Everyone interested and watching these threads needs to know a little background about John Eberth and his interest in improving the miniature horse breed and his interest in dwarfism in our miniature horse breed. In 1994 my brother John and my mom, Marianne sat down and discussed a particular breeding problem with a certain stallion we owned. As a result, our farm donated this stallion to University of Kentucky and Dr. Swerzcek (who was the head of Equine Pathology), for research on a particular breeding project he was working on at that time. The Stallion was Komokos Wee Willie that Little King Farm had purchased from Komokos Ranch along with Komokos Little King Supreme back in 1981. This donation was a major decision that had a definite financial impact on our farm at the time. Wee Willie was Reserve National Grand Champion Senior Stallion in 1985. He had produced for us, 2 National Champions and was considered a cornerstone stallion in the LKF breeding program at that time. Although Little King Farm was not breeding the number of mares then as we are now, we were still goal oriented in producing the best horses possible.
This particular stallion was presenting not only a genetic problem but also a true loss of income problem for the farm. He was siring multiple dwarfs and foals with some of these pronounced characteristics. As the breeding years went by, John and Mom, began to study and note the occurrences of dwarfs resulting in breeding Wee Willie and some of the other smaller horses with certain distinguishable characteristics (Komokos Don Juan and Komokos Apple Jack). These initial general observations sparked and set the stage for curiosity and educational interest. From Mom's breeding interests to John's later academic interest (as he later studied in undergraduate college genetics). It became a near passion to pursue the cause and occurrence of this anomaly.
Even though eliminating this horse from our breeding program did not eliminate some of the chances of producing dwarfs, it was an initial step into the understanding of this genetic problem. And it did set a pattern of occurrence and identifying characteristics in the minds of both Mom and John.
In 1976, when Little King Farm began, most of the very high priced horses were the smallest horses of the time. At the 1st Komoko Ranch Auction in Florida, the mares with dwarfs on their sides brought the highest prices along with the very very small stallions. Mom recalls that when she and dad purchased a little herd of mares from Bob Bridges of Komoko Ranch, one group of mares he had for sale under 28" were priced 3 times higher than the package they bought of mares 30" to 34". Small was considered better in that day. However, Mom felt the smaller mares did not have the proportion and look she wanted to produce and show. She felt that they had characteristics that were unusual and possibly genetically transferable.
As time went on John would collect DNA and info from any dwarf we had or he heard of. He would also collect blood from sires and dams and note the pedigree of the horse. Mom recalls how her freezer was always full of carcasses and blood that John had saved or other people had collected for him. Finally we just bought a freezer for such specimens. Mom remembers giving John $300.00 when he was in undergraduate school to buy unsundrie lab supplies that the school ( DePaw Univ.) would not provide and that John needed to research his samples etc. When John moved from his undergraduate school to UK grad school, he moved all his samples and has moved them a multitude of times since, including bodies! He has done more studying and genetic work on miniature horse dwarfs than anyone I know. In 1994 he did an internship at UC Davis under Ann Bowling and found that there was a problem because what they were calling a dwarf was not exactly what we called a dwarf. He also found that there are many different kinds/mutations of dwarfs as there are in other species. He also said that Ann was doing alot of her dwarf research on her own, due to lack of funds, and most of what she knew was in her head. Unfortunately all her research died with her before being well documented.
John's extensive work and commitment to this is a foundation to determining a way to test for certain kinds of dwarfism. He continues to be committed to this and UK and Gus Cothran* are directing him in his interest now. John has always funded this himself. He has solely put hundreds and hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into this on his own . UK has had no current funding to help John so he is limited hopefully until now. Mom is working on a project to help the further studying of this dwarf issue and with the ultimate goal of a testing program. We as representatives of the Heritage Sale are hoping to donate a % of the gross sales at the Heritage Sale to this Program at the University of Kentucky and she would like to challenge all other miniature horse sales to do the same.
We, at LKF, are not an advocate of eliminating the miniatures that test positive for the dwarf gene from the breeding pool. That would have more of a negative effect on the breed as it is now. Entire farms and breeding programs would go out of business if you took away their main breeding stallion or majority of their mares because they carry a gene that can or cannot be passed on to future foals. A basic understanding of how genes are passed must be considered before jumping to final conclusion and elimination of these horses that carry the dwarf gene. We need to treat this genetic trait the same as the HYPP in Quarter Horses by identifying the gene/s and guide breeding programs accordingly. A horse that carries the dwarf gene may also carry traits that are so necessary for the refinement and structure of proportion and conformation for the future of the miniature horse.
We can imagine that people are afraid that their entire herd, years of work and money could be wiped out if this gene was identified and forced to be eliminated from the gene pool. It has been estimated by many experienced breeders that as many as 50-75% of minis carry this gene. If these were all eliminated - what would we breed? There would not be a large enough gene pool to substantiate the miniature horse economy and registries as they are now. It is much more benefical for all of the breeders, associations and businesses involved to learn how to live with the genetic profile these miniatures have and work within those parameters towards a common goal. In time, a gene like dwarfism can be minimalized and in long term eliminated thru genetic selection and knowledged breeding. The idea is not to scare people away, but to recognize the situation and look toward a future that is benefical for both horse and breeder.
