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!

Randy Byers, certifiable John Lyons trainer

Usually I ignore the natural horsemanship trainwhores. They don't show and there abuse is more focused in the round pen and expo than the show ring and warm up pen. But awhile back Fugly Horse of the Day outed this idiot and I wanted to do a follow up after a rash of posts on an Arabian horse forum. Evidently Mr. Byers is not only a horse abuser he's a international criminal.
He's no longer listed on the John Lyons' site as a trainer John Lyons Homepage

This was posted on the Arab forum, looks like someone is in trouble!



FACT:
Randy Byers is NO LONGER a Lyons Certified Trainer, due to his unscrupulous training techniques.
Randy Byers is NO LONGER a Royal Champion Supplements Endorser due to his unfair treatment of horses.
FACT:
Randy Byers is in jail in Canada up on 3 counts of contravening the Immigration and Customs Act. Evading Customs, Failing to Report to Customs, and Failing to report for Examination. This IS PUBLIC INFORMATION. Call the Courthouse at 519-333-2950.
He has been incarcerated since Sept 8th. His first video court appearance was Sept. 20, his second video appearance is Sept 22 at the Sarnia Courthouse, presumably to face more charges.
Now....would you like any more proof of his horse beating????
I'll invite some of his victims on here, and you can hear their testimonies.
Fugly was right.





Looks like he needs to stay in jail. Pity they can't let the other prisoners bend him over and ride him like he did this horse.

Natural Whoremanship is NOT the way to train your horse! Don't let these money hungry jerks ruin your horse's productive life by creating these bad habits.

Making life Missourable!

The Missouri Fox Trotter Saga

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a whole lot about Missouri Fox Trotters. I know they are a nice, tolerant breed, with a rather interesting history. I know they make a great family horse and that they are known for their smooth gaits. I’ve seen a few in real life and admired what I saw. The horse below is a treat to the eye and he’s everything a relaxed, happy, gaited horse should be. He’s not wearing ridiculous pads, he doesn’t have his tail nicked or in a brace, his headset is natural and he has a kind eye and demeanor. He’s a far cry from a jacked up, in pain, head-cranked-back walking horse or saddlebred.



I would have gone about with this comfortable illusion if a reader hadn’t tipped me off to the rot in the MFT industry. I would have preferred to remain ignorant, but the videos are just too fricking much to bear. Exactly when did it become okay to ride a horse like a drunken idiot, wearing ill-fitting clothing, using western styles that have been dead for 20 years (buckstitching, really?) and jerking the shit out of your horse’s mouth? Well color me fricking surprised, but last year’s MFT Celebration seems to be the happening place for all of these things to happen.



To quote someone that was at the show:
In the open 5+ Performance, Entry #579 “Grand Central” with Thomas J Williams became “World Grand Champion 2010”. It will be forever a secret, how 5 judges could make it possible to place 1st this horse with this rider. A certain group of visitors was enthusiastic, screaming hysterical about the manner, in which “Grand Central” made his rounds with much animation, but the question remains open, how he could get such an evaluation in Walk, Foxtrot, Canter, Conformation and EQUITATION.

EQUITATION? Are you fricking shitting me? The rider looks like Quasimodo’s brother, after a serious bender, riding the most pissed of horse in creation. I SO wish that poor horse would just LOSE it and dump his hunched over ass in the dirt and then fox trot over his head!


I give WP and HUS riders hell all the time about their lack of equitation but this guy really reaches a new low. And I don’t want to hear SHIT about how “that’s how you ride a gaited horse.” Bullshit! The guy on the palomino doesn’t have his toes pointing at the ground! He’s not hunched over like he’s about to barf all over his horse. And that head nodding that is supposed to be so natural is being brought about by jerking hands and spurs. We can see with our own eyes that the horse that won the class was the LEAST suitable! What a load of horse shit! Shame on the MFT Celebration judges for placing this travesty of riding!
So after watching that 15 minute video I thought: Surely this is an isolated incident. I’ve never really heard of the MFT having the abuse and other industry problems that the other gaited breeds have. How wrong I was! (see it can happen even to me!) I searched youtube and came up with some more videos that made me want to hurl up my angrily chewed M&Ms.

