Happy New Year

Happy New Year and  Best Wishes to All.

With the advent of 2014 nearly upon us, all the research group looks forward to the release of the genetic test for HWSS.

There is some exciting news in the offing and we are waiting for all the details to be confirmed.  As soon as these matters are attended to the news will be published on this blog.

In the meantime a review on the statistics over the past year proves for interesting reading.  During the year, pageviews reached 20,000 18 months after the commencement of this site in November 2011.

The majority of the referrals to the site originate from Facebook, which gives an indication of the power of social media and networking in the global disbursement of information.

Referring URLs

Entry	Pageviews
http://www.facebook.com/	285
https://www.facebook.com/	281
http://connemara-pony.blogspot.com/	115
http://connemaraponny.ifokus.se/discussions/4e7c5b0cd4ebea5ef9001bdc-hoof-wall-separation-syndrome?discussions-1	112
http://connemaraponny.ifokus.se/discussions/4f6579ebd3b4fd6a930009db-rapport-frann-arsmotet-i-linkoping?discussions-1	101
http://r-e-f-e-r-e-r.com/connemara-pony.blogspot.com	99
http://connemaraponny.ifokus.se/discussions/4e7c5b0cd4ebea5ef9001bdc-hoof-wall-separation-syndrome	97
https://www.google.co.uk/	89
http://connemara.nu/?page_id=12	84
https://www.google.com/	83

Referring Sites

Entry	Pageviews
www.facebook.com	3521
www.google.com	1229
www.google.co.uk	681
www.google.fi	378
connemaraponny.ifokus.se	347
www.google.de	346
m.facebook.com	296
www.horseandhound.co.uk	193
connemara.nu	142
www.google.se	136

Search Keywords

Entry	Pageviews
hwss	205
hoof wall separation syndrome	134
connemara pony	71
hoof wall separation	58
hwss connemara	24
hufwand-ablösungs-syndrom	23
viallinen hevosen kavio	22
connemara-pony.blogspot.com	18
kavion irtoseinäisyys	14
connemara hwss	13

Information about the posts and pages shows that the highest polling ones are the early posts/pages which explain the HWSS issue and those which reported the results of the research from the Bannasch Laboratory at UC Davis.  Also apparent is that the effort, time, and money that went into the translations of the initial post on HWSS was warranted.

Posts

Entry	Pageviews
Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome 5 Nov 2011	1355
Exciting Exciting NEWS. SNP Arrays to commence 7 Nov 2011	804
A picture of HWSS in a purebred Connemara pony in ... 10 Nov 2011	757
A Picture Story of the Hooves of an HWSS Affected ... 21 Feb 2012	429
Breaking News - HWSS is Official 1 Aug 2012	375
Genetic Diseases; why some people persist in bree... 29 Jan 2012	302
Testimonials from Breeders and Owners of HWSS affe... 6 Nov 2011	263
New Update - some good, some sad. 17 Feb 2013	227
Guest Post by Tom Ryan FWCF on his experience with... 16 Jun 2013	197
HWSS research has been officially presented to the... 18 Jul 2013	197

Pages

Entry	Pageviews
Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome (HWSS) 15 Nov 2011	1268
Breaking News - HWSS is Official!!! 1 Aug 2012	1004
HWSS: photographs of affected hooves 7 Nov 2011	860
DEUTSCH : Hufwand-Ablösungs-Syndrom 6 Nov 2011	787
SWEDEN: Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome (HWSS) 8 Nov 2011	783
FINLAND: Kavion irtoseinäisyysoireyhtymä (Hoof Wal... 8 Nov 2011	634
The Heartbreak of HWSS - up close and personal. 13 Nov 2011	517
FRANÇAIS: Syndrome de séparation de la paroi du sa... 13 Apr 2013	345
DANSK: Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome (HWSS) 6 Nov 2011	299

Finally the issue of penetrance of the HWSS message to countries throughout the world.  The statistics show the top 10 countries. Pageviews by Countries Entry Pageviews United States 7517 United Kingdom 3223 Sweden 2402 Germany 2246 Canada 1316 New Zealand 1210 Australia 857 Finland 685 Denmark 503 France 496

Genetic Conditions and Responsible Reactions to Them

Other breeds of horses and ponies have genetic issues which they have addressed.  These have been mentioned in prior blogs.