Robin-LKF
*E. Gus Cothran
BS - North Texas State University
MS - North Texas State University
PhD - University of Oklahoma
Research - Equine Parentage Verification and Research:
Biochemical genetic relationships and evolution of the Equidae
Population structure and the maintenance of genetic variation in horse breeds
Genetic relationship of domestic horse breeds
Genetics of wild horse populations
Conservation genetics of rare breeds
Evolution of the protease inhibitor system in equids
Relationships among genetic variation and reproductive characteristics in horses
Gene mapping in the horse
This particular stallion was presenting not only a genetic problem but also a true loss of income problem for the farm. He was siring multiple dwarfs and foals with some of these pronounced characteristics. As the breeding years went by, John and Mom, began to study and note the occurrences of dwarfs resulting in breeding Wee Willie and some of the other smaller horses with certain distinguishable characteristics (Komokos Don Juan and Komokos Apple Jack). These initial general observations sparked and set the stage for curiosity and educational interest. From Mom's breeding interests to John's later academic interest (as he later studied in undergraduate college genetics). It became a near passion to pursue the cause and occurrence of this anomaly.
Even though eliminating this horse from our breeding program did not eliminate some of the chances of producing dwarfs, it was an initial step into the understanding of this genetic problem. And it did set a pattern of occurrence and identifying characteristics in the minds of both Mom and John.
In 1976, when Little King Farm began, most of the very high priced horses were the smallest horses of the time. At the 1st Komoko Ranch Auction in Florida, the mares with dwarfs on their sides brought the highest prices along with the very very small stallions. Mom recalls that when she and dad purchased a little herd of mares from Bob Bridges of Komoko Ranch, one group of mares he had for sale under 28" were priced 3 times higher than the package they bought of mares 30" to 34". Small was considered better in that day. However, Mom felt the smaller mares did not have the proportion and look she wanted to produce and show. She felt that they had characteristics that were unusual and possibly genetically transferable.
As time went on John would collect DNA and info from any dwarf we had or he heard of. He would also collect blood from sires and dams and note the pedigree of the horse. Mom recalls how her freezer was always full of carcasses and blood that John had saved or other people had collected for him. Finally we just bought a freezer for such specimens. Mom remembers giving John $300.00 when he was in undergraduate school to buy unsundrie lab supplies that the school ( DePaw Univ.) would not provide and that John needed to research his samples etc. When John moved from his undergraduate school to UK grad school, he moved all his samples and has moved them a multitude of times since, including bodies! He has done more studying and genetic work on miniature horse dwarfs than anyone I know. In 1994 he did an internship at UC Davis under Ann Bowling and found that there was a problem because what they were calling a dwarf was not exactly what we called a dwarf. He also found that there are many different kinds/mutations of dwarfs as there are in other species. He also said that Ann was doing alot of her dwarf research on her own, due to lack of funds, and most of what she knew was in her head. Unfortunately all her research died with her before being well documented.
John's extensive work and commitment to this is a foundation to determining a way to test for certain kinds of dwarfism. He continues to be committed to this and UK and Gus Cothran* are directing him in his interest now. John has always funded this himself. He has solely put hundreds and hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into this on his own . UK has had no current funding to help John so he is limited hopefully until now. Mom is working on a project to help the further studying of this dwarf issue and with the ultimate goal of a testing program. We as representatives of the Heritage Sale are hoping to donate a % of the gross sales at the Heritage Sale to this Program at the University of Kentucky and she would like to challenge all other miniature horse sales to do the same.
We, at LKF, are not an advocate of eliminating the miniatures that test positive for the dwarf gene from the breeding pool. That would have more of a negative effect on the breed as it is now. Entire farms and breeding programs would go out of business if you took away their main breeding stallion or majority of their mares because they carry a gene that can or cannot be passed on to future foals. A basic understanding of how genes are passed must be considered before jumping to final conclusion and elimination of these horses that carry the dwarf gene. We need to treat this genetic trait the same as the HYPP in Quarter Horses by identifying the gene/s and guide breeding programs accordingly. A horse that carries the dwarf gene may also carry traits that are so necessary for the refinement and structure of proportion and conformation for the future of the miniature horse.
We can imagine that people are afraid that their entire herd, years of work and money could be wiped out if this gene was identified and forced to be eliminated from the gene pool. It has been estimated by many experienced breeders that as many as 50-75% of minis carry this gene. If these were all eliminated - what would we breed? There would not be a large enough gene pool to substantiate the miniature horse economy and registries as they are now. It is much more benefical for all of the breeders, associations and businesses involved to learn how to live with the genetic profile these miniatures have and work within those parameters towards a common goal. In time, a gene like dwarfism can be minimalized and in long term eliminated thru genetic selection and knowledged breeding. The idea is not to scare people away, but to recognize the situation and look toward a future that is benefical for both horse and breeder.
Robin-LKF
*E. Gus Cothran
BS - North Texas State University
MS - North Texas State University
PhD - University of Oklahoma
Research - Equine Parentage Verification and Research:
Biochemical genetic relationships and evolution of the Equidae
Population structure and the maintenance of genetic variation in horse breeds
Genetic relationship of domestic horse breeds
Genetics of wild horse populations
Conservation genetics of rare breeds
Evolution of the protease inhibitor system in equids
Relationships among genetic variation and reproductive characteristics in horses
Gene mapping in the horse
