Guest Post by Tom Ryan FWCF on his experience with treating an HWSS affected pony.

This paper has recently been published in Forge Magazine and is republished here with kind permission from Mr Ryan http://www.equinehoof.co.uk/hwss.php

Hoof wall separation syndrome in Connemara ponies

Tom Ryan FWCF

The first time I saw pony Liam (name changed) was just after my client had bought him. I could see that he had slightly broken up hooves but thinking like most farriers would, I expected his hooves would improve under my charge. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case and as the winter progressed his hooves gradually deteriorated and by April 2010 the stratum externum was breaking away from the stratum medium, not just in the area around the nails but also around the toe of the hoof, an area that normally stays intact when hooves break up.

Photograph 1:  Liam's broken hoof in May 2010

As all four hooves were badly affected and thinking that a bacterial infection was causing the problem I decided to ask the help of the client's vet and together we took biopsies from the affected areas of Liam’s hoof wall. The results came back as normal, no abnormal bacteria associated with breaking hooves were found in the hoof.

Photograph 2:  Broken hoof removed and hoof poulticed with iodine

We decided that the entire areas of broken hoof should be removed but doing this to all four hooves at once was out of the question as it would make the pony very lame. Instead we decided to treat one hoof per week, in this way if we encountered problems it would be with only one foot. So each week all the broken hoof from one foot was removed and for the next twenty four hours the hoof was poulticed with iodine to ensure the hoof was sterile.

Photograph 3:  Kerckheart Aluminium shoe glued to repaired hoof

The hoof was rebuilt with glue then an aluminum shoe was glued to the repaired hoof, blue children's modeling dough was used on the inner border of his shoe to prevent the glue or shoe pressing onto the sole of his foot.  This was time consuming and expensive but worked well. For the next few months the glued on shoes were replaced as they started to become loose or were lost altogether, Liam was comfortable in the shoes and they didn’t cause him any problems.

Photograph 4: All hooves repaired

I noticed his hoof reacted slightly differently to the glue, in that the surface of stratum medium adhered less well to the glue, something I had not observed in other types of broken hooves. I have experienced cases of breaking hoof walls and seedy toe in other breeds both in everyday practice and as a referral farrier at an equine veterinary practice and I can safely say that Liam’s feet were different, although at the time I wasn’t sure quite how, it certainly was not a case of severe seedy toe.

When the wall had re-grown down to the ground surface, I could still see that his hoof was still not normal but tried again using nailed shoes, unfortunately his hooves soon started to deteriorate again. In discussion with the client it was decided to try Liam barefoot as an alternative solution to the problem but Liam soon became very uncomfortable and foot sore, as all his weight was being carried by his sole, as the hoof wall was crumbling away, we realised that this was not going to solve his problem and went back to gluing his shoes.

Liam had been bought for showing but as his feet were repaired with glue and the rules for showing do not allow filled or rebuilt hooves, he could not be shown. Considering that the only way of keeping him sound was with rebuilt hooves and glued shoes, meant his hooves were going to be a perpetual and very costly problem. After a lot of soul searching, the owner in discussion with her vet decided he would have to be put down.

It was eighteen months later at a Farriers Focus Day, that a farrier who has produced a horseshoe for broken hooves called GluShu[ii] first mentioned hoof wall separation syndrome in Connemara ponies to me. Some quick research on the internet[iii] revealed that there did seem to be an ongoing hoof wall problem within the Connemara population which some were calling ‘Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome‘(HWSS). Gauging what proportions of Connemara's have had problems or how severely it has affected them was difficult to establish, certainly some severe cases have eventually resulted in euthanasia.

Some contributors reported an apparent absence of lipids in HWSS affected hooves, a type of fat normally found in hoof, its function is thought to provide protection to the hoof structure by repelling excess moisture. Reading the comments of others about HWSS, I knew that this was what I had been dealing with eighteen months earlier.

Current thinking is that HWSS is a congenital genetic problem, the genes thought to be responsible are said to be recessive within an autosomal chromosome, autosomal chromosomes are not responsible for deciding the sex of the animal and therefore both males and females can carry the defective gene. Both parents must be carriers of the defective recessive gene in order to produce a chance of a foal with affected hooves. The possible outcomes are; a 1:4 chance that the foal will have HWSS, a 2:4 chance of a foal with good hooves but still a carrier of the defective gene and a 1:4 chance of producing a foal which is not a carrier and has good hooves.

Diagram 1:  Possible outcome if both parents are HWSS carriers. 

These chances are random and any outcome is possible for each foal born.

If one parent is a HWSS carrier and the other is not, then there will be a 2:4 chance of the foal being a carrier but it will not have HWSS hooves.

Diagram 2: Possible outcome if one parent is a carrier

The genome for the horse was sequenced for the first time in 2007, opening the opportunity to isolate which genes may be involved in HWSS. Currently research into HWSS is being carried out by Dr. Carrie Finno, DVM, PhD at University of California Davis and is focused on identifying the genes which are associated with the production of keratin, the protein which is used to produce horn and hair. DNA samples of both normal and affected animals are currently being collected and compared. The goal of this research will be the ability to identify carriers of HWSS with a simple blood test. So they can be isolated and excluded from any future breeding program (* editor's note). Until then it will only be when an affected foal with HWSS is born that it will alert the breeder that its parents are both carries of HWSS. As this may not be the first foal from this dam and sire, previous foals may have already been produced and unknowingly sold on, as there were no indicators at that time there was a genetic problem.

When only a few ponies were carriers the chances of both parents being affected must have been small, the odd foal with poor quality hooves would have been seen as a random occurrence of bad luck. Other foals would have been born as carriers with good hooves, in this insidious way HWSS has secretly crept into the population and as the ponies have moved around the world, so has HWSS. Today cases have been reported in many countries including UK, Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand and the USA.

From the one case that I have experienced, Liam's problems were of a greater magnitude than any broken hoof I had met before. The only solution to avoid future cases of HWSS will come from revised breeding practices which acknowledge the underlying genetic causes. If the first-class reputation of the Connemara is to be upheld, then both breeders and individuals will have to address this problem in an open and honest way.

First published in the Connemara Chronicle Vol 40-2013, page 183

Anatomy notes

The hoof wall is comprised of tubules of keratin which grow downward from the Coronary band. Distribution or the density of the horn tubules reduces through the three main zones of the hoof wall, the stratum externum, stratum medium and stratum internum. The greatest density of horn tubules is in stratum externum where on the surface of the hoof wall they are slightly flattened to become oval, which is thought to help retain moisture. The stratum medium forms the bulk of the hoof wall while the inner stratum internum has the lowest number of horn tubules and forms the laminal interface with the dermal tissues, it is usually un-pigmented and can be seen as a white line on darker coloured hooves

Diagram 3, Anatomy of hoof wall

Between the horn tubules is inter-tubular horn which binds the horn tubules together, this has intermediate filaments which are laterally orientated fibres which help to bind the horn tubules together and resist cracking.

