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A review of scientific literature on inherited disorders in domestic horse breeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

CD Bettley ,
JM Cardwell ,
LM Collins  and
L Asher
CD Bettley
Affiliation:
Preston Vets4Pets, 90 Moor Lane, Preston, Lancashire PR1 1JQ, UK
JM Cardwell
Affiliation:
Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts AL9 7TA, UK
LM Collins
Affiliation:
Queen's University Belfast, School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
L Asher*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: lucy.asher@nottingham.ac.uk
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Abstract

The full extent to which inherited disorders occur in different breeds of domestic horse (Equus caballus) has not been previously been investigated. A systematic search was carried out to review scientific literature on inherited disorders in domestic horse breeds and examine patterns in potentially inherited disorders. A two-part search was conducted: (i) electronic bibliographic databases for published studies; and (ii) existing online databases of inherited disorders in animals. A total of 230 papers were identified, discussing 102 inherited disorders in the horse. Few cases (17) were found in which disorders were reported to have a direct link to a conformational or phenotypic trait. Forty-nine breeds of domestic horse were described as being predisposed to one or more inherited disorders, but such predispositions did not distinguish between genetic or environmental causes. There were few patterns in the number of disorders to which breeds were reportedly predisposed or in the extent to which disorders were researched. The structure and grouping of disorders presented here could assist with standardisation in the terminology used for describing inherited disorders.

Keywords

animal welfarebreeddiseasehorseinherited defectquality of life

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 59 - 64
Copyright
© 2012 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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