Registration or being a “pure” breed has nothing to do with the issues of breed testing. There can be no exact results, because horse breeds have no exact identifying markers
1 Like
again, i’m TOTALLY ignorant about color genetics…
Could this mustang sire carry overo without expressing?
i ask because there are three mustang mares who were exposed to him. One i SAW being bred—and she was given an abortion shot… the other two, well they were only with him that one day and one night. But, one of them is an overo… a curly overo. So if he could carry the overo gene then i better think about getting a pregnancy test on her… and a color test for LWO
Frame often does not express, so a solid horse can be frame without any white markings. It’s a good idea to test for. I believe it often shows more when there is another white pattern to boost it.
2 Likes
uhO!!!
I’ll send his hairs in … If he carries then i’ll start worrying!
I THINK i can steady her in a halter long enough for the vet to draw blood for a pregnancy test.
It’s too late to give her an abortion shot.
Yes, there are lots of solid horses carrying LWO
It doesn’t matter at this point because she’s already pregnant.
I thought it was a given she’s pregnant?
Let’s back up a bit - what makes you feel she’s pregnant, and how long ago would this have happened?
she would need to be tested too, if you’re truly concerned about a Lethal foal. It takes 2 for that 
So the palomino is for sure pregnant and there’s another possibly pregnant? Or two more possibles?
ok…That palomino mare, it IS a given that she’s pregnant. Long story follows:
i adopted four geldings from BLM. Rounded up from Sand Wash Basin HMA in Colorado. One of them was easily gentled. I brushed him all over, handled him all over, taught him how to wear a halter and lead. I picked up his feet in prep for the farrier and taught him to load. He was SO TAME i thought i might outta turn him out with the domestic herd. They come in every day, come when called, are very very manageable. And not harsh to eachother. I thought it would be a good fit. So… i wanted to introduce him to the lead mare, that palomino… my dressage horse. Figuring that once he passed her inspection, and she was fine with him…intro to the heard would be easier on him. Well…i put her in a private pen and they seemed ok. Next morning, from the house i heard a lot of screaming… i got down there, neither one had damaged the other and moved her out. Deciding that i didn’t want to risk broken bones! and that since he was born and brought up on the range maybe he belonged with the rest of the ruffian mustangs instead of the domestics.
So i continued working with him more…because the mustang herd doesn’t hang out close to home and i wanted to get good good GOOD training in on him before turning him out. I brushed him, handled him more, we did trailer…taught him about fly spray etc. One day i was moving my hands around him and between his legs, back behind his sheath i felt a mound. Not a big hump, just a mound that fit into the palm of my hand. I got down in there and looked, but the lump was just barely discernable. I was sincerely afraid he had a hernia from gelding… But thought…better just go check on his paperwork first. I did and BLM had all his shots, deworming and also a castration date of 4.12.2022, signed by their vet. So he had been gelded a year prior… I was still worrying about hernia but when i rechecked a day or two later…no lump. It was totally flat down there.
So now it’s time to get him ready to put in with the Mustangs. I brought in the mares.
----Why you ask? Well, because whenever i’ve brought home a new mustang or two, and turn them out into the herd (after taming, deworming etc) it’s the mares who …one at a time, come forward and meet then return to the herd. Then another one will come check out the newbies. It’s really a very interesting social phenomenon to observe!
Anyhow, because i adore Quigley, and he’s so young and so sweet, i wanted to manage things a bit more, so i had the mares all come into his area. (a fortuitous decision it turns out!) All fine, no fireworks, i fed a LOT LOT LOT of alfalfa and left them for the night. Next morning i got down there, still no problem, and i fed… As i was feeding sheep nearby i heard squealing and turned to see Quigley trying to mount one of the mares, Tovah, and then…he penetrated her! Now, Tovah is a notorious slut, and i’ve seen her pester one of the mustang geldings into ‘breeding’ her (not really, but he does penetrate even though is is gelded. for SURE gelded). I didn’t think tooo awfully much of it because i know her. Later on that evening he was still atop her …like allll the time! and i got close enough to see balls! Smallish tight tidy testicles. Now…i have cattle and sheep, and bulls and rams both have huge pendulous testicles… I took a photo of his nether region and stopped by the vet’s the next morning asked my vet: “Is this them?” and he said: “sure looks like it”. We immediately scheduled a castration and an abortion shot for Tovah (the slutty one) So went home and moved the three mares out!!! And he went nuts!!! Like climbing the six foot panels nuts…Like dancing on his hind legs nuts!!! So, since Tovah was already done and going to be given a shot, i brought her back in to keep him company. And he quieted down.
Meanwhile i contacted BLM, who said that i was the 3rd person who adopted a ‘gelding’ that was in fact intact!!! They said they’d pay for all expenses and did. I never even saw the vet bill, BLM paid him directly.
(again Quigley’s veterinary records that came with him from BLM had a SIGNED!!! veterinarian certification of castration~! which obviously did not happen)
So…alll’s good right? Quigley is gelded, Tovah is aborted. I’m still training Quigley and he’s soooo good. Life is back to normal. But, a few friends suggested that he could have bred any or all of those mustang mares in those…36? hours. And then wondered: ?even without testicles showing, or me noticing that they’d dropped… could he have bred Brenna that day and night a few weeks ago?? And thought i’d better test. Had to wait til her 60 day mark, and vet came and pulled blood sample. Sure enough…preggers. A MAJOR COMPLICATION!!! a) she’s in training and is very very good. and…here’s the biggie: She’s adopted from a rescue org. I signed a contract that i wouldn’t breed her!
anyway…point being Palomino IS pregnant. Chance of two other mustang mares being pregnant in addition.
2 Likes
Oh dear. Your band of mares must’ve been cycling at about the same time. Lucky you.
Well, this is not your fault. And it makes me have all kinds of questions about the BLM castration procedure. Wonder if it was the same vet who performed these phantom castrations.
Yikes! Is all I can say. 
You seem to really try and are very observant, careful, and hands-on.
From what you’ve told (and shown!) us about Quigley, those are pretty darned good genes to pass on.
What i think is that these three were all young stallions and they just hadn’t dropped yet. Quigley would have only been a long yearling when ‘gelded’… And when he came here, at a little over two years old, he hadn’t dropped yet. I think probably all three of them retained and were passed on through to be put aside to see if they dropped and could be easily castrated OR surgically castrated. And they fell through the cracks. One of the other non-castrated ‘geldings’ is owned by someone i’ve reached out to…her ‘gelding’ was monorchid. Still is. She has the horse farm and other studs so she is equipped to handle him intact. She is waiting for him to drop the retained testicle, but if he doesn’t she’ll have to do the invasive surgery. BLM will have a rather hefty expense…and then, there’s always the fear of something going asunder. She’s pretty worried about him.
2 Likes
Thanks for the vote of confidence, that’s nice.
Quigley is a sweet and amenable and curious and funny horse. He lives on the Light Side of life.
2 Likes
Sorry, I feel for your situation, but this cracked me up. 
I also wonder if there is a vet somewhere charging BLM for work not done.
3 Likes