The outer stratum externum is more rigid than the more flexible stratum medium, while the stratum internum is the softest, this gradient of reducing stiffness helps the hoof capsule transfer energy smoothly between the wall and the dermis and also allows the hoof capsule to expand in shape under loading and return back to it's original shape when the load is removed. Transfer of weight from the skeletal structures is primarily from distal phalanx (pedal bone) via the hoof wall to the ground surface, the solar surface can only support a small proportion of the total weight of the horse before it causes pain.

---

Footnotes:
[i] Jameg ShoeGlu, Jameg Horseshoes, Barnby Moor Stables, Kennel Drive, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts., DN22 8QU

[ii] GluShu, https://www.facebook.com/glushu

[iii] Google "Hoof wall separation syndrome in Connemara ponies"

* Editor's note.  Removing carrier ponies from the breeding population is not recommended as this will further reduce an already truncated genepool; the test will identify carriers.  This information will help breeders to choose non-carrier mates and therefore prevent the production of any further affected ponies.

The relevance of the Fell Pony Syndrome Research to HWSS

The situation with HWSS in presently facing the breeders of Connemara Ponies is very similar to that which The Fell Pony breeders are faced with and which they have dealt with in a positive, constructive and successful manner.   The united approach to find cause of FIS  is an example that the Connemara Pony breeding community could well do to follow.  The whole of the latest research paper has been reprinted below because it has become obvious that people are not aware of how relevant this work is.  The blog stats tell us whether people outclick to the posted links; not one outclick has been made to this paper.

The overall population numbers are different between the Fell Pony situation described here and that of the Connemara Pony situation but the level of penetrance of the relevant mutations within in each of these  populations is very similar.  Table 1 at the end of the paper  makes for very interesting reading.

April 13, 2013 | Veterinary Record
Foal immunodeficiency syndrome: carrier testing has markedly reduced disease incidence

S. D. Carter, L. Y. Fox-Clipsham, R. Christley, J. Swinburne

Foal immunodeficiency syndrome (FIS), a fatal autosomal recessive disease found in three breeds of horses, was first reported (in the Fell pony) in 1996, and it soon became apparent that significant numbers of syndrome foals were being born each year. In each FIS case, the foals are clinically normal at birth, but start to weaken at 2–8 weeks (Scholes and others 1998) as they develop profound anaemia (Dixon and others 2000) and do not have the ability to produce their own antibodies (Thomas and others 2005), due to the almost total lack of B lymphocytes in the circulation or tissues (Thomas and others 2003), but with apparently normal levels of functional T lymphocytes (Bell and others 2001). The outcome is persistent opportunistic infections with no effective treatment; euthanasia is the preferred option. FIS has also been reported in Fell ponies in The Netherlands (Butler and others 2006), Germany (May and others 2011) and USa (Gardner and others 2006). In 2009, we confirmed a case of FIS in a Dales pony foal (Fox-Clipsham and others 2009).

The search for the genetic lesion thus became paramount, as the carrier parents were clinically normal, and it was feared that there could be high carrier rates in breeding Fell and Dales ponies. In 2009, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a sodium transporter (SlC5a3) which was completely associated with FIS and was homozygous in FIS foals and heterozygous in FIS carriers (Fox-Clipsham and others 2011a). The SNP is a functional alteration in an exon within the SlC5a3 gene, and within three months, we developed and launched a diagnostic test (available at http://www.animaldnadiagnostics.co.uk) based on PCR and sequencing to identify FIS carriers and early syndrome foals. This was made available to all equine owners and can be performed simply on pulled hair samples, removing the need for blood sampling.

The acquisition of the FIS test meant that we could identify carriers and make recommendations concerning the possible outcomes of specific breeding combinations, for instance, a carrier breeding with a normal pony, or two carriers breeding together. We regularly met with Fell and Dales pony owners to explain how they should use the FIS test to avoid producing a syndrome foal, and stressed the need to use the FIS test to avoid carrier-carrier matings. Concerns about depletion of the gene pool in pony breeds were soon quelled once it was explained that they could still safely use carrier ponies to breed with normal ponies. Indeed, it was pointed out that owners and breeders actually needed to widen their use of stallions to reduce the numbers of FIS foals and to preserve the gene pool.In the first year of testing, our fears were confirmed when the FIS carrier rates were shown to be 39 per cent in breeding Fell ponies and 18 per cent in breeding Dales ponies. Broadening the testing to other at-risk breeds (known to crossbreed with Fell and Dales ponies), showed that 1 per cent of a coloured pony population were carriers (Fox-Clipsham and others 2011b). There may be other breeds containing FIS carriers; only further population testing will confirm or deny this possibility.

The next key question was how effective the carrier test would be in reducing the numbers of FIS foals being born in subsequent years. There have now been two breeding seasons (2011 and 2012) prior to which the 

owners could avail themselves of the test and avoid carrier-carrier matings. The test findings (Table 1) provide considerable hope for the future.The FIS carrier rate in breeding adult Fell and Dales ponies varies over the three years of testing, but this variation was statistically significant (X2(2df) p=0.3, and Fisher’s Exact Test p=0.6, respectively). 

Importantly, there was a lower number of FIS-positive (diseased) Fell pony foals in 2011 and 2012 (although this only approached statistical significance (X2(2df) p=0.1, X2for trend (1df) p=0.08) and no FIS 

cases in Dales ponies in 2011 or 2012. Obviously, the datasets may be skewed because of the animals selected for testing, which may introduce some bias. However, as many carriers will have been identified previously from breeding records, there is no reason to suppose that FIS-positive breeding stock would be preferentially submitted. It is clear that the owners and breeders have taken the advice we provided about avoiding carrier-carrier matings, and that this has led to a major reduction in the number of syndrome foals born in the last two year. Although the definitive figures are not available, the total  number of breeding Fell ponies that have been FIS tested in the last three years (n=1171) comprise a large proportion of the breeding population, and the testing has been done to guide breeding strategies. By the same measure, the 284 Dales ponies tested represent a large part of  the breeding population of that breed.

Predictably, our breeding recommendations to use carrier-clear matings have not had a rapid impact on the large numbers of FIS carriers in the breeding populations of both breeds. Reducing carrier numbers will either take much longer using the current breeding approach, or a change in breeding strategy to avoid breeding from carriers at all. With the carrier rate so high in the Fell ponies, such a restrictive recommendation would probably be unacceptable to many  breeders, and would risk depleting the gene pool. On the other hand,  the breeders who choose carrier-clear matings will need to test their offspring to see if their foal is a carrier. The results are consistent with uptake of the FIS carrier test by the owners of at-risk ponies, and suggest that they have also taken our advice about breeding strategies to reduce the numbers of FIS-positive foals. This is a significant and swift impact of modern genomic technologies in clinical veterinary medicine, and is a healthy indicator of veterinary scientists and animal breeders working well together to improve animal welfare.