HYPP    -    Quarter Horses and derivatives from the 'Impressive' line

HERDA -     Appaloosa and derivatives from Poco Bueno

SCID
CA        -      Arabs
Lavender Foal

OLWS     -    mainly Paints and Pintos

FIS        -      Fell and Dales ponies

Friesian Horses - Multiple issues

However horse breeders are not alone in dealing with such issues; all other species have their own problems. It is how these problems are dealt with by the 'custodians' of the breed/s which separates the 'men from the boys'.

Open acknowledgement that a problem exists is the first requirement.

Informed decision making is the second.

Acting upon the informed decision made, is the third.

The following post and illustration is about Dairy Cattle.  For those who take the time to read this you will find it very informative and helpful as it is very relevant to the HWSS issue.  

LIC (short for Livestock Improvement Corporation) is an international artificial breeding company which supplies and trades frozen bull semen throughout the world.  They are an industry leader in the area of genetic research in dairy cattle.

LIC is a player in the dairy industry in Ireland supplying semen and expertise to farmers in this country.  This small calf syndrome 'problem' will be present in Ireland.  

"The average herd of 400 cows could expect to have 60 cows which are carriers.  If this herd was mated to a cross-section of Holstein Friesian bulls in New Zealand, LIC expects one to two calves would result. 

Putting this into perspective, since the 1960's a quarter of one percent (0.25%) of calves bred from Holstein Friesian or crossbred type animals each season are likely to have been affected by the Small Calf Syndrome."

Present research would suggest that in some countries, HWSS has a similar if not higher level of carriers, in the population as a direct result of the overuse of certain sires, to the level seen for small calf syndrome in Holstein-Freisian cattle and their cross-breds.

 LIC discovers small calf gene : the full text for the graphic below.

2013 International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot. November 1-3, 2013

The aim of this conference is to "To engage veterinarians, farriers, caretakers and the greater equine community in a collaborative effort to advance, expand and disseminate knowledge through research and collective experiences to effectively prevent and treat Equine Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot."

Dr Carrie Finno will be presenting a paper on HWSS at the Laminitis Conference

Here you will find the programme for the conference.

In association with the conference the Journal for Equine Veterinary Science publishes the abstracts for the conference.

The speaker immediately prior to Dr Finno is Dr David Hood.  Dr Hood will be talking about how the hoof capsule is formed and details the interactions between the protein layers and the lipid layers of the hoof wall. The process of  hoof formation is known as cornification.

"Cornification and physiology of the foot: As indicated
above, cornification makes important contributions to the
physiology of the normal foot. For example, the specific
variations in cornification are responsible for establishing
the regional differences in the relative strength and elasticity
that exists between, and within, components of the
hoof capsule. These regional differences are critical to the
normal biomechanics of the hoof. Additionally, as cornification
involves forming attachments between the extracellular
matrix lipids and the cell envelope, as well as
between the cell envelope and the proteins of the intracellular
matrix, it is a major factor in maintaining the
structural integrity of the hoof capsule. As the lipids of the
extracellular matrix organize during cornification, they
decrease the ability of water to migrate through the wall
and allow the hoof capsule to adapt to different
environments."

Hood, D. (2013) Hoof wall cornification and its significance in disease conditions. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 857

The work of Dr Hood is highly relevant to HWSS as it explains why the interactions of the lipid and protein layers are so important in maintaining hoof integrity.

Dr Finno will discuss the clinical signs of HWSS and explain how the genetic testing has been performed.

Take-home message: Hoof wall separation syndrome is
an autosomal recessive condition in Connemara foals. A
genetic test will allow accurate diagnosis and prevention of
future cases.
Finno,C., Bannasch,D., Stevens, C., Young, A., Ramsay,S. (2013) Clinical and genetic investigation of connemara hoof wall separation syndrome. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 857

Other speakers of  note are Drs Chris Pollitt, Fran Jurga, and James Orsini.

