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!






Tuesday, September 27, 2011

PSSM: Breeding for a defect

Wow, some complete asshat just tried to hack my Blogger account. Probably the same stupid bitch that emailed me griping because her horse is on one of the PSSM lists. Hacking is a federal offense stupid, blogger has been notified!

PSSM: Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy

For those of you that haven’t heard of it PSSM is the new HYPP in the stock horse industry. It’s a genetic defect found in many breeds, but is easily traceable within the stock horse industry to certain sires and dams. It’s a genetic defect that is largely being ignored because, like HYPP, it is silent, doesn’t cause gaping wounds, can be covered up with drugs and can be managed, if the horse is fed properly. PSSM has gone by many names: Monday Morning Sickness, Tying up, Azoturia. It’s actually a disease that has been discussed and documented for a long time. But until recently there wasn’t a genetic test for it, and people were unsure of how it was inherited. That’s all about to change.

PSSM

PSSM is now testable and should be part of every breeder’s priorities.

It is a defect!

It does cause the horse pain.

It can be managed, but having a “managed” life is not always a surety with a horse.

Producing more horses with this painful defect is irresponsible and unethical.

If you have a PSSM stallion geld it.

If you have a PSSM mare either spay it or make the commitment not to breed it.

You can find testing information here:

Animal Genetics Lab

What does PSSM look like? It looks painful and it looks like a problem. Don’t ignore the symptoms and don’t think that just because you haven’t seen it your horse doesn’t have it.


PSSM Discussion

Ethical breeders like Jan Taylor of Taylor Made Appaloosa and Loretta Grossett of LL Appaloosas are testing everything and working hard to educate breeders. There are a few facebook groups about PSSM that are worth joining.

Faces of PSSM

Pros and Cons of PSSM

So which lines are showing a prevalence of PSSM? Sadly it’s some of the hottest sire lines in the AQHA, ApHC and APHA.

Three Bars

Joe Hancock

Zippo Pine Bar

Dreamfinder

It’s sad to note that the Appaloosa sire Dreamfinder is being found in so many PSSM horses’ pedigrees. The correlation is too great to ignore. If you own a Dreamfinder horse get it tested, and if it’s positive don’t breed it!

Horses that are PSSM positive.


The Spin Doctor (APHA)


Moneyman (APHA)


Jacs Little Pine (AQHA)


Hooray for Dun It (AQHA)


Smartys A Playboy (AQHA)


Dun It Olena (AQHA)


Chief Hollywood Doc (AQHA) (Dam is tested and is PSSM positive)


Custom Blackberry (AQHA)


Alias Goer King (ApHC)


Predestined (ApHC)


An Awesome Secret (ApHC)


Indelible Image (ApHC)


Mannog Moonshadow (ApHC)


MARES that are PSSM positive tested:


MS Chorus Line (AQHA)


RJG Cash N Time (AQHA)


Imps Bay Solano (AQHA)


Riata Lena (AQHA)


Uniquely Destined (ApHC): (Sire is tested and is PSSM positive)


Tiptoe Dazzelena (ApHC)


Mels Daydream Believer (ApHC)


Kelo S Bright Star (ApHC)


Jetsets Miss Maid (ApHC)


Gowin For Perfection (ApHC)


Haverlands Panache (ApHC)


Sienna Sun Dream (ApHC) (sire has yet to be tested)


Berach Winter Blossom (AAA)


Yallawa My Kinda Maid (AAA)


Nanehla Leo Bar (APHA)


GELDINGS that are PSSM positive tested:

Risky Investment (ApHC)


Noble Destiny (ApHC)(Sire is tested and is PSSM positive)


Yallawa Lifetime Dream (AAA) (Tested out P1/P1)


Yallawa Playful Times (AAA)


Cayuga (Paint)


Pepp Dolena Sun (APHA) (Blood tested PSSM positive)


Art on The Rocks (AQHA)(Stallion is tested PSSM n/n)


Gators Leaguer (AQHA)


Ghost Town CJ (AQHA)(Dam is tested PSSM positive)