TABLE 1: Foal immunodeficiency syndrome (FIS)-positive test results in Fell and Dales ponies (adults and foals) (N/A=not applicable)

Year	Number tested	Normal (%)	FIS Carriers (%)	FIS Diseased (%)
(A) Fell ponies
Adults        2010	565	290 (51)	275 (49)	N/A
2011	179	103 (58)	76 (42)	N/A
2012	106	60 (57)	46 (43)	N/A
Foals          2010	142	72 (51)	58 (41)	12 (8)
2011	108	60 (56)	39 (36)	1 (1)
2012	71	32 (45)	38 (54)	1 (1)
(B) Dales Ponies
Adults 2010	180	158 (88)	22 (12)	N/A
2011	53	44 (83)	9 (17)	N/A
2012	36	32 (89)	4 (11)	N/A
Foals 2010	10	9 (90)	0 (0)	1 (10)
2011	4	3 (75)	1 (25)	0 (0)
2012	1	1 (100)	0 (0)	0 (0)

References
BELL, S. C., SAVIDGE, C., TAYLOR, P., KNOTTENBElT, D. C. & CARTER, S. D.
(2001) an immunodeficiency in Fell ponies: a preliminary study into cellular responses.
Equine Veterinary Journal 33, 687–692
BUTLER, C. M., WESTERMANN, C. M., KOEMAN, J. P. & SLOET VAN
OLDRUITENORGH-OOSTERBAAN, M. M. (2006) The Fell pony immunodeficiency syndrome also occurs in the Netherlands: a review and six cases. Tijdschrift Voor Diergeneeskunde 131, 114–118
DIXON, J. B., SAVAGE, M., WATTRET, A., TAYLOR, P., ROSS, G., CARTER, S. D.,
KELLY, D. F., HAYWOOD, S., PHYTHIAN, C., MACINTYRE, A. R., BELL, S. C.,
KNOTTENBELT, D. C. & GREEN, J. R. (2000) Discriminant and multiple regression
analysis of anaemia and opportunistic infection in Fell pony foals. Veterinary Clinical
Pathology 29, 84–86
FOX-CLIPSHAM, L., BROWN, E. E., CARTER, S. D. & SWINBURNE, J. E. (2011b)   Population screening of endangered horse breeds for the foal immunodeficiency syndrome mutation. The Veterinary Record 169, 655–655
FOX-CLIPSHAM, L., CARTER, S. D., GOODHEAD, I., Hall, N., KNOTTENBELT, D. C., MAY, P. D. F., OLLIER, W. E. & SWINBURNE, J. E. (2011a) Identification of a
mutation associated with fatal foal immunodeficiency syndrome in the Fell and Dales pony. PLoS Genetics 7 135, e1002133
FOX-CLIPSHAM, L., SWINBURNE, J. E., PAPOUlA-PEREIRA, R., BLUNDEN, A. S., MALALANA, F., KNOTTENBELT, D. C. & CARTER, S. D. (2009) Immunodeficiency/anaemia syndrome in a Dales pony. The Veterinary Record 165, 289–290
GARDNER, R. B., HART, K. a., STOKOl, T., DIVERS, T. J., FLAMINIO, M. J.,
JElINEK, F., FALDYNA, M. & JASURKOVA-MIKUTOVA, G. (2006) Fell pony syndrome in a pony in North america. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 20,
198–203
MAY, A., LEIPIG, M. & GEHlEN, H. (2011) Case report of a Fell pony immunodeficiency syndrome foal in Germany. Pferdeheilkunde 27, 507–513
SCHOlES, S. F., HollIMAN, A., MAY, P. D. & HOLMES, M. A. (1998) a syndrome of anaemia, immunodeficiency and peripheral ganglionopathy in Fell pony foals. The Veterinary Record 142, 128–134
THOMAS, G. W., BELL, S. C. & CARTER, S. D. (2005) Immunoglobulin and peripheral B-lymphocyte concentrations in Fell pony foal syndrome. Equine Veterinary Journal 37, 48–52
THOMAS, G. W., BELL, S. C., PHYTHIAN, C., TAYLOR, P., KNOTTENBELT, D. C.
& CARTER, S. D. (2003) Aid to the antemortem diagnosis of Fell pony foal syndrome by the analysis of B lymphocytes. The Veterinary Record 152, 618–621

S. D. Carter, BSc, PhD, FRCPath
L.Y. Fox-Clipsham, BSc, PhD
R. Christley, BVSc, MVCS, PhD, 
DipECVPH, MRCVS
Department of Infection Biology,
Department of Epidemiology and
Population Health,
Institute of Infection and Global Health,
School of Veterinary Science, University
of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
L. Y. Fox-Clipsham, BSc, PhD
Centre for Preventative Medicine,
Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, UK
J. Swinburne, BSc, PhD
Animal DNA Diagnostics Ltd,
William James House, Cowley Road,
Cambridge CB4 0WX, UK
E-mail for correspondence:
scarter@liv.ac.uk
Provenance: Not commissioned;
externally peer reviewed
Accepted February 14, 2013

Research Update

• A descriptive case report covering the clinical signs of HWSS and the pedigree research has been submitted for publication to the relevant, top peer reviewed journal available.  This paper has been accepted subject to some re-writing requests by the peer reviewers.  Such re-writing requests is normal procedure for peer reviewed publications.  Once the research paper has been published the on-line address for the abstract will be posted on this blog.

• a paper written by Tom Ryan (FWCF)  has been accepted for publication by Forge.  Forge the industry magazine for farriers and is sent to all farriers in the UK and by subscription to others around the world.  Tom has indicated that once publication in Forge has occurred he will be sending the paper to be circulated via this blog.  In his paper he deals with the issues of  hoof care to maintain quality of  life for HWSS affected ponies.

• The Havemeyer Foundation sponsored  10th International Equine Genome Mapping Workshop   is taking place in July in Portugal.   The Bannasch Laboratory will be there presenting their latest research on the HWSS issue.  Participants are invited to this prestigious workshop; just getting an invite to attend is an honour in itself.  To be one of the presenters validates the research work done to date.

• Over the summer the humongous quantity of data generated by the genomics work will be analysed in depth.  The computing requirements for such work is in the multi-terabyte arena, which is way beyond the capacity of all but a few computers in the world.  To access such a facility computer time has to be booked in advance. Booking ahead is a best guess option as to time scale and is judged on when a facility was needed in similar areas of research. As it turns out because the initial answers were so cut and dried on the HWSS project, the research has run ahead of the expected schedule. Further rapid progress has been constrained because of the need to wait for this pre-booked computer access.

