pedigree analysis

[shoofly]

I have my mares pedigree from here, and TJC. Her name is Rosie's Wish. My question is this. Does it seem that a horse's line can produce horses that are more susceptible to breaking a sesamoid , or any other bone for that matter? I am not sure where she broke it, but I did hear later on that Lafayette was shut down for fixing the track due to a high number of incidences. Thanks so much for any info!

[madelyn]

Is a horse with a certain conformation of bone more prone to injury if there is a misalignment? Yes. When there is a conformation flaw or deviation, the question in the breeding animal relates to environmental cause or heritability. Do offset knees result in chips more often than perfect knees? Of course. Are post-legged horses more prone to stifle and hip injuries? Of course. Do weak ankles result in fractures and/or arthritis due to serious remodelling? These questions are all self-fulfilling.

However. Do those conformation flaws stop a horse from selling if the pedigree is very fashionable and the right agents are involved? Apparently Not. I was at the Saratoga Select sale and was appalled to see a CLUB FOOTED colt bring $85K. A "tropical fish" went for $65K. I could go on and on. Most of these defective babies will never make it to the track. But the x-rays and scopes may have been okay, or the colts had enough steroids for their pumped up glossiness to impress....who knows?

[shoofly]

Thanks. I knew conformation can cause it of course, much the same as we are if we are flat footed, etc. I was just wondering about certain lines of horses seeming more suscpetible.

[madelyn]

Well to pin down further, Raise A Native line horses are known for weak ankles. There are other things other lines throw... Mountain Cat also very bad ankles and airway problems.. is that what you are after?

[shoofly]

Yes, that was it! Thanks so much!