Surenuff Two Much (AQHA)


IMA Bricks Top Jac (AQHA)


White Goldpine (AQHA)


An Invious Decision (AQHA)


This list of PSSM positive horses will grow as long as people keep breeding and not testing. It is a fundamental shame of the horse industry that they will not remove a genetically defective line as long as it is winning in the show ring. HYPP could have been wiped out in one generation, but greed and a complete lack of ethics has kept it going 20 years after Impressive was outed. I hope people will take a proactive stance on PSSM and try to eradicate it from the stock horse industry. Ask before you breed, ask before you buy. If an owner won’t disclose PSSM status then walk away. Once the demand for these horses is zero then people will quit producing them.


Isn't this cute, I'm already getting threats of legal action for posting the list of horses! Well the truth hurts!

30 comments:

whisper_the_wind said...

Although PSSM is harder to eliminate as it is a recessive allele, where HYPP is dominant. Both need to be bred out of the gene pool.

I have four horses that will be tested. Three trace to Dreamfinder and Joe Hancock and the 4th is a perch cross. None have ever shown signs, but I need to know if I ever decide to breed my App filly. The two geldings are fine and the perch cross won't be bred.

It's the right thing to do.

Cut-N-Jump said...

Threats of legal action for posting the list, when the owners should be stepping forward on their own and posting it themselves... *shakes head*

It's a sad state of affairs the horse world has come to.

Keep at it TJM!

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Oh I've been getting threats from one gal and her lawyer husband already. Instead of addressing the problem and promoting proactive breeding they want to hide the bloodlines and bully me.

I just don't bully well.


T Jean Maus

appycowgirl64 said...

TJ, They can go right ahead and threaten because I have documentation to back up that one horse because the owner messaged me herself about the horse as she obviously forgot that she had told me and I will send it to you.

Actually Whisper The Wind, PSSM is not a recessive gene at all, it is just like HYPP in that it is dominant and that it only takes one horse to be a carrier to transfer the disease forward 50% of the time to the resulting foal just like with HYPP and any horse who is heterozygous for the gene, meaning carrying only one positive copy, will be affected by the gene.

This seems to be a misnomer going around in the equine industry is that one copy won't cause you any problems. Far from the truth. I know of several folks fighting the issue on a daily basis with horses that are heterozygous for the genetic disease.

The biggest problem about this genetic disease is that there are breeders or sellers who own these PSSM positive horses and they won't disclose it to their mare owner or buyer and because we just don't know what bloodlines it is specifically attached to, we can't look at pedigrees and see who is carrying unlike with a HYPP horse because once you see Impressive you know to question.

Then the sad part of it is when we have breeders who will be breeding a PSSM positive horse to a HYPP horse and since both are dominant genes, a person stands a chance to end up with a horse who is both HYPP positive and PSSM positive. How the heck are you going to know what attack your horse is suffering from when it is going down and which symptom to treat because the treatment for a HYPP attack is the very thing that can send a PSSM positive horse into an attack and one could feed right into the other.

They say when a horse is having a HYPP attack to rub corn syrup across their gums and of course if they are being stressed from a HYPP attack, the extra sugar which PSSM horses are not suppose to have in their diet could possibly trigger them to a PSSM attack.

The sad part is I already believe that there are breeders, especially halter folks, who are breeding these two type of horses together.

This genetic disease has got to be shut down and in fact I saw one comment where someone was saying that possibly one in 8 horses could be affected by this disease.

Also, there are folks who are downplaying this disease and generally it is folks who are dealing with asymptomatic horses and are not dealing with the full ramifications of this disease. I feel that this disease is a lot like HYPP in some ways as some horses seem to be unsymptomatic and then there are those horses that are symptomatic pretty much right from the start and then others who develop symptoms later on in life.

It has to be stopped and thank you TJ for posting about this genetic disease as we need more folks getting the word out. To me if we don't start to get this shut down, we are going to have a show ring full crippled PSSM positive horses.

Kathleen said...