• Another native pony breed with a genetic problem - The Fell has posted an update on their progress.  Their research to find the genetic marker commenced in 2005 with the mutation being located in 2009.  The test became available 3 years ago in 2010.If you wish to read more about the Fell pony research below are some links.  The process is quite proscribed. 

1. The first step is to publicise the emergence of a new condition to the veterinary profession; Immunoglobulin and peripheral B-lymphocyte concentrations in Fell pony foal syndrome.  
2. One then demonstrates that the problem is not confined to one geographical area but extends through the total genepool; The Fell pony immunodeficiency syndrome also occurs in the Netherlands: a review and six cases. 
3. The genetic research is performed and reported and published; Identification of a mutation associated with fatal Foal Immunodeficiency Syndrome in the Fell and Dales pony.
4. Having found the mutation the effects at the cellular level can be established; Fell Pony syndrome: characterization of developmental hematopoiesis failure and associated gene expression profiles.
5. The outcome; Foal Immunodeficiency Syndrome: carrier testing has markedly reduced disease incidence or put another way A recent report shows what can be achieved when scientists and horse breeders work together

• When one looks at the timescale involved with the  HWSS research much has been achieved in a very short time.  Unlike the situation with HWSS, the Fell Pony Syndrome (FPS) research had the backing, financially, morally and ethically from the Fell Pony Society and the Rare Breeds Trust; it also involved a large 'buy in' from the breeders themselves. 

The Connemara Pony Research Group would like to think that the scientific progress in this research is now sufficiently advanced that all societies, breeders and owners will now take this problem seriously and start making plans on how we as a community are going to use this information to preserve and protect our beloved Connemara pony. It is our hope that the CPBS and the ICCPS will see fit to invite Dr Carrie Finno to Ireland this year to present her HWSS research at an open public forum during  the Clifden Festival in August 2013.

Feel free to offer comment and helpful suggestions on the HWSS Facebook page.HWSS (Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome)

News from the Bannasch Laboratory

A message from the lovely people of the Bannasch Laboratory at U C Davis arrived today. 

"The Connemara community has been incredibly supportive, and I know you have worked extraordinarily hard at getting DNA to the lab. Your efforts and the generosity of many owners has been very effective, and we are no longer in need of control samples." 

This is a real kudos to the people who got in behind this project, both with donations to fund the work, and those who at their own expense, rallied to the call and submitted blood samples from their ponies. The research has come such a long way in a very short space of time (from the scientific research perspective). This would never have happened so quickly without you all.

Please note that samples from additional confirmed HWSS affected ponies will still be accepted.  

To anyone who wishes to send blood samples from outside of the USA from affected ponies, you are asked to wait until further notice whilst the import permits are renewed. Once the permits have come through, a notice to this effect will be posted on the blog.

Once again, thank you to all of the people who have made this research a 'happening thing'.

New Update - some good, some sad.

Sadly another pony has had to be euthanased because of intractable hoof pain from HWSS.  This pony was bred in Connemara, purchased at Clifden and exported to Sweden.   All four legs from this much loved pony have been sent to the Farrier School in Sweden for research and teaching purposes.  She was one of the ponies whose blood sample was sent over for the part of the research which proved that HWSS is indeed genetic in origin.

It is coming up to the time of the Pony Inspections in Ireland, where in the past much purchasing of Connemara Ponies has been the norm. The genetic test for HWSS will not be available before the end of the northern summer, 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.
• 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.

Other news is that the final shipment of blood samples for HWSS research  has been dispatched from Germany.  A total of 184 ponies have contributed to the population study part of the research.  Well done Germany for have such pro-active breeders and pony owners.  In addition to the samples from the Connemara ponies, samples were included  from Highland ponies and Haflinger horses which demonstrate a similar hoof phenotype to that seen and known to be HWSS in Connemara ponies.  The farriers in Germany are to be commended for making the connection with the HWSS they are dealing with in Connemara ponies owned by their clients, and notifying the German research group representative about these other suspicious hooves.  Thanks must also go to the owners of these non Connemara ponies for being so willing to send samples to UC Davis.   

IF these breeds do show up as being HWSS affected it is the hope of the research group, that their relevant breed societies will be pro-active in dealing with the issues and not emulate the 'head in the sand' attitude which has been the predominant response from the Connemara breed 'authorities' with which the research group has to date met with.

One shipment of samples from Ulster has just safely  arrived at the laboratory for the population study.  30 ponies from a wide variety of bloodlines, one of which is a Scottish bred pony.  This shipment is the only one which has been sent from anywhere in Ireland.  Thank you to this pony owner for making the effort and shouldering the cost all on your own; this is appreciated by the researchers.

Dr Carrie Finno Receives an Award for Her Research

Dr Carrie Finno is the lead researcher who worked upon finding the genetic basis to HWSS for us.  She also was part of the team which found the genetic cause of HERDA.  

This year's James M. Wilson Award was presented to Carrie Finno, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, for her work on neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD), an inherited neurologic disease that affects all breeds of horses. The Wilson Award is given each year to an outstanding equine research publication authored by a graduate academic student or resident in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Finno received the award for her publication, "Electrophysiological Studies in American Quarter Horses with Neuroaxonal Dystrophy."
You can read the full article here:
Dr. Carrie Finno Receives 2012 Wilson Award

The Connemara Pony Research Group congratulates Dr Finno on this award.   Here is hoping that in 2013 she wins another one for her work on HWSS.

Thank you Dr Carrie Finno for believing we did have an issue with the hooves in our Connemara ponies and then taking on our research project.

Presentation by Dr Carrie Finno on HWSS

On 13th October 2012 Dr Carrie Finno presented the outcome of her research on HWSS to the members of the American Connemara Pony Society at their Annual Meeting.    The presentation was well received by the audience.  For many of the participants this was the first information that they had seen with regards to the reality of  HWSS.  It is difficult when working on a project to not become submerged in the topic and remember that something which has taken up a good amount of one's own time, is often not known about in the wider community.  

A call was made at the meeting for further blood samples to be submitted for the study. One hopes that owners and breeders will rally to the call.  This has certainly been the case in Germany where the representative of this group has today dispatched samples from a further 28 ponies.  Another shipment is planned so if you and your ponies live in Germany and you would like to help to be part of the solution to the HWSS problem, contact the group and your details will be passed onto the person coordinating the shipments.

If there are any Connemara people in France or the UK who would be prepared to help by shipping blood samples we would really like you to contact the group.   France and the UK are the two largest Connemara pony breeding nations after Ireland. Both countries have tended to concentrate their breeding programmes on bloodlines that are less popular than those in other European countries.  It would be very interesting (and possibly advantageous) to be able to screen these populations also.