Here we go again, same sorry-assed rider on a TWO YEAR OLD ( and we all know how that pisses me off!) and he’s doing the same crappy riding method!



WTF are you doing with that shank bit on a two year old? You abusive bastard! Get your big ass off of that horse and walk for yourself. You look like a caveman on a Shetland pony for Christ’s sake. And the judges placed this shit? It makes watching the Reichert bearable. I’d have to tune into the TWH Celebration just to get the images out of my mind!
( By the way Tom, the constantly jerking up and down of your hands makes you look like you’re beating off on this poor horse’s back. I’m sure you’re getting off on the ride, but no need to let the rest of us know how much you enjoy it.)

These are just “are you fricking shitting me” video moments! I had no idea that this crap went on. It surely can’t be the norm. So I looked further and found a few MFT videos that didn’t look like some un-evolved creature having sex with his hands on a horse’s back.

Here’s another case of the kids riding better than the adults. Can’t say I’m too crazy about the long shanked bits and buckstitch, but the equitation is leagues above the other guy!




And here’s an amateur class that looks many levels above the World Champion ride Mr. Tom “Let’s jerk the shit out of my horse” Williams turned in.





I could ride one of these stalwart fellows all day (minus those shitaceous bits) So why can’t the pro trainwhores figure out how to ride and make it look natural? Why does every pro make riding seem like it is such a chore? Just to clear the bad taste in my mouth out I went and looking for some more natural MFT videos and found this one:





What a nice horse, what a nice ride. Kudos to Far West Fox Trotters for riding in such a relaxed manner. Why can’t the pros figure out that THIS is what it’s all about. Not that jerking, spurring, hunched over and making the horse Missourable.

This year’s MFT Celebration is going on now, if you get interesting video let me know and I’ll do a follow up blog. Missouri Misery loves company!

TWH abuse continues

It's still going on and it is horrific. When is the state of Tennessee going to get off of their ass and do something about this level of abuse?

Rather than posting another rant I'm providing a link to a TWH blog that covers all the aspects of the breed. Read it and weep, it shows we have not evolved to the point that we should have.

For the Tennessee Walking Horse

Get your fingers busy and email or call the Governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam

And tell him to get his sorry ass in gear and put a stop to this kind of stuff in his state!

The Arabian crowd really knows how to DRAW you in

I usually don’t have a beef with the Arab performance crowd. They don’t block tails and their horses usually don’t drag their heads around like zombies. Also the WP riders know at least a modicum of equitation and don’t lean back like they are about to tip off over the ass of the horse. But photos from the 2011 Scottsdale Arab show really got my blood boiling and confirmed why drawing and quartering is an acceptable form of punishment.

Let’s talk about horse training for a second. Horse training is such a simple process. You make the horse do what you want him to do, by making him think he wants to do it in the first place. Let’s face it, unless you’re dealing with miniature horses you are at the mercy of an animal that is much bigger and stronger. A person can equalize the relationship with talent and training, or, as the dickheads in the below photos show, with cruel equipment and harsh methods. It never ceases to amazes me how people can take something as simple as a snaffle or bosal and turn it into a torture device, yet it gets done at every show, in every warm up pen.
The Arabian is a gorgeous animal. He is intelligent, dynamic and spirited. An Arabian running across a grassy meadow is proof that the hand of God has touched this world, even if only briefly. To take such an animal and subject it to harsh methods is a crime.

My first example is how a good piece of equipment can be bastardized to become something abusive. A bosal is about as gentle a piece of horse gear as you can find. It’s a simple loop of braided rawhide with a heel button. Fitted correctly and used properly it is the first stage to creating a “bridled” horse. Made out of other material it can become a tortuous device as shown below.



