Chestnut mares that guarantee black foals - IAFH makes it possible

The IAFH makes it possible: "Modern biotechnology enables us to provide breeders with important information - building blocks that can help breed even better, even healthier horses," knows the chairman of the International Association of Future Horse Breeding (IAFH), Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff. An impressive example of the application of the new methods in practice is the determination of the coat color of a foal. This is quite predictable - provided that one knows a little more about the parents than is usually the case. To understand: there are genes that determine whether a horse is born a chestnut, others determine whether the foal will be a bay or black. If the breeder knows about the gene loci of the two basic colors (chestnut and bay or black) of mare and stallion, foals can be planned in "desired livery". Therefore, depending on the genotype, mating a chestnut mare with a black stallion of decoded genetics can also guarantee a black foal. Hoping and worrying and being largely certain only after many foals are a thing of the past - all that is needed is a look at some important known markers. The idea that led to the founding of the International Association of Future Horse Breeding, or IAFH for short, in Vechta in 2016 was visionary: the latest scientific findings combined with state-of-the-art laboratory analysis and evaluation methodology were to be created as the basis of a comprehensive joint database system for improving horse breeding. Genomic selection was the keyword, to put it simply: certain characteristics of horses, recorded for some years by means of linear description, were to be assigned to genetic markers in order to be able to work even better on breeding. The health of the horses, in particular the avoidance of hereditary diseases, and the better planning of desired characteristics in riding horse breeding were and still are the focus of attention. In the meantime, this vision has become reality thanks to years of research and development work. A milestone on this path was undoubtedly the conversion of routine pedigree testing to a technology based on so-called SNP markers. These genetic markers are uniquely identifiable locations in a horse's genome that can be easily read in the laboratory. "The great thing about this method is that the markers are scattered over the entire genome, currently we are talking about 85,000 positions, i.e. a kind of genetic fingerprint," says Dr. Kathrin Stock, who co-developed and supervises the project on the part of IAFH shareholder and renowned IT service provider vit in Verden. The genetics specialist and veterinarian, herself a rider and breeder, summarizes the current status: "The system is now able to draw conclusions from the known information and this genetic fingerprint, which breeders can include in their considerations." Breeders in the associations that are members of the IAFH - currently the Oldenburg associations, the Trakehner Verband, the Holsteiner Verband and the Westfälisches Pferdestammbuch - can therefore already derive very tangible benefits from the cooperation between their organizations and vit, universities and research institutes. And it's that simple: Via their own online account, all breeders of IAFH member associations already have access to their own horse stock, entries and various events.

But back to SNP analysis and the applications based on it: In the future, every breeder of IAFH members will find a new area in the BreedersOnline account where, for a small fee, certain genetic traits, such as the color genotype of a horse from one's own herd, can be activated. Other traits such as genetic size, hereditary diseases and genomically supported inheritance profiles will follow, so that these aspects can then also be specifically incorporated into breeding planning. "More than 45,000 horses have now been linearly described in the IAFH societies, and this year around 10,000 foals had already been genetically examined using SNPs by the end of October," says Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff. "So for the foals of the current vintage, the genetic fingerprints are already available, and the laboratory analyses are underway. But mares of earlier vintages can also be examined accordingly at any time. We are confident that we will be able to offer corresponding services - of course, the determination of the expected coat color is only one of many possible applications of screening in practice - before the end of this year. Ordering directly from the BreederOnline account will then be launched in 2022," Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff holds out the prospect. "IAFH will continue to develop," he is convinced. If you would like to know more, please feel free to send us an e-mail at info@international-association-of-future-horse-breeding.com.