Dr Finno has kindly given permission for  a pdf version of her presentation to be posted on this blog.   Of course the pdf contains the slides only and thus does not have her explanations and commentary to explain some of the points made.  Dr Finno. HWSS Presentation 13th October 2012

In the presentation Dr Finno: 

• explains the signs of HWSS
• shows the feet of two ponies which were examined at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
• Shows the cross-section of an affected hoof.  The lesions shown there are 'typical' of all HWSS cases.  It shows quite obviously that the breakdown is within the layers of the hoof wall and does not involve the white-line in any way.
• Genetic terminology, modes of inheritance and where HWSS fits in the wider scheme of things is explained.
• on the bottom of slide 23 is an ambiguous, to those not at the meeting, sounding statement.  The explanation is that there is no record of any person breeding two affected ponies together so the outcome of such a mating is not known. 
• HWSS is autosomal recessive; other autosomal recessive conditions in horses are discussed.  Dr Finno was one of the principal people responsible for finding the genetic marker for (HERDA) and getting this commercially available to breeders.  Also discussed is Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency (GBED) and Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS).
• Explains how genetic research is undertaken.  Slide 39, point 3 explains why more samples are needed.
• Explains what you can do to help to eliminate HWSS from the Connemara pony population with no loss of genetic variation.

Samples are still required from normal, non-HWSS affected, Connemara ponies

Several more enquiries have been received from people willing to help with the research at UC Davis by submitting blood samples from their ponies.  If everyone who has requested the submission forms, collection/shipping instructions and the import permit (for outside of the USA) send their samples, then the closer Bannasch Laboratory will be to having the numbers required to meet the testing protocols.

Samples from unaffected ponies are needed and wanted; there has been no shortage of submissions from affected ponies.

Time to step up people - ponies whose samples that are used in this research will be issued with a report at the end of the research.  The end of the research will occur well in advance of the test becoming available commercially because of legal/patenting issues.

So get in now and be ahead of the rest.  This opportunity could be especially relevant to owners of stallions standing at public stud or to owners who regularly sell their youngstock at weaning.  All this will cost you is the collection and shipping costs, and your time.

Private message the research group to obtain the paperwork required to submit samples.

As an 'aside' the group often gets queries about whether HWSS is present in other breeds.  It has always been the group's opinion that, yes this problem does occur in other minority breeds, but that it is the Connemara breed which has acknowledged that there is a problem and has stepped up to the plate to do something productive and useful about the issue.

So to the list of breeds with authoritative reports of a hoof condition which appears similar to HWSS, we now add Haflinger.

Today is the equinox - for those in the southern hemisphere this means the glory of Spring and rebirth.  For those in the northern hemisphere, the time when the day length really begins to telescope and for those in the colder climbs the onset of the challenges of  Autumn (Fall) and Winter.

Best wishes to all, whichever hemisphere in which you and your ponies may reside.

It is Official - More Samples required for HWSS Research

It is Official - 

UC Davis requires/needs more samples to continue with their research into the causes of HWSS.

Whole blood samples are required from both unaffected and affected ponies.

Submissions from affected ponies require high quality digital photographs to accompany the blood samples.  Where possible a full medical history is also desired.  A farrier's report could also be useful.

If you want your ponies to be part of this research project you need to contact UC Davis OR the Research Group to obtain the correct submission forms and the sample collection protocols.

Samples from outside of the USA will require an import permit which can be obtained from UC Davis or the group.

UC Davis have not indicated how many samples they need BUT let us, the Connemara community, show how important this issue is to the health and welfare of the breed and get as many samples as possible to UC Davis as quickly as possible.   

They need more samples to go onto the next stage of the research. Until they have enough the process will slow down dramatically.  Some of the research equipment used runs in cycles with 48 samples per cycle.  A run does not  get wasted  by loading less than the optimum number of samples; it all comes back to economies of scale.  So until there are enough samples for a 'run' all must wait.

Both UC Davis and the group look forward to having our in-boxes flooded with requests for submission documentation and import permits.

The contact details for UC Davis are on their poster Here is the link to UC Davis

Putting email addresses directly onto the blog, sadly invites the attentions of spam crawlers, so you will need to go directly to the UC Davis page to get their contact details.

Breaking News - HWSS is Official

It is Official!!

Because of the close relationship between the HWSS Research Group and the Bannasch Laboratory, UC Davis, we have been aware for sometime of the progress that has been made, and now we can share this publicly.

The very existence of HWSS and that it is of genetic orign of it has been questioned by many people throughout the Connemara Pony breeding world. Those who have not seen or personally experienced the condition are reluctant to accept that such a serious problem could be lurking within their beloved breed. Understandably the recurring call has been the need for scientific proof that this is not simply an environmental or management issue, but a genetic one. Now because of the dedication of a number of breeders and individuals throughout the world, we have that proof! UC Davis has released the following information into the public domain.

Here is the link to UC Davis

While this may only be the first official statement regarding research into HWSS, we believe that now is the time for an open acknowledgement that there is a cause for concern, but that there is a way out of the situation.

The ICCPS Annual General Meeting is coming up, as is the Technical Meeting. With so many delegates from breed societies around the world present for these, the research group group sincerely hopes that the UC Davis release on HWSS is enough scientific proof to acknowledge the condition, and start a constructive discussion on the issue.

For further research to continue, UC Davis needs the help of Connemara Pony owners and breeders worldwide. They need more samples from ponies, and the sooner they get them, the sooner we will have a test for the condition. The ICCPS are in a unique position to facilitate this. An education campaign to the daughter breed societies would rapidly add to UC Davis' collection of samples. Additionally, breed societies could vastly aid breeders and owners by coordinating the collection and shipment of blood samples to UC Davis. What a huge pro-active and positive step for the breed that would be!

The Connemara Pony community needs to start talking now about how to deal with the problem when a test is commercially available. There will be a time lag between the research phase being completed and when testing becoming commercial available, but that should not stop us from calmly, and rationally, discussing how this issue will be managed to the betterment of the breed.

We are not the only breed society to have faced such issues - both the Fell Pony breeders and the New Forest Pony Breeders have faced similar problems over the genetic issues in their respective breeds. And like the conditions in the above breeds, we do not believe that HWSS will be limited to just the Connemara Pony - this research will likely benefit horses worldwide.

We know the test is coming; let us as a cohesive community be positive and ready. Let the Connemara Pony community worldwide be ready and waiting to embrace the new technology as soon as it becomes available.

GET TALKING – KEEP POSITIVE AND EVERYONE WILL BENEFIT

The Research into HWSS – How was it Achieved??

The research into HWSS is the result of the dedication and perseverance of a few private individuals who rose to the challenge to provide the scientific evidence required to support their working hypothesis.

The research group made a tentative approach to researchers at the Bannasch Laboratory back in April 2011.  Because of the high standing worldwide that this laboratory has in the area of equine genetic research the group considered that any work performed by them would be well beyond any reproach .  

