding the same look could be achieved without the "Frame" Overo gene in play.
I truely believe that more people would be aware of these problems that are breed related if the status of stallions and mares for HYPP, HERDA and OLWS had to be printed on their rego's and made available for all to see on the internet, so people can make a good and informed choice when picking their stallion/mares.
It's really that simple isn't it?

an American in Copenhagen said...

To complicate the whole OLW situation is the incredible ineptitude of the color descriptions/registration options that the APHA offers. Visualy, geneticaly, pedigre wise, etc indicates and proves that there are four distinct paint genes--tobiano, splash, sabino, and frame (the one that causes OLW when homozygous). And yet the APHA continues to promote the following classifications of paint markings: overo, tobiano, and tovero.

The description for overo on the APHA website indicates that they are refering to frame. All the other colors (splash, sabino, and combos of genes other than tovero) get lumped into some category where they don't really belong and muddy the water making it hard for people to see patterns and the bigger picture.

The APHA's color classifications not only make it dificult for breeders to keep straight what color genes they have in their bloodlines and what genes they will be adding to the mixing by breeding to a particular outside horse but it makes identifying OLW carriers even more dificult. If frame is mixed with any of the other paint genes the distinctive pattern is often lost (look at the tovero stallion on the website whith photos of OLF foals) and an individual may not be recognisable as carying the frame gene.

Even APHA breeders lacking a soul (i.e. not caring about producing OLW foals) would benefit from a registration system that acurately described and tracked the genes present in individual horses.

QHdressagewannabe said...

We had a horse at our barn HYPP N/H, owed by two young sisters. Scary stuff. The horse's papers didn't show Impressive on it so go figure.

I myself have a mare that has Colonel Champ (going back to Poco Bueno) on her sire's paternal side. Poco Burleigh, Poco Pine and Poco Bueno on the sire's maternal side and again Poco Burleigh, Poco Pine and Poco Bueno on the dam's paternal side.

Thankfully she's not afflicted with HERDA, but I have no clue if she's a carrier, but talk about tempting fate! I didn't know about HERDA and Poco Bueno when I bought her, and once I did, there were no tests available at the time to see if she would be a carrier. It doesn't matter to me since I'm not in a position to breed her, nor do I have the slightest inclination to do so. But if I were ever to sell her, I would get the test done before putting her on the market to let any potential buyer know if she's a carrier or not.

If she is, hopefully by then there'll be a better spaying option for mare owners and could have her spayed before selling her to make sure she wouldn't produce a possible carrier.

an American in Copenhagen said...

FYI

from THE HORSE online(www.thehorse.com) :


Spaying Mares With Newer, Safer Methods


Spaying a mare (ovariectomy) means removing her ovaries so she no longer comes into heat and has a more mellow attitude, like a gelding. An ovariectomy can be done standing (under sedation and local anesthesia) through a flank approach or a vaginal approach.

An infrequent complication associated with the old method of spaying (using a very old surgical instrument, a chain escraseur) is bleeding from the ovarian stump or uterine artery. The escraseur looks like a bicycle chain on a long-handled clamp. The crushing technique is similar to that of an emasculator when gelding a stallion; crushing the blood vessels causes them to spasm and close down, with less bleeding than if they were cut, but this procedure is very painful. Many vets now use laparoscopy for spaying. With a laparoscope, they can see exactly what they are doing while removing an ovary, and they can either ligate (tie off) the ovarian pedicle (stump), or apply a stapling device to control any hemorrhage.

Some vets are now tying off the blood supply to the ovary (controlled ovarian infarction) rather than severing its attachments, which is less risky. (Similar techniques are used in small animals to remove organ function.) This has also proven to be more comfortable for the mare. In a study done at the University of California, Davis, in 1999-2000 by Tom Yarbrough, DVM, and Chris Hanson, DVM, on eight mares, it was found that ovaries degenerated and became non-functional after the blood supply was tied off. There was no evidence of infection, pain, revascularization (re-establishment of blood supply), or adhesions following the procedure, and the mares' hormone levels no longer fluctuated.

Hanson moved to private practice in Washington, and Yarbrough continued work at UC Davis and did surgeries at private clinics. Both began doing all their laparoscopic spaying cases using this method. "During the past three years, we have each done about three dozen, and this has so far shown to be a safe technique," said Yarbrough.

Both vets said that this method is easier, and it causes less complications or discomfort. It eliminates the need to remove ovaries, and thus eliminates the risk of bleeding. Surgical time is shorter, incision size is smaller, and mares recover quickly and can return to work sooner. "Unless someone finds a way to go in there and inject the pedicle with something to make it degenerate, this is probably the best way to spay mares," Yarbrough says.


I hope this becomes a more commonly used/requested procedure. It'll probably take a while before enough vets get good at the procedure for it to be available in every area. It just adds to the difficulty of selling a mare when you have to *try* to make sure she goes to a home where she won't be bred. And there's no way of guaranteeing that the next in line after that won't try to do the same.

QHdressagewannabe said...

Wow, thanks an American in Copenhagen! I'm not sure that procedure is available in my area, but will certainly keep an ear out and ask my vet about it if I do go that route.

cattypex said...

Just something that bugs me... what's up with that weird eye that Impressive had? And that a lot of modern QH's have? It's not really beady, but it looks... dead?

You know what I'm sayin' ?

Almost like it's too round around the eyeball instead of the football-shaped eye that most horses have.

Capiche??

Unknown said...

this was a very informative article. my aunt purchased a jaz platinum prince colt about a year ago and when i googled his name it brought this article up. so thank you for this information.

windstorm said...

OLWS is not a DISEASE... it is a paint gene, that when bred to another horse with the same Paint GENE, you could produce a Lethal foal 25% of the time. This being said, breeding practices state that you do not breed 2 Overo Paints together. Same as in dogs, you have merle dogs, but do not breed 2 merles together or you get deaf and blind dogs. HERDA is also the same, most Poco Bueno horses are carriers of Herda, so breeding practices say dont breed two Poco Bueno bred horses to each other, if you dont breed 2 Overos to each other, and you dont double breed Poco horses to each other, you never have any problem.
In humans we have diseases, that only appear in the Homozygeous form such as Herda and OLWS, so should those humans NEVER have children, even though thier mate is not a carrier? Herda and OLWS only effect a horse if BOTH parents are carriers. HYPP effects a horse if only one parent is a carrier.
I have found this site tonight and find a lot of Ingnorance, ill informed information stated as fact, and a lot of "opinions without true research" being stated.
Get all the information on subjects before posting.

flyingkfarm said...

Thank you for the Web site! Every horse owner or potential horse owner should be educated on HYPP, HERDA and OLS!There is no excuse other than stupidity or greed to continue breeding horses that carry these defects!