A bent metal bosal? This thin? You can see the mark on the horse’s jaw where this thing has created a pressure point. And the damn thing is riding too low on the nose too. Is this the kind of thing you want on your young horse? Is this acceptable as a training measure? Hell no! This sucks and it should never be allowed on a show grounds

The next most basic piece of equipment is a snaffle. Most snaffles are fairly benign bits. They usually have a regular jointed mouthpiece and work by direct pull. It’s pretty hard to mess up a horse with a regular snaffle, so the trainwhores have figured out how to make this seemingly innocuous bit into a torture device.



What’s wrong with this picture? Where do we start? Some asshole stuff a thin twisted wire snaffle on a horse and cranked it until the horse’s lips are screaming at the seams and he’s foaming. Then they added a running martingale and draw reins. Really? Like one of those wasn’t enough to slow your horse down? You’re in a warm up pen, just how much crank control do you need? I wish this poor horse had flipped over on your dumb ass like you deserved. This is the kind of shit that makes people want to sit in the stands with a deer rifle and pick idiots off.

A step up from the snaffle is a curb bit. Curbs are leverage bits. They produce poll, mouth, tongue, and chin pressure. The standard curb bit has a 1½" cheek and a 4½" lower shank, thus producing a 1:3 ratio of cheek to lower shank, a 1:4 ratio of cheek to full shank, thus producing 3 lbs of pressure on the chin groove and 4 lbs of pressure on the horse's mouth for every 1 lb placed on the reins. In other words, keep your fricking hands light and stay off the bit. The standard rule of thumb that any GOOD trainer uses is that you don’t use leverage devices with a leverage bit. No martingales or draw reins on anything with a shank, it’s simply too much pressure.

The person below missed that lesson and decided to add even more leverage and use a German martingale with the curb bit because ten pounds of pressure across his horse’s tongue just wasn’t enough!




Can you say “Asshat”? I can. Are you really so incompetent that you can’t train without cranking your horse’s head to his chest with 15 pounds of leather? How would you like to try to work with this much crap on your head?

For some reason in history people decided that one bit wasn’t enough and created the Weymouth. I know people use them in upper level dressage and saddleseat, but really the point escapes me. However, when used properly they probably don’t do too much damaged. The problem with them is that you don’t have to pass a test before using such equipment, so these bits end up in the hands of people that aren’t qualified to pick their own noses, such as the dimwit below.




A martingale on the curb and the snaffle rein? What a complete dick you are! And that’s an illegal bit for dressage anyway, so why are you training in it? You horse sure looks unhappy! How would you like to have two bits pressing down on your tongue and the bars of your mouth? I can’t stand to have a fricking hair lay across my tongue; I can’t imagine how this shit feels.

Sadly it’s not only the English riders that do this stupid shit. For a long time western trainers didn’t use shit like draw reins and martingales, especially not with a shanked bit. Looks like times have changed and now every trainwhore in the country is using draw reins to take shortcuts in training.



Doesn’t this look wonderful? Don’t you wish that the judges could see this shit and rate it? Nothing like an 8 inch shank bit with a set of draw reins on it. Maybe we should just throw out all the show rules and let people ride in classes like this so everyone could see up close how sucky these trainers are. Think about it, isn’t this shit in the warm-up pen kind of like models who get their photos airbrushed to cover up crows feet and cellulite? Ten minutes after this photo you expect us to believe that your horse is trained perfectly and will make a balanced consistent ride? Liar!

Once thing that is consistent in all of these photos is the whole tight nostril-tense lip look that every one of these horses display. They are in pain and they are frustrated. These are not happy horses; they are pissed off and fearful. They should be allowed to buck these idiots off and then stomp their heads.

Shame on the trainers that perpetrated these abuses and shame on the show management that allowed this kind of abuse in the warm up pen! Where the hell is the oversight that would have prevented this crap? The AHA needs to step up and put a stop to this kind of thing!