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worldwide are highly atuned to the great importance of Arabian, Shagya-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian genetic influence on our breed. We have, both historically and recently, made use of Arab blood in establishing and maintaining the high level of refinement, athleticism and hardiness found in Trakehners, more so than in any other Warmblood breed. It is almost impossible to ratle off all of the famous Arab sires in our gene pool for fear of leaving out some key examples. In fact, nearly every highly successful upper-level competition Trakehner horse in all disciplines in our era has Arab blood found near the top of the pedigree. We know and appreciate the Arab influence, proven by our continuous stud book approvals of suitable mares and stallions from these three types of Arab horses. Tragically, there are three extremely harmful genetic
T
diseases caused by DNA mutations found frequently in Arabs, all of which are autosomal recessive. Tat means they occur equally in male and female horses, and only appear when two horses are mated that happen to have the mutation (essentially always involving “carriers,” which are horses with one normal gene that outwardly overcomes the other, a mutated gene). Te carriers of these three diseases are in all ways normal in the sense that their health and soundness are not affected in any observable way. Yet, when two carrier horses are mated, on average half of their foals are carriers, one in four is free of the mutation (“clear”), and one in four is “affected,” a term that means they show the disease. All three diseases cause severely disabled affected offspring who are useless for riding
he American Trakehner Association (ATA), its members and Trakehner breeders
h The ATA Confronts CA / LFS / SCID Acronyms That Concern All Warmblood Breeders!
or sport. Most die early on, but not all. Te following are descriptions of the three diseases.
• Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) is similar to the human version called
“Bubble Baby.” Foals have no ability to fight off infections, therefore all die within months.
• Cerebellar Abiotrophy (CA) produces a progressively severe clumsiness that is like ataxia.
• Lavender Foal Syndrome or Coat Color Dilution Lethal (LFS) produces an oddly colored foal that dies
quickly aſter foaling.
IDENTIFYING THE DISEASES Until recently, there was no way to reliably identify carriers of CA and LFS by testing but there has been an indirect way to test for SCID for quite a long time. For about twenty years, the ATA has required Arab mares and stallions applying for approval to our stud books to prove they are not SCID carriers. Now there are very accurate DNA tests (using blood or hair samples) for all three mutations and the cost of all three tests are reasonable. We do know that these mutations are almost certainly
present in some of our current breeding stock, but we also know they exist in VERY low numbers, making the chances of having affected foals extremely small. However, that could change quickly if we use carrier stallions or mares in our breed. Trakehner breeders in North America are deeply
concerned about CA/LFS/SCID and believe there is an ethical obligation to remove these mutations from our gene pool if at all possible. Responsible animal breeders are obligated to use selective breeding techniques to improve the breed and exclude these mutations. Tis is so important
SPECIAL TRKEHNER SECTION Warmbloods Today 49
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