I don't know nearly as much about horses as most of the rest of you. But in the late 80s-early 90s, I had Shar Pei dogs; mostly pets, eventually co-owned a show bitch. Peis get an inherited disease called Familial Shar Pei Fever/renal amyloidosis which results in kidney failure and death by about age 6. All Peis are descended from like 12 dogs, so this is a HUGE problem. They can silently carry it, like PSSM. There was no testing for it back then, and no effective treatment. Still isn't, AFAIK. It was diagnosed by symptoms once the dog got ill.

It was a heartbreaker, too. As I imagine PSSM is.

However, since the disease normally shows up by the time a dog is 3-4 years old, you would think that intelligent, decent people wouldn't breed their dogs until then to at least reduce passing it on. Especially show people, since they all knew about it.

You would be wrong. Greed rules, I guess. Sigh.

The best audience to target about PSSM is the one who hasn't spent their money yet - the potential buyers. Big magnetic sign on your truck. Handouts outside appropriate horse shows and rodeos, and maybe a pile of them at the large-animal vet. Etc. I despise the big animal rights org, you know which one, but they might be a useful ally.

This needs to be publicized like no tomorrow so the market for untested horses with "champion bloodlines" dries up, and breeders are forced to behave responsibly. Potential buyers need to know this stuff, to insist on testing for these diseases before purchase (like a Coggins, duh), and insist on a contract with a health guarantee against same. In my experience, the breeders won't stop until it hits them in the wallet.

You get the idea that I despise irresponsible breeders? lol. People who don't care about reproducing animals with genetic diseases are like the puppymillers and irresponsible backyard dog breeders. They make my blood boil.

Sorry for the length.

Nicely dun said...

found out the hard way that my GRADE gelding has "monday morning sickness"

not pretty.

ShameintheHorseShowRing said...

Nicely dun, I'd bet he's got papered parents back there somewhere.

jhk2011 said...

i leased a mare that was constantly having soundness and "attitude" problems. Everyone kept telling me i was babying her too much and letting her get away with everything ....when she was having a sore day, i would cancel classes and such because i was worried about her and couldnt figure out what the problem was. After 3 years, i sent her back home to CA. She was then tested and it was found she had PSSM. i felt terrible about not knowing. she has since been retired and is living her days as a pasture pet.

The Lamp Genie said...

I just had my APHA gelding genetically tested and he is N/P1 for PSSM type 1. It is a DOMINANT gene issue which makes it very easy to introduce into a breeding program. My horse has muscle cramps all the time, I can't trail ride him far because he just ties up, I have him in pasture and on the recommended high fat/low suger/carb diet and it is a constant struggle to keep him healthy and happy. I have spent a ton of $ trying to diagnose, treat and supplement him. It is manageable but serisously sucks to deal with. I will never get rid of him because I couldn't bare to have him suffer by a new owner not understanding him and his issues, drugging him, whatever. I contacted his breeder and she just said that his dam had passed and his sire was gelded, hmmm, I wonder why but she continues to stand a N/HP AQHA stud? I just don't get it, it's going to ruin the stock horse breeds. Pretty soon they won't be able to have any horses without muscle issues and compeletely ruin the breeds! It's a painful and scary disease, I wouldn't wish it on any horse owner :(.

Ann Jensen said...

I am a recreational rider with a Paint/QH cross. I am in the process of getting her tested as we suspect from her symptoms she has PSSM. She is registered with the APHA and the PHAA - Should I notify the registries if she is positive? I want to add to the information that is out there - just not sure how to do that

LuckyHorseshoe said...

Thanks for posting, we do need to promote this more, some of the sires you mention are the hotest in the market. I bought my ApHC this year. I will be having him tested. Thanks

Jamie said...

Time to end these malpractices, I do support your blog and your quest for horse welfare. We just stand by here and watchful for turning of events. Keep in touch.

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horsemad said...