Vale for Crafty

Rosewood Witchcraft (Crafty) brought a public face to this dreadful (and soon be preventable) condition of HWSS. 

Because her owner and breeder was prepared to publicly talk about her pony, Crafty became the 'poster-child' of the HWSS research project.

It was Crafty's visit as a foal at foot, to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at UC Davis, which spurred the geneticists of the Bannasch laboratory to take on the HWSS research.

To see condition in the flesh really shocked all of the vets involved in her work-up.  Photographs just do not, and cannot show the reality of this condition in the severe form.

Crafty supplied a blood sample which was used in the very first tranche of the GWAS study.

Of the 18 affected ponies which comprised the first and second stages of the GWAS study, since October 2011, seven of these ponies have had to be euthanased on humane grounds.

Sadly, now Crafty has joined her peers.

"Crafty was put down on Tuesday  morning [24 Sept 2013]. She had her fill of hay and a quart of omaleen before the vet arrived. It was quiet, without stress and pain-free. She is buried near the pasture where she played, with a new apple tree and summer lilies. 

Her final contributions have been shipped to UC Davis. Crafty was very lame and her feet were literally falling apart. We managed well for 2 years but the last six months were really going down hill. I think she just got too big and heavy for those fragile feet to carry her." (Darian Hall, owner and breeder of Crafty).

Darian made the difficult decision to have her vet take various tissue samples, as instructed by the researchers at Bannasch, before Crafty was buried.  This is what she refers to as being Crafty's 'final contributions'.

This is a recent photograph of one of Crafty's feet.

There are sadly, still many people in the Connemara Pony breeding community (especially those in a positions of power in the CPBS) who cannot, will not or choose not, to accept that HWSS even exists at all, never mind that it has a genetic cause.

Please people open up your minds.  Acceptance that there is a problem is the first step to eliminating that problem.  Doing nothing will cost more in monetary terms in the long term, than any short term loss which could result from acknowledging the problem.

Sadness is having a pony born with a condition for which there is no treatment.

Our condolences to Crafty's owner and breeder plus her extended Facebook family.

A Gentle Reminder

Clifden Show week is beginning on Sunday.  This is a time when much purchasing of Connemara Ponies has been the norm. The genetic test for HWSS will not be available before the end of the  year, so any pony buyers will still need to use visual criteria to assess whether a pony is HWSS affected or not; there is no way of physically assessing carrier status.

So here are a few suggestions for onsite assessment:

• Only consider young stock and/or breeding ponies presented without shoes and without hoof black. 
• Be extremely wary of ponies which are shod and not in work, especially youngstock.
• Do not accept any reasons/excuses about the farrier 'trimming the feet too short the last time he/she was out'.  Feet that are too short is a 'red flag'.
• Any chipping or peeling away of the outer hoof wall is a red flag.
• Pick up the feet yourself and have a look at the structure of the hoof wall between the white line and the outer hoof wall (see photo below).
• Look at the environment the ponies are living in. Boggy conditions masks the issue.
• Hoof black can be used to hide the use of hoof fillers - shod and hoof blacked 'red flag'.

For those purchasing from a distance (ie not personal inspection or through an agent) ask for not only conformation photos and videos, but close up pictures of feet - unshod and not blacked, and taken with the pony standing on concrete.

Here is a picture which demonstrates that the splitting occurs within in the structures of the hoof wall and not at the white line.  This photograph comes from a Swedish HWSS site with many good quality photographs of HWSS feet.  Even with short and newly trimmed feet (a prime method used to attempt to disguise HWSS), any sign of fissures should be classed as a 'red flag'.  Normal feet do not do this.

Another important factor to consider is the genetic inheritance of the pony/ies you may wish to buy. The higher the level of inbreeding, the higher the chances are of ponies carrying recessive genes.

Checkout An Analysis of the Sire Lines Represented in the 2013 CPBS Class 1 Stallion List if you want to found out just how dire the inbreeding issue is.

