The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

conni — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:32:52 GMT

Being a fan of bull riding, and watching the finals last week from Vegas, one very particular note should be made that no less than THREE of the 15 Bulls that participated in the short-go ( Our Breeders Cup Classic equivelent) were clones of the bull Panhandle Slim! So, 1/4 of the best bulls in the world were actualy one and the same. A startling fact if equated to horse racing.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

sceptre — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:21:58 GMT

Jim-

Statements such as yours no doubt appeal to, and resonate with the equally uninformed-much how the "Tea Party" attracts so many votes.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

jim — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:38:36 GMT

Beyond breed the best to the best and hope for the best there never was nor will there ever be any science to breeding"racing"horses. Any "theory" to the contrary is just an attempt to sell something. and remember commerce kills the soul....if you cloned 10,000 Somethingroyals and impregnated them all by Bold Ruler you'd never produce another Secretariat.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

Helen — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:41:40 GMT

I'm no expert on genetics, but the long held idea of: "breeding the best to the best and hoping for the best" does hold true.

Why is it then that Thoroughbred breeders (and others) believe the FIRST option in a career change for an animal that has sustained an injury or has bad feet is to BREED IT based on pedigree and dollars?

One would think that if a proposed breeding stallion has bad feet that he may just pass that along, just as any defect or confirmation flaw would be passed along.

Humans have long bred various animals and made different breeds based on selecting certain qualities to be "fixed" in their new breed. That is how the Morgan, Thoroughbred, Saddlebred, Standardbred and others came to be. Along with those qualities come certain undesirable traits and we go back and try and breed those out of the gene pool, by NOT using the animals that express those poor qualities.

If we focus on one breed, the Thoroughbred for example, ignoring the bad conformation, crooked legs, overshot and undershot mouths, poor feet, etc., are we not doing the breed as whole a dis-service all because a dollar can be made based on what-chance!?

Go back to basics, breed the best to the best and chances are the Thoroughbred will get better, or at the very least be a stronger, tougher and more durable animal, less prone to injury on the track and beyond.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

Michael V — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:38:50 GMT

Every breeding is a unique recombination of genetic material. All you can hope to do is improve the odds. That is why we dream isn't it? I would hate to see the day that breeding selections have become automatic, without luck being involved... we're a long, long way from there.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

JAJ — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:07:59 GMT

Mother nature is a bit more complicated than finding the answer to a superior racehorse in one or two genes.

Even if it were that simple, things like cardio capacity, bone lengths, ligament and tendon attachments, temperament and the environment will have a much greater impact.

re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

Pedigree Shelly — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 01:07:32 GMT

I would have loved to attend this years Synposium but, It will definately be on my Top Ten list of things to accomplish for 2011 :)

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re: The Future of Pedigree Study in the Age of Genetics

sceptre — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:25:26 GMT

I didn't attend the symposium, but did read the pre and post articles. I look foreward to the transcript and/or dvd when available. With that said, I worry that early/infant equine genetic "revelations" could well do more harm than good to the breed. Often, many are far too quick to embrace what are percieved to be shortcuts in the road to producing or identifying the better racehorse. These same are usually ill equippped in background to properly evaluate the evidence or appreciate its potential ramifications. The identification of specific disease "markers" is obviously of great benefit and already has, to some extent, been a positive byproduct of the human genome project. Essentially certain knowledge such as this, however, can be derived far more easily than what is involved in creating the better equine athlete. The use of the equine genome "project" is very much in its infancy. We should view with skepticism any study which purports to offer us an advantage.