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I have written this guide to aid all horse breeders. After 30 years experience in breeding, caring, and studying all aspects of horses, I often think back of my visions as a child and the eyes I had at that time to what I see today. What a learning process it has been.
I began to notice the RAMIFICATIONS of careless breeding practices. By this I mean a substantial amount of horses with transmissible inherited abnormalities and huge structural problems. These defects have started to affect the gene pools in very serious ways.
This concern has led me to formulate this guide: to help the breeder visualize how traits carry from their ancestors. Since serious bad traits should be avoided. This guide shows how to understand what an AFFECTED , CARRIER or CLEAR pedigree is and how they affect your resulting offspring.
Hopefully, if just a few future breeders apply the "Wheel of Ideals" and consider these breeding procedures, this selection process will influence the herds in a positive way.
Trait - A distinguishing quality or characteristic, good and bad.
Affected - An individual who physically shows and carries a recessive allele (mutation of a gene to another form.) Trait, i.e.: ( Club foot, White Eyes, Parrot mouth).
Carrier - An individual that carries the recessive allele (mutation of a gene to another form.) A CARRIER does not show the physical trait.
Clear - An individual that does not breed certain traits or a trait to its offspring.
Structure - The arrangement or interrelation of ALL the parts of a whole.
Learn to identify the AFFECTED, CARRIER and CLEAR horses . Educate yourself on the pedigree of your breeding animals. Follow guidelines in making intelligent decisions about your future selection and breeding programs.
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