Foal Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome

[baroquefarm]

Hi everyone,

I think there is a lot of thought and opinion as well as research on this subject. I know there is an article about to come out soon that may bring some new enlightenment on this subject. I will let you all know when and where you can find it!

[maggie]

Thank you Anna, that would be really useful. I'll be looking out for it.

[baroquefarm]

Maggie,

You are at the top of my list! PM me your numbers again please

[Deleted]

This is a article I was speaking about:

www.fpsna.org/newsarticles/Syndromefpex2008.pdf

[Debbie]

Anna thank you very much for posting the link!!!

Interesting reading, and a very well written article.

[harveydales]

Thanks Anna, very interesting reading indeed. This has answered many questions I had. I couldn't see how scientists could know for sure at this stage that the syndrome follows a simple recessive inheritance pattern and it sounds like we don't in fact know that yet. A very informative and well written article.

[greydales]

Thanks Anna, that's a very useful bit of info

[Anna]

Thanks Anna, its an interesting article.

I'm not sure it is necessary to name so many ponies as possible "sources" as the author herself admits that the source is never going to be proven and I personally don't think it should be something that can or should be hypothesised on, it'll only serve to damage current broodmares and stallions and breeders if we look back, looking forward to resolve the problem should be the focus and the testing of the stock on the ground today is the only way to answer the problem which is being worked on.

Nether-the-less an interesting first half but I hope no-one takes the "dales connetion section" too literally. Its only hypothesising and interestingly a completely different hypothesis to one I've heard already which just goes to show how different people can take different views on things but words and articles like that can be very damaging if taken literally. I bet a good few are looking up who has the named stallions in their own pedigrees, don't forget that this faulty gene could easily have come from a mare too aside from anything else.

I also find it slightly ironic that the American fell pony society (who published the article) are seemingly trying to shift the "blame" onto a Dales Pony rather than seeking just to resolve the problem and look forward.

Sorry I feel quite strongly about this and its just my opinion but hypothesising on where the faulty gene has come from will not help the breed, it will lead to scare-mongering imo. Even if it could be proven in a horse 4/5 generations back the chances of the pony on the ground today actually being a carrier are tiny. Forward, not backwards is where we need to be looking, resolving the problem not inflaming it.

[harveydales]

I have to say I agree with Anna in that the second half of the article where the author is hypothesising where the original faulty gene might have come from is rather a red herring and pointless but I didn't let that detract from the over all picture. In fact, the way I read it the author was implying there is little point in trying to identify which animal might have carried the original faulty gene and the important thing is that the crucial research is now being financed.

[baroquefarm]

I think that she was actually trying to point out that the disease that was so called " Fell Pony Syndrome" needed to be renamed. It is very similar to the name in QHs of Impressive Syndrome, renamed to HYPP for its scientific name. I think that Gypsy horses may one day have the same genetic link as they too have the Dales and Fells for a base.

There have been many obstacles in the story line of this disease. Research has been going on for 10 yrs plus and there is still no carrier test. The author was not so much trying to name sources as she was trying to help people in their breeding choices of what crosses might be better to use. She has spent much of her time and money in the research of this disease and has made many contacts in the UK as well as the US to help reseach and understanding of this diseae.

I myself find it enlightening. I for one would like to prevent the continuation of this genetic dissease. This can be done by careful breeding if we have a source or carrier test. Understanding and education are the fore front of disease prevention. I think to keep things hidden or in the dark only add to chaos and detrement.

[greydales]

The stallions mentioned figure in all of my Dales with the exception of one; I would imagine it would be difficult to find many of today's ponies who don't have most of the stallions in their breeding - so it's all academic really.

For me personally it doesn't have any effect on my decisions to breed. The only definite thing we have at present in the absence of a blood test is to be able to identify which foals have the syndrome and we won't know this if people don't breed or have suspect foals tested.

I would hope that the majority of Dales breeders would be sensible about their responsibilities for the future of the breed and so help to keep this situation from escalating .

[baroquefarm]

It is actually not about excluding someone from the breeding pool, it is about making good choices in selecting who to breed to who. This helps with not magnifying the chances of a syndrome foal resulting.

I just hope more people will be vigilant about watching their foals, and being responsible and taking them in to be examined if something appears wrong. It is also important that people report these cases instead of over looking them. We are just lucky in the case of this years foal. We had a very vigilant, concerned and responsible foal and stallion owner. They need to be commended for there coming forward, and the fact that they did may be the key that researchers have been looking for years to unlock this mystery.

[mickey]

The more that is known about it, any trends of it emerging the better the chances of doing something about it. However I'm a little baffled. I read it as a simple recessive disease. The ponies mentioned feature in many of todays ponies yet it is still very rare. I would have expected a far higher incidence... unless its a case of misdiagnosis over the years / non-diagnosis ie foal has failed to thrive and in the days where medicine wasn't so advanced it was expected to lose some.
I would be interested to see exactly which combinations resulted in the FPS foals- but thats just me liking genetic type problems However I could see the potential damage it could do to breeders.

[baroquefarm]

It is really necessary for a lot of the ponies to have been affected. It is all a matter of how the genes cross, and they do not know for sure that it is a simple recessive, that is just a hypothesis at this point. The horses named in the article were in all of the affected Fells, and in the Dales that were positive. They know that in Fells that a stallion can have many foals that are not affected and all of a sudden have one foal that is, even if the mares are bred the same way. It is all a game of numbers and chances.

[greydales]

Jan 17, 2009 22:04:28 GMT -1 mickey said:

The ponies mentioned feature in many of todays ponies yet it is still very rare. I would have expected a far higher incidence... unless its a case of misdiagnosis over the years / non-diagnosis ie foal has failed to thrive and in the days where medicine wasn't so advanced it was expected to lose some.

I suppose we won't know if there were actually other cases, if as you state breeders (especially large-scale ones) expected to lose foals and didn't associate certain symptoms with FIDS as it wasn't recognised within the breed - or they weren't aware of what the condition and symptoms were anyway. Hopefully now things are out in the open breeders will become more vigilant and act as responsibly as the owners did in this case.