Performance
Genes behind Performance - MSTN, PDK4, COX4I2
Selecting horses based on their performance is one of the fundamental principles of breeding, and while it’s historically mainly based on performance results and observations, today, science allows us to also take a glimpse into the genetic background. However, genetics is only one of the many puzzle pieces that’s needed to make a great performance horse – as the saying goes, breed the best to the best, and hope for the best!
Genetics of Ambling
The three basic horse gaits are walk, trot, and canter. Gallop, sometimes considered to be the fourth basic gait, is practically a variant of canter. The main difference between these two gaits is that a canter is a three-beat gait, while a gallop is a faster four-beat gait that covers more ground.
Horses and Heat Stress
If you’ve ever been around horses during the summer when the temperatures are high, you might have noticed a few things, such as changes in behaviour, seeking shade, drinking more water, sweating, more visible veins under the skin, or a higher respiratory rate. All of these changes are the horses’ way of adapting to the heat.
The Speed Gene
Horses are an exceptionally athletic species, and even though many of their traditional purposes have faded away over time, some reasons why we, humans, keep them remain. In the past, horses were generally kept for reasons different from today’s. While the number of horses kept solely for sport and status used to be low, today, sport horses, along with leisure horses, represent the majority of the population.
Genetics in the Face of Doping
At the beginning of the year, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced that racehorses in Britain would undergo testing for gene doping with immediate effect. Gene doping has been banned since 2004 by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) both in humans and animals, and so far, there is no evidence that gene doping is actually taking place in horses.