Does anyone else subscribe to Horse Health magazine? Or perhaps other magazines have covered this too - my issue of Horse Health arrived this week with news that the recessive gene responsible for LFS has been located. A test will be on the way in due course - great news for Arabian breeders.
The volunteer research group in the USA seems to have been made up of breeders of Egyptian Arabians (well done them) and prediction figures for the percentage of Arabians possibly carrying the gene were restricted to this group. I'm sure we all know breeders of a variety of bloodlines who have had tragic experiences with this lethal though so it is good news.
Hopefully this means it can become a non-problem like SCID. Like SCID it is a recessive of course (expected already) so is only a problem if you breed two carriers of the gene together.
The research has been done by the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University in the USA. Not sure how long it took between the SCID gene being located and the test becoming available. Hopefully it can be added the the range of gene tests already available without too much delay.
Just did a search on Lavender Foal and found that Vera posted this news when it first happened back in April - apologies but I've only just caught up with it! Have any of our s run the story or have I just missed it?
LAVENDER FOAL SYNDROME BREAKTHROUGH
England
Posted - 03 Sep 2010 : 8:06:27 PM
Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
s run the story or have I just missed it?