This is about 20 minutes. She talks about things we have all seen, or perhaps suspected, brewing in the modern breeding over-representation of certain horses rewarded for qualities that are likely stemming from genetic abnormality
abnormal Cervical 6/7 soft tissue incompetency and neuro deficits in the hind end
some of the auto generated caption a bit off, but her message is pretty clear.
there are no videos or photos or names called out.
I’d be curious what the folks in the Sporthorse Breeding forum would think.
Wish there were subtitles.
Click CC at the bottom of the video. Use the cog wheel button to change the language to english.
Interesting. The subtitles are not perfect, but you get the gist of what she is saying. Sounds like dressage breeding going same direction and TB racehorses which is REALLY SAD.
OK, got it now that I’ve moved to my laptop. The CC and cogwheel didn’t appear on my phone.
Thank you!
Super interesting. I too have noticed the lack of coordination some of the more modern WB have. They really can’t seem to manage a pole safely until they are a lot older. Walking on terrain feels scarier than eventing did…. I thought to some extent it was me getting old and being scared but some of what is talked about here is what makes me scared.
Hopefully they will pull some new blood in and manage to strengthen the lines again.
does make you think they’ve been bred a little to close to design limits eh - my warmblood mare is a stunning mover but lacks hardiness, my old skool 3/4 tb, 1/4 drafts are merely nice movers but tough and low maintenance. You do the see the same thing in dogs as well as horses - if a little is good, more is better and you end up with these exaggerated versions on the original animal. The skeletal issues are especially troubling to me - some of the tendon issues and ataxia you could write off as lack of exposure to varied terrain and free exercise in big fields to develope body awareness and strong tendons/joints, malformed vertebrae are a whole nother ball game!
Yup. I think poor management is a bigger problem than poor breeding. I don’t know when it became a thing to only ride on fibre footing with horses wrapped in miles of bandages from hoof to over the knee, exercised in a hot walker or treadmill, hand grazed instead of being turned out, “hacking” on a groomed track instead of trotting and galloping up and down hills over grass, dirt, and gravel.
After seeing too many young horses being put down that were line bred I will never buy or do a custom foal that has any of the same relatives on the stud or dam’s side. My vets quietly say the same message the German vet is so bravely saying publicly… Line breeding is a form of in breeding. Recessive genes are being magnified and not all of those traits are good. With the good also come the bad. The horse pays the ultimate price and leaves the owners heart broken.
Agreed!
Check out Irish Draughts or traditional TIH breeding, ID, TB and Connemara.
Irish sport horses are not necessarily TIH
Really fascinating, thanks for posting. Definitely something a bunch of us have suspected and speculated about, so it’s interesting to hear a vet express the same thoughts. Pretty damning indictment of the studbooks as well…
One thing that’s near and dear to me is her mention of DSLD as a consequence of breeding for hypermobility–which I always suspected after euthing a 5-year-old for it a few years ago and learning more about the disease. He was soooooo soft and comfortable to ride, and his sire (Bugatti) is known for elasticity. The breeder I bought my guy from had another one by Bugatti who also ended up having DSLD.
She also mentioned PSSM2, which I know less about thankfully.
I don’t generally wrap, horses are daily turned out 15 hrs in large hilly grazing paddocks, 9 hrs of in/outs with large paddocks, exercised over a variety of terrain and I still ended up euthanizing my 8 yr old GRP for neurological problems and suspected DSLD. It was/is heartbreaking. She was a beautiful soul and very supple. A dream to ride until her body broke down. I was totally ignorant of these problems when I bought her as a weanling. Never again will I put myself thru this heartbreak by buying any line bred horse.
I always wonder about some of these super supple, elastic horses being bred for DSLD. I do hope there is more genetic testing available for DSLD soon to help identify some of this breeding.
Sincere question, since I don’t know the prevalence of this, but is there a chance that “we” have been breeding too many young unproven stallions, where “proven” should include not just the maximum competitive level reached, but also longevity at that level?
Edited to add: Commented before watching video - she is discussing issues related to this question around minutes 9-12
I’m so sorry to hear that. I had to euth a gelding at age 10 for progressive neurological problems and it’s heartbreaking. And though his sire was by a well-known warmblood, his dam was a mix of Belgian draft and Paint. Not saying that close breeding isn’t a factor, because it undoubtedly is. But avoiding a line bred horse is no guarantee either.
I’ve often had the same thought. Breeding young stallions that have gotten great scores but do we even know if they hold up yet or not?
I had to euthanize A Tb/Conn mare with DSLD but she was in her late20’s
The odds are more likely the line bred horse will carry recessive genes then the non line bred. I’ve heard of too many young horses put down because of “problems”. How do I hear about it? I train with a EC High Performance Dressage Coach who has let me know about the horses being euthanized. It’s kept quite quiet. I’ve owned several horses, who were not lined bred, that lived to their 30’s and were sound until their late 20’s. I buy a line bred weanling on the dams side and she dead at 8 from incurable disease. I’ll take the advice of my vets and the German vet to stay away from the line bred horses so I don’t have the heart ache of euthanizing a young horse.
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