Unlimited access >

Texas A&M DNA test & the fun results

Simple things like

Selle Francais =registry, not a breed
Hanoverian =registry, not a breed
Holsteiner =registry, not a breed

AQHA, only a mid 20th century “breed” designation

And some science:

Excerpt: The horse in this case is probably not directly related to any of the three Warmblood breeds but is a mixed blood animal that has some Thoroughbred ancestors, which is what the DNA analysis shows. Do read the explanation of results at the above website. The lab fully admits that this testing does not always give a reliable result but as this case shows, it usually does give a reasonable one.

E. Gus Cothran, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

2 Likes

For instance a draft horse might be carrying a genetic marker for a native British moor land pony breed because they share roots. There could be a genetic marker shared by modern Marchedors and Spanish mustangs. As noted above TB have been crossed with everythung. You could conceivably get a feral horse that was mustang diluted by escaped farm draft horses and a TB cavalry remount stallion, and get results that said Marchadora, Fell’s Pony and Hanoverian, a mix that likely does not exist anywhere on the planet :).

4 Likes