Although interested to be involved at a personal level, the researchers told us that to conduct the necessary initial GWAS required money – lots of money which the group did not have and until we could fund the study, there was little they could do to help.  However Bannasch did make the offer to the group that if samples were submitted to them they would extract the DNA and then store this for the future; an offer which was gratefully accepted.

The turning point came when Rosewood Witchcraft was taken to the Centre for Equine Health for a clinical workup. Thank you so much Darian, you had no idea what this action would precipitate. Rosewood Witchcraft's facebook page

Until 'Crafty' was 'seen in the flesh' the researchers really had no conception of just what the severity of this condition was. Photographs just DO NOT illustrate how dramatic this condition can be.

Shortly after Crafty's visit another affected pony made the journey to UC Davis.

These clinical examinations was the spur needed to get official, professional interest underway to research into the causes and origins of HWSS.

But of course 'we' still needed money – lots of money; thus this blog was created.

To all of you private individuals who rose to the occasion and donated funds to UC Davis to fund the GWAS and subsequent gene sequencing; 

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS

it could not have happened without you.

The influx of funds to UC Davis allowed the initial GWAS to start. Because of the great start to fundraising UC Davis approached the Morris Foundation to apply for a dollar for dollar grant. This grant application was accepted and the Morris Foundation and two other sponsors are continuing to support the ongoing research.

BUT IT WAS 'YOUR' MONEY THAT STARTED THE BALL ROLLING

without the initial financial support from mainly private individuals within the worldwide Connemara Pony community the grant from the Morris Foundation would not have eventuated, nor that of the other two sponsors.

At this point the Connemara Pony Research Group would like to formally acknowledge the following organisations for their financial support of the research:

• American Connemara Pony Society
• Region 111 of the American Connemara Pony Society
• Ulster Connemara Pony Breeder's Association (previously known as Northern Ireland Connemara Pony Breeder's Association)
• Connemara.nu (an independent Swedish organisation which collected private donations on behalf, specifically for this project)

The above funds combined to approximately a  third of the total monies donated; the balance came from private individuals. Other than the official notifications received from the mentioned organisations, the research group has no information as to who made donations to the fund.

Another result of this blog is that many owners of affected ponies around the world made contact with the research group. 

One of these people was Kathy.  read her story here 

People who emailed the group were  put into direct contact with their country representative in the group. Much work has been performed by these representatives on behalf of both the pony owners and the research group. Without this input of samples from so many different countries, Bannasch could not have made progress as quickly as they have.

Blood collections and co-ordinated shipping of samples to Bannasch for DNA extraction (which each participating pony owner paid for themselves) have been made from Denmark, Germany/Austria, Canada, USA, Sweden and New Zealand.

UC Davis are now calling for further sample submissions.

NOW is the time for the 'ordinary' breeders and owners to unite and to become involved in this ground breaking research.

Contact the research group for help if you wish to be part of submitting samples in a co-ordinated response or UC Davis direct, if this should be your preferred option.

Vale for 'Duncan'

Duncan was euthanased yesterday, (northern hemisphere time, Thursday) after much heart searching on the part of his owners and the advising professionals.  His owners have given the research group permission to tell his story here.

Duncan was born in Ireland.  He was purchased as a yearling with the intention for him to be the next stallion for the stud.  His bloodlines were intended to bring in several 'outcrosses' ('new blood') to the local Connemara pony breeding population.

When Duncan arrived at his new home his hooves were very short but otherwise looked 'normal'.  Not long after his arrival however it became very apparent that there was a problem with Duncan's feet as they began to chip and peel.  His owners contacted their veterinarian for advice and so began the hoof dis-infection, antibiotic, feed supplementation, special shoes, hoof bonding/casting, despondency, treadmill that only those who have had an HWSS affected pony can attest too.  When none of these interventions resulted in an improvement Duncan was referred to the local veterinary school, where along with the in-house specialist farrier, more aggressive treatment began.  There had to be something that could be done for this pony, right?

Then serendipity and a degree of networking brought answers to Duncan's owners (and the people at the veterinary school) when this blog, the work of the research group  and Bannasch Laboratory was brought to their notice.  Duncan was promptly enrolled with the Bannasch Laboratory at UC Davis and his blood samples and other relevant information was dispatched in time, to be included in the second stage of the research.

Now Duncan is adding a unique postscript; two of his hooves are going to Amercia while the other two remain with researchers in his home country.   Hopefully his death will not be in vain and what is learned from his feet will, in the future stop any more ponies from being born with this condition.

Duncan became the 'poster boy' for HWSS in his home country.  There are excellent pictures here of Duncan's feet at various stage throughout the 2 years of his life he lived with his owners.  He never was able to be made sound regardless of what was done for him.

For those with the understanding of DNA technology the intention is to try and isolate the mRNA from the coronary band of the affected hooves to find out at what point of the keratinsation process in the hoof tissues that the defect begins.

An update on the progress of the DNA research came through today.  The researchers are now looking at specific genes, not just areas on the genome, previously referred to as 'areas of significance'.  The original GWAS found the areas of significance.  These areas were then sequenced more fully and the areas needing closer scrutiny reduced to 15 genes.    Now the results from the first of three of the 'most likely to be implicated genes' are through.  This sequencing has narrowed down the area of interest even further.  The next two candidate genes are to be sequenced in the next few weeks.  

Several genes can code for just one 'thing' hence the need to look at all of the 'suspect' genes. The hope is that by comparing the combinations of these sequences this will show the exact location/s where the mutation/s on the  gene/s  is/are occurring.

The 'good news' apart which Bannasch has delivered today, our condolences are extended to the owners of Duncan and the members of the research group thank them from the bottom of our hearts for making the difficult (as in logistics as well as emotional) decision to donate Duncan's feet to the two universities.

Kia Kaha

We are not alone in dealing with evolving genetic disease....

One of the members of the research group posted this Myotonia in New Forest Ponies onto the group noticeboard, with the additional comment that all Dutch stallions are being tested and that the Swedish breeders are following suit.  Myotonia is a much more 'dramatic', scary to see disease, than that of HWSS; any readers who have seen the videos of the 'fainting goats' on youtube will understand just how dramatic and the implicationsfor survival are, for a horse or pony.

The New Forest pony, like the Connemara Pony has a reducing genepool.  As genepools condense the rising incidence of homozygosity results in a concomitant increase in the emergence of  previously unexhibited genetic defects.

On the HWSS research, we await the results of further DNA research on a specific area of the genome.  While this is happening the scientists at UC Davis are also working to extract the mRNA from the hooves of affected ponies.  This work is to try and establish which proteins are being coded for in which part of the hoof.  Once again it is a waiting game.

Sent us an email and not had a response??