I have just brought a young horse about a month ago, he tied up on me twice in about a week both times he had only be walking for about five minutes, I called the vet out and we had him tested, it came back positive for type 1 PSSM. We have contacted the ex-owner to ask her to take him back but she says it's our fault for not having him tested before we brought him but we had no idea about this problem with quarter horses before this and feel the owner must have had some idea of this, she also said she didn't care and this was now our problem and if we want to moan about the horse we should contact the breeders as it was now nothing to do with her! She also said that we should just claim for loss of use on our insurance!! Wow, I can't get over how this woman is being and we really have no way of any justice for this poor horse, obviously we will do our best for him but I brought him as a show prospect and now I have a horse I cannot do very much with. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm at a loss as to what I should do and of course heart broken.

Unknown said...

horsemad - I think you should consult an attorney. Whether it's "buyer beware" or not, you didn't buy the horse to send it to a slaughter plant, did you? And I'm sure the seller was aware of that. So if it can be proven that she knew what was wrong with the animal, there might be a breach of contract in there or some such.

Also, you'll want to ask the attorney if you can PUBLICIZE the name of the seller and the pedigree of your horse online everywhere. Heh. So that other people aren't ripped off, and so that they become more aware of this problem.

horsemad said...

Thank you for the advice Leona. we are taking legal advice now and I am also in contact with the BHS as PSSM is not something that many UK horse owners know about.

ranchgirl said...

wow great blog! You couldn't be more right on greed and selfishness justifies people to keep producing more of these poor animals. I like too unknowingly purchased a young paint/quarter horse last fall. He was to be my last and forever horse. I had huge plans for training, trail riding, and fun overnight trips with my guy. After struggling through the winter trying to keep weight on him while I had him in training (and of course trying to progress through his attitude issues) he tied up but good on me. Unfortunately I probably would not have had him tested for PSSM otherwise, sadly even though I've ridden and competed for 35 years I had never encountered this disease before. Let me just say it is awful. These horses need constant care... attention to a highly special diet and almost constant exercise.It gets real interesting when the weather is unforgiving and is impossible to keep them moving. Sad this horse is such a good boy he tries so hard and his physical limitations are just not his fault. I cannot sell or give him away because I know he would be abused since his reluctance is expressed with bad behavior, bucking rearing, and pinning his ears. Get every thing in sinc for him and he's a dream. BUT the lengths I have to go to do not afford me time for anything else. Again thanks for the blog!

WolfLady said...

Thank you for this blog! I have been out of horses for over 30 years. Now that I'm retired I have wanted to get a nice Paint Quarter Horse for trails and just my own enjoyment. I had no idea about PSSM. My gawd what is wrong with people! Is money that important that they would compromise these animals for their own gain? Thank you for educating all of us that have not been around the horse world for awhile. I will be certain that I have a vet check any horse that I purchase for PSSM. Many Blessing to you for what you are doing!

Unknown said...

I have a paint gelding that was just diagnosed with pssm. So glad that you are getting the word out there and you can add his name to the list if you would like. I have been trying to get a hold of the people that own his full sister to let them know to test her and hopefully they will not bred her. My guys name is: Codys Cherokee Ghost. Thanks for doing this!

Unknown said...

I have a paint gelding that was just diagnosed with pssm. So glad that you are getting the word out there and you can add his name to the list if you would like. I have been trying to get a hold of the people that own his full sister to let them know to test her and hopefully they will not bred her. My guys name is: Codys Cherokee Ghost. Thanks for doing this!

GottaLottaGold said...

PSSM is dominant not recessive, only one copy is needed for the horse to be effected.

Ros - Bursary Manager said...

Any idea what breed societies have said NO to breeding with PSSM positive horses?

Unknown said...

The American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft association requires testing for PSSM1 and many other defects. Non-breeding papers are issued to positive horses.

Unknown said...