General News Updates

Those readers of the blog who also follow the HWSS Facebook page will already know that last month the number of hits on the blog reached 20,000 - this total has been reached in 19 months of operation.  As of right now the hits are 20,570.  There has been big upsurge in traffic, especially from Ireland.  As the number of hits from Ireland does not even register in the top ten source countries, which is deemed to indicate a low internet presence, this increase in traffic may be in part due to the following:

 DoneDeal advertisement

To whomsoever paid for and listed this advertisement the Irish Connemara Pony breeders should be grateful. From the perspective of the global community the significance of the HWSS issue does not seem to be understood in the heartland of Connemara pony breeding.  

It is a proven fact that continuing to ignore the existence of a genetic disease will do far more harm to the sales market than accepting that there is indeed a problem and doing something positive about it.  This has been proven in the past in the case of both HYPP and HERDA.

Linked to the incidence of  the expression of genetic disease in any population is the level of inbreeding in that population.    Deirdre Feely in her 2003 paper Characterisation of the Connemara Pony Population in Ireland states the following - the highlights are those of this blog editor:

"Following the analysis, it appears that the Connemara Pony breed is being confronted with two problems. Firstly, the survival of the traditional type of breed is under threat, and secondly, the genetic diversity of the breed is diminishing.

Today, the riding industry is an important outlet for Connemara Ponies. However, there is concern that this industry is instigating a shift from the traditional type of pony, to a taller, ‘modern’ type. The traditional type of Connemara Pony is perfectly adapted to the environment in which it developed and is completely distinct from other equine breeds. It may be necessary to safeguard against market forces inciting the disappearance of the traditional type of pony, which is a valuable national resource, and once lost can never be recovered.

The results generated from the characterisation of the Connemara Pony population indicate that past breeding practices have caused a significant loss in the breeds’ genetic diversity. To ensure that the genetic variation in the breed does not recede to a detrimental level, breeding policies need to be altered.

In future, it is vital that sire family sizes become more balanced, giving all stallions a better opportunity to breed their own replacements in the next generation. This would help to control the level of inbreeding and genetic diversity within the population.

The stallions used for breeding are closely related to each other and tend to be of similar ancestry or breeding lines. From a genetic diversity perspective it may be advantageous to have a pool of breeding stallions that are less related to each other to bestow a variety of genes to the proceeding generations.

As relationships among animals in the present population is high the mating of related animals is inevitable. Breeders must be very vigilant in respect to the stallions that they use for breeding to ensure that a minimal amount of inbreeding is practised.

There are 16 different countries, outside Ireland, that have formed their own Breeders’ Societies and maintain their own stud books. A study is presently being undertaken to characterise the Connemara Pony populations in a number of these countries. It is hoped that these animals may be a source of genetic variability that could be used to widen the gene pool of the Irish Connemara Pony population.

Adequate genetic diversity is vital for the long term health and viability of any population. Thus, it is vital that breeding practices are altered in order to secure the future prosperity of the Connemara Pony breed.'

Sadly this advice does not appear to have been taken on board by the majority of the ruling elite within the pony breeding community worldwide, not just in Ireland.  

Analysis of the genetics of the Connemara pony in all of the countries where the ponies are bred is presently underway.  If the issue of  over used bloodlines and stallions is not addressed then we can expect to see the incidence of new emerging genetic disorders to rise.   

HWSS is potentially the 'canary in the mine' - an indicator of what is to come for the breed if fundamental changes are not made now, about the selection of breeding stock to reduce the level of in-breeding.  Over use of popular or fashionable stallions is the leading cause in-breeding and subsequent population decline.  

There has to be a shift in outlook from just breeding the next generation, to looking as to what will happen in three to five generations, if this breed is to survive in a healthy state for future pony owners and breeders to enjoy.

The results of this work to date can be read on the new website Connemara Pony Genetics International  Comments and questions on the presented papers is encouraged and contributions for publication are invited.

Another new site has also recently been started Connemara Pony Breeders/Producers of Ireland, Chat & Debate where hopefully discussions of importance will not be censored as has happened in the past on other sites.