The research group has over the past two months been contacted by several people from various parts of the world with notifications of new cases of HWSS.  Replies have been sent (in some cases with suggestions on management issues) to every query made to the group.   None of these people have subsequently made a reply or made further contact.   As the research group uses a gmail account it is possible that our replies have been automatically filed into a recipient's spam folder.   Please, if you have emailed the research group and not had a reply, please a) check your spam folder and b) email the group again and let us know that you have not received a reply to your intial email.  A reply will have definitely been returned within 24 hours of receipt of the original enquiry.  

Thank you

Thought for the day

"Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts".   

So true, so true; strongly held beliefs, however nonfactual they may be, rarely (if ever) are changed as the result of being exposed to the facts.  It is human nature to cling to what one believes in, for to challenge such beliefs can cause psychological harm in susceptible individuals.  

Sometimes it is considered more expedient to just accept what one is told, without challenging the status quo or the teller/s of the tale.  After all challenging one's beliefs requires introspection into many facets of the life one leads and that is way too scary for many people.

There is now much mis-information being spread 'out there' over the HWSS research.  Where people or organisations have a history of  distributing mis-information, do not expect them to be truthful in what they tell you with regards to their involvement in and support for the HWSS research project.  It was to be expected but still regretable; anything which challenges groups or individuals which exposes them to the risk of having their authority undermined, invariably results in shooting the messenger/s whilst at the same time trying to gain control over the message being delivered.  

To re-iterate once again the Connemara Pony Research Group is made up from a group of individuals who have been working together for just over one year now to get the scientific evidence to support:

1. That there is a developmental problem in the hooves of some Connemara ponies, and,
2. that this condition has a genetic cause
3. Both of these points have now been incontrovertibly proven. As regular readers of this blog will be aware the laboratory is now awaiting the data analysis from the further series of arrays which have narrowed down the area of the genome, that needs to be studied in greater detail.

The Connemara Pony Research Group is not aligned with any breed society in anyway.  The research has been independently funded by donations sent directly to the Centre for Equine Health at the University of California (Davis) by many groups and individuals.  The research at the Bannasch Laboratory (UC Davis)  has received support, both moral and financial, from societies in North America and Northern Ireland only and the group publically acknowledges our thanks to them.

Interestingly enough, when the blog author went to attribute "Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts" researches failed to find an historical context in which this was used.   Perusal of various hard copy books of quotations to no avail and thence having to resort to google (and the ubiquitous wikipedia) linked this homily only to the authorship of one Dick Francis in his novel 'Straight'.  One has to wonder from whence he learnt this very salient truth, or whether he came to this conclusion himself  and just used it as a one-liner in his book.  Either way, the truth revealed by this statement is real.

For any of the blog readers 'out there' who are not acquainted with the novels of Dick Francis then dip your toes in the water.  Rip snorting good yarns based loosely around National Hunt Racing in the UK.  Of course they are formulaeic and I swear the heroes must all have 'superman' embroidered on their underpants as they always succeed in righting wrongs against terrible odds, but they are good reads.

Thought for the day

• "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
  
  
• "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Good news, bad news and interesting news

Good news update: blood samples from a further five HWSS affected ponies have been processed by the Bannasch Laboratory.  The analysis from these arrays is not yet complete, however early indications are that the areas of significance on the genome will be greatly reduced.  Instead of having a 'scattershot' approach to the molecular search, the specific area/s of interest are now being pinpointed.  This work cannot be hurried; we all need to await the outcome with grace and patience.

Bad news update: not the type one ever wishes to report.  The group has been notified that two HWSS affected fillies have recently been euthanased; both were profound cases of  HWSS.  These fillies were euthanased on humane grounds after advice from the owner's veterinarian and farrier.  The fillies had both been under the care of the care of these professionals since they were 3 months old.   

The veterinarian (under request from the owner) performed a post-mortem on both ponies.  This report, plus various body tissue samples and the legs from each pony were sent to the Centre for Equine Health at UC Davis for in-depth analysis.  

Let us hope that the lives of these two fillies will not have been in vain and that through the generosity of their owner in sending samples and body parts for pathology, will help successive generations of the breed.  The condolences of the research group members go out to this owner on the loss of these ponies.

Interesting news update.  This is interesting news from the academic and research perspective but probably will be seen more as a bad news post for the Connemara pony community at large.

Notification to the research group of the first clinical case of HWSS, has just this week, come in from yet another new, country.  The research group was already aware that HWSS was in this genepool but only because of the ponies which have been exported from this location that have gone on to produce HWSS offspring in other countries.   

For example, to date the only clinical case of HWSS in New Zealand is in a imported in utero from this country but, born in New Zealand, pony.  To say the least, this was a surprise to all at the time.  It also has to be noted that this in-foal mare was imported to New Zealand well before existance of the HWSS condition was being acknowledged in the wider Connemara pony population. 

What is extremely interesting from the pedigree research perspective is that in each of these  ponies from this new country, looking at their four generation pedigrees they have nothing in common with each other.  It is only when one is able to look at extended pedigrees that the probable lines of descent become apparant.  

The hypothesis behind the transmission of HWSS, as you are now all well aware, is that it is a simple recessive progression; it can pass through many generations without it ever being expressed.  To date there are (to the members of the research group) well known and obvious patterns of inheritance which appear in affected HWSS ponies.  For the most part these are 'close-up' in the pedigrees of affected ponies and quite obvious within a 4 generation pedigree.  However with two of the 'new' carriers and the one recently notified HWSS affected pony, the already known lines of descent do not appear until  6-7 generations back in the pedigrees.  

This indicates that HWSS came into this 'new'  country  with the early imports of the 1960's and 1970's and that the condition was already widely spread within the Connemara populations from Ireland and the UK.  

With the contraction of the genepool towards a more homozygous state (as is happening with the Connemara breed worldwide) then statistically one expects to see a rise in HWSS affected ponies in this particular country.

Other news: Blood samples from clinically affected HWSS ponies have recently been sent to the Bannasch laboratory from Denmark, Germany and Sweden.  Thank you to the pony owners who at their own expense had their ponies inspected, identified and blood sampled by a veterinary professional, provided the high definition photographs of the hooves and then also paid the shipping costs to the Bannasch Laboratory, UC Davis.   Sending biological samples between countries is a very involved, precise and expensive process.  Thank you to those people.

New Zealand breeders have sent over a consignment of  blood and hair samples from 39 ponies.  This shipment included the one HWSS case, the dam of this case and a normal half sibling.   

New Zealand is in a very interesting position genetically.  The ponies in this country are for the most part even more closely related to each other than seen elsewhere in the world.  This is the result of geographic isolation and the prohibitive cost of importation.  The genepool still includes breeding stock whose parents were from the first wave of imports into the country in the 1970's.   The large number of blood samples sent from New Zealand is to provide a pool of ponies that are expected to to be free of HWSS carrier status, which can then be used as 'controls' in developing the future diagnostic test.  Only time will tell whether this is in fact a true reflection of the genetic status of the Connemara pony in New Zealand.