My daughter just bought her first horse with her own money ($700)in April 2014, a grade Appendix(TB x Qtr.) We were told there were no papers(now I wonder.....), and bought her from a friend of our trainer. She was down, tied up, a month ago and we didn't know why, nor did the vets. It was horrible, scary, terrible for the horse and we spent $2,00 on vet bills. After that, we tested her for both HYPP and PSSM. She tested positive for both. The day after we got test results she tied up again, completely down in her paddock, moaning and miserable for over 24 hours. After learning about these diseases, I am sick to my stomach to know that they could be eliminated if people would just be moral and not keep them in the breeding gene pool. I wish I had videotaped Sunshine, lying down, bashing her head on the ground, struggling to get sternal, with broken teeth, gashes and cuts all over. It is horrific to see an animal struggle to live and suffer unnecesarily. Shame on all the people who keep breeding these genetic defects into the horse population.

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lamehorse said...

My horse has PSSM, it is nasty. I bought my horse a few years back without knowing, it became clear that something was not right so i had the vet out, who did so many tests my bank balance was in tatters after. I called the breeder to let her know my horse was seriously lame, and had back problems, i had only had the horse about a month. The breeder said it must be something i was doing as she had never had complaints before.
Anyway i had the vets out on and off for 3 years checking my horse for, navicular, ulcers, ligament problems, back problems, poll pain, lami still no diagnosis. Anyway the 5 panel test came out for QH so i tested my poor horse. surprise surprise she had pssm.
I put her on the diet, dry lotted her and started an exercise programme. I still don't have a horse i can ride, she is sound when in VERY LIGHT work but any more than that and she cant do it. These breeders are selfish cockwombles, breeding should be to improve the breed not destroy it.
I paid that breeder bloody good money for my horse and have been continuing to pay for my horse ever since. I informed the breeder who tested the stallion and she said she wouldn't breed him anymore but couldn't see it would be a problem as he is in great health. She is still breeding just not registering these horses with the AQHA, when i called her on it all these foals are accidents. These breeders are selfish, they will tell unsuspecting buyers anything to get a sale and they lie to you over and over again. The only way to stop these breeders is to stop buying their horses, if i had known about pssm i would not have bought my horse. Dont believe the stories of the horse is non symptomatic, yes mine is too sometimes, don't believe the it's easily managed it is not. My horse has a lifetime home unless for some reason illness of finance stops me keeping her. When you buy a horse get the test done, if they say no don't buy it. I see so many people asking would you take one of these horses on again, no, no i wouldnt. They are hard to manage, watching them suffer is hard, getting the advice from people who know nothing about pssm is fucking infuriating and the symptoms are vast.

WhyNot said...

Tell me something about this form of "Tying up" ... Does this occur if the horses "live out" (24-7 in a LARGE paddock) as well? and would it show up in a horse even if the horse was warmed up properly before hard exercise and cooled down after?

Sonya Lowry said...

Did you not understand what Dr. Valentine was saying in the video or did you simply not watch it? She stated, more than once, that this is not a defect but rather a variant. It is no different than how some people inherit a tendency toward more fast twitch muscles and others inherit more slow twitch muscles. Both have their benefits and drawbacks, but the existence of variation is beneficial to the population as a whole. This variation wouldn't even be identified as a problem were it not for the poor management practices that dominate the US horse industry. Horses don't naturally feed on large amounts of grains and in that natural environment, horses with this variation would thrive. The idea that we would breed away the positive attributes correlated with this variation just because people are clueless about what is best for horses is ludicrous. I generally support the mission of your blog, but in this case, you've missed the root cause of the problem. The poor management practice of feeding large amounts of grain to an animal that didn't evolve for that diet is the cause. The continued presence of a genetic variation that has served the horse well historically is not the cause. If efforts to eradicate this variation succeed, all we will have achieved is to make the horse dependent upon an unnatural diet. Makes me wonder if the feed companies might be behind some of the negative messaging.

deb z said...

Is there a website that shows horses with PSSM?

Aleks j said...

I own yallawa lifetime dream and have since buying him direct from the breeder not only ishe p1pos he's also p2, p4, PX and p8 positive he was retired at age 8 as he was basically crippled by this disease, one of the best minded horses I've ever known but his body let's him down every time he is currently 16yo and lives in my paddock where he is managed to the best of my ability and some days we struggle but most days he battles through.......one tough horse 🦄