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The following paragraph is a note I received from our page editor, Jim, quite some time ago when I asked for topic ideas.
Jim wrote: "Every time I drive by the stock hauler on the highway at the Quick school, I look to see what horses are destined for the meat packers and I feel a shiver go down my neck. You might talk about the end of a horse's career - most horse owners will go thru the experience and we do need to talk about it - as painful as it might be." I considered and deliberated on the subject but really didn't have much first hand experience so I turned to the mailing lists I am on for insight. Then, when I started getting ready to write the column, two different people on one mailing list had to face putting down an older horse, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts and emotions with me. And then of course, we had that horrendous day in early October when we ourselves had to be responsible for taking the life of a horse. I knew then that the time had come to begin this series, and so I started the Emergency column from the experiences I've had, and began preparing this End of the Line article for publication as well. Wow, what a huge topic, but what an important one! There are so many considerations in a large animal death, from the emotional loss of a loved one to the practical worry about disposal afterwards. Over the next few weeks I'm going to cover this subject the best I can, hoping that what I write will help you to prepare for this eventuality. Please feel free to share your stories with us, we will publish them (with your permission of course!) alongside the column as it runs. I've already corresponded with quite a few people who have confided their own heart-wrenching stories and thank them for their input. Sharing the experience of death and loss in this way somehow helps us to cope better when the time comes for us - be it the family dog, favourite cat, or that special horse - as well as helping the person experiencing the loss to better deal with the loss. |
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Ever wondered how certain colours of horses have come about? Ever wanted to breed for a certain colour but was unsure how to achieve it? Over the next few weeks, I'd like to share with you some of the fascinating world of colour genetics. Remember from your elementary school science class that genes come in pairs - and that each of the parent animals will pass one gene on of each of those pairs. The absence of a specific gene simply means that the horse doesn't have it (ie, a homozygous black horse does not carry a red gene, a non-grey horse does not carry a grey gene, etc). First, some common terms. Homozygous, a term most commonly heard in breeding tobiano pintos, means simply having two copies of a particular gene. For instance, a horse that is a homozygous tobiano will also throw a tobiano gene - resulting in 100% pinto foals. Also, homozygous for the black gene is another commonly heard term - these horses will always throw a black gene and therefore can not have red (sorrel or chestnut) offspring. They will not necessarily throw blacks, they can also have bays, etc. Heterozygous refers to a horse that has one copy of a specific gene - for instance a horse with one red and one black gene is heterozygous for black and will pass the black gene on 50% of the time, and the red gene on 50% of the time. Speaking of percentages - very important, and something we tend to forget in discussing breeding percentages is that each time you breed, you are starting at the same percentages. What I mean is, say you are breeding a palomino (one cream gene, one red gene) to another palomino. Your chances are 25% double cream (cremello), 50% palomino (one cream and one red gene), and 25% sorrel (two red genes). My point here is that even if you have crossed those same two palominos six times, you may have always come up with sorrels - the chances are the same each time you breed. The law of averages doesn't apply to genetics or dice! Two more words for you to consider are genotype and phenotype. Genotype refers to the actual genetic make up of a particular animal, while phenotype refers to the outward appearance. For instance, a smokey black horse can appear to be a black or dark bay, but is actually carrying a hidden cream dilute gene (we'll cover this cream gene in more detail later). Next week dominant genes and a few hard and fast rules of genetics, then let's start talking colours! |
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If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com
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