 

On January 19th  posted on this blog was, Want to know more about HWSS? Here the opportunity is given to any interested parties to book a presentation by a local representative of the Connemara Pony Research Group. 

The blog entry commences with:

"The research on HWSS has more depth to it than what is shown in this blog.  Only the basics have been put on the internet because the internet is not a secure medium.  Anyone can lift  files off the net and use these for what ever they choose; although unlikely, people with an 'agenda' could be tempted to use such information to their own advantage and not for the greater good which is the aim of this research group."

What has to be realised is that scientific research is moving at an awesome pace - what is correct in January is superseded with new knowledge and information by March.  The presentation material contains more in depth and recent information than does the blog; see the paragraph in italics above as to why this is so.

It always pays to go to the horse's mouth for up to date information.  

It is also past the time when the work of the research group and the Bannasch Laboratory should be acknowledged by various Connemara breed organisations and their executives.  This surely a matter of courtesy at the very least.

Feel free to comment on the HWSS facebook page

A Picture Story of the Hooves of an HWSS Affected Pony

This is the story of a pony in Germany.  This pony although born and reared in Germany has parents which were born and reared in Ireland and is in fact of solely Irish bloodlines.

"My pony came to me in Oct. 2009. Her hoofs naked and bad. I thought with some serious hoofcare it would go better day by day. So I tried hard for 1 year. Than I decided to give her iron shoes. The effect was, that she could go without pain for the first time. The horn growed longer and it looked really nice. See pics from Feb. 2011". 

Even though the pony was shod she still required support of bonding agents around the hoof wall but the hoof does  show a normal form.

The sole.

One shod hoof and the other hoof still to be treated.  The pony was kept pain free with diligent hoof  care.

"In May, at the end of her pregnancy, she was lame on her right front-hoof. Shoe away and we looked for an abscess. Not  one found. Bandage (see pic.). 

"This got lost and so the wall :(."

The unprotected hoof (not shod and bandage lost) disintegrated virtually overnight and this is the result.  Notice that the disintegration is between the layers of the hoof wall, not between the hoof wall and the underlying laminae as would be seen in White Line Disease.

The sole picture also shows that the breakdown is between the layers of the hoof wall and not in the white line.

Shoes and casting materials back in place. May 2011.

Then just 5 days ago (Feb 2012),  the weather changed from a period of heavy dry frost (-10--20C) to +2C and wet conditions.   A series of large chips broke and peeled from this hoof.  If you look closely you can clearly see the hoof tubules within the layers of the hoof wall.

The owner decided that something useful should come from yet another setback with the pony's feet and has photographed the hoof pieces from all angles and referenced them to a measuring tape.  The pieces have been labelled and stored in the correct manner in the owner's household freezer; just waiting for someone to take on further research on the biochemistry of these abnormal hooves.

This pony foaled in May a colt (now gelded)  His feet are absolutely normal.  This pony has sire siblings which also have HWSS.   Remember  the dam of this pony and other other affected ponies ALSO has to be a carrier; one cannot 'just' implicate the 'stallion lines' with this condition.

Thank you to this pony's owner for allowing the research group to use these photos and tell his and the pony's story.

The fun of Statistics or "Lies, damned lies, and statistics"

There is a saying (in English) that there are "Lies, damned lies, and statistics".  This saying has over the years been attributed to many people, the least of whom are Disraeli (a British politician of the 19thC) and Mark Twain. However because 'google' is our friend I went to check the veracity of the above mentioned quote and found that it pre-dates these two aforementioned gentleman. history of the lies quote .

The point being made in the quote is that statistics can be manipulated to support or demolish a particular argument, they can be incorrectly reported by the media for dramatic impact, wilfully misinterpreted for personal or political gain and  generally tend to turn people off  from wanting to know more about a subject.

However statistics are also a useful tool in epidemiology.  For those who do not know, epidemiology is the study of disease patterns within and between populations, over time.

The investigation into finding a cause for HWSS was accelerated by using statistics.  The probability of 26 apparently unrelated ponies, living completely different lifestyles, in different countries in different continents spontaneously all being afflicted with the same debilitating hoof condition is statistically unlikely; there had to be a common denominator.

Back in 2005 there were very few publicly accessible 'through the internet breeding data base resources' available.  Since then of course there has been a growth in such sites as all breed pedigree and sukuposti.  These sites well pre-date the official database of the CPBS.  Consequently if one wanted a comprehensive database of the 'state of the nation' of  even the local Connemara Pony genepool one had to construct a database from scratch by manually loading information from the various printed stud books and registers into a suitable computer programme.  

Papers of interest which arose from the building of  a privately assembled database can now be seen on line.

Connemara Pony Bloodlines in New Zealand
An Analysis of the Australian Connemara Pony Population

What has happened to all the stallion lines in Australia 

2007.05 Australian Connemara Stallion analysis 

All of these papers were written up many months prior to this particular database being used to determine whether there was a common link between the 26 apparently unrelated Connemara ponies which had clinical HWSS.  The information contained in these papers have no connection whatsoever with the HWSS research.  They are included because they demonstrate how statistics can be very helpful in making breeding decisions.  They are also of interest to those people who are (rightly) concerned about increasing genetic bottlenecks, decreasing genetic diversity and the negative effects of  'Founder's Syndrome' in the Connemara Pony both  in their own country and worldwide.   It would be great if other countries were to also emulate this work and do a similar analysis of their own pony populations.

Such work as has been done in New Zealand can also be achieved in other countries. One needs an extensive database which includes all of the breeding for example includes the total parentage of the OUTCROSS stallions, not just the Connemara pony side of the pedigree.

What these papers AND the pedigree work undertaken for HWSS research  does prove, is that studying standard four generation pedigrees is not a valid form of analysis in a small, closed genetic population such is the Connemara Pony WORLDWIDE.   Indeed even a seven generation family tree does not disclose all the possible permutations which, with one common ancestor, has  resulted in HWSS.

The private database being used by the research group, now has well in excess of 20,000 individual entries which originate with Number One in the Irish Stud Book, Cannonball.  Work has begun to code each entry for HWSS status (where known).  Ultimately the aim is to convert the database into a statistical analysis programme which will then be able to predict the level of penetrence of  HWSS carriers within discrete populations.   Doing this process is one of academic interest only, because a screening test will be available well before the data entry is complete.  It will be interesting to see whether the statistical projections are significantly different from the reality demonstrated by the screening, however.

Of course the screening test is not going to happen until the second phase of the research is complete.  The second phase does not commence until the fund raising has reached the target.   So another plea for money here.  The funds still required are well within the achievable; we are so close to achieving the goal, but not quite there - yet.