FriesianSporthorseDNA

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Registration Requirements

All Friesians and Friesian Sporthorses

registered with the Friesian Sporthorse

Association (FSA) in the US, except

geldings, must be DNA tested.

This testing requires the submission of

a hair sample, which is tested by the UC

Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory,

and a DNA "marker report" is produced.

Whenever possible, a "parentage

verification" is also performed by the lab.

We have a vast database of Friesian

and Friesian Sporthorse DNA test results

in order to offer parentage verification

whenever possible. (Because DNA testing

is relatively "new" there are many, many

horses which were never DNA tested and

which are now deceased, making it

impossible for any registry to guarantee

parentage verification of all horses.)

UC Davis Veterinary Genetics

Laboratory

The Friesian Sporthorse Association

uses the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics

Laboratory for all of our DNA testing.

UC Davis was the first to offer DNA

testing of horses in the mid 1990's and

was a pioneer in the use of DNA to

verify the parentage of horses.

Basic DNA Information

DNA testing is used for three basic purposes:

-- to produce marker reports and for parentage verification

-- for color testing (for example, to find out if a stallion is homozygous black or pinto)

-- testing for genetic disorders

Marker reports (and parentage verification whenever possible) are required before any Friesians or Friesian Sporthorses in the United States (except geldings) may be registered with the Friesian Sporthorse Association (FSA).

DNA parentage verification is not always possible because not all sires and/or dams have DNA on file or available (for example, sires or dams which may be deceased and were never DNA tested, or horses which were registered by the FSA or FPS/FHANA before DNA testing was mandatory.) The FSA registration papers will clearly indicate if a horse has DNA on file with us and will also indicate if the sire and/or dam have been verified via DNA parentage testing.

Genetic Testing

In December of 2017 UC Davis began offering genetic testing for Friesians and Friesian-crosses for DWARFISM and HYDROCEPHALUS. They have since also added genetic testing for DISTICHIASIS. We highly recommend testing any Friesians or Friesian-crosses which are being used for breeding to other Friesians or Friesian-crosses.

"Results from the test assist owners and breeders to identify carriers and to make informed mate selection to avoid producing affected foals. Matings between carriers should be avoided as these crosses have a 25% chance of producing affected foals. Breeding carriers to normal horses is safe and a means to maintain genetic diversity in the breed and avoid production of affected foals."

- UC Davis https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/horse/Friesian.php

Horses which have only one copy of the dwarfism mutation or the hydrocephalus mutation are "carriers". Horses with two copies are "affected". Horses with no copies are "normal".

Dwarfism primarily effects Friesians and miniature horses. Hydrocephalus primarily effects Friesians. This testing being offered is only for Friesians and Friesian-crosses.

"Carriers" can still be used for Friesian and Friesian-cross breeding, but should not be bred to Friesians or Friesian-crosses which are also "carriers". Because these genetic mutations are almost entirely related to Friesians, a horse's status as a "carrier" would be virtually irrelevant when breeding to a horse with no Friesian heritage.

The two tests are $45 each, or can be run as part of the three test "Friesian Health Panel" for $80 (this panel of tests includes dwarfism, hycrocephalus, and distichiasis.) Any horses which currently have DNA on file with the FSA can be easily tested. Please contact us and we can invoice you via PayPal.

Dwarfism and Hydrocephalus testing must be done thru the FSA or FHANA for the results to be considered legitimate. Dwarfism and Hydrocephalus test results from tests which were done privately will not be accepted.

Please contact us for more information about additional special genetic and/or color testing.

Can DNA determine a horse's breed?

The short answer is NO, it cannot. There is no DNA test to accurately or definitively prove a horse's breed (or mixture of breeds, in the case of Friesian Sporthorses and Friesian crosses.)

There are a couple of tests available which may offer some insight into the breed of a horse, but they are only offering probabilities and likelihoods. If you visit, for example, the Texas A & M website to read about their Horse Ancestry test, they openly admit "the test is reasonably good but there is no way to determine how accurate it is."

Furthermore, these tests do not offer any information about parentage or pedigree, which is a mandatory part of registration as a Friesian Sporthorse. It is also crucial to know the pedigree of a horse in order to make informed breeding decisions, particularly in light of the inbreeding issues which have plagued the Friesian horse breed.

DNA TESTING WILL NOT DETERMINE A HORSE'S BREED (not with enough accuracy to be considered valid, and absolutely not to the standards required for Friesian Sporthorse Association registration.)

Please do not be misled by sellers claiming an unregistered horse is a Friesian Sporthorse or a Friesian cross and telling you "all you need to do is a DNA test to prove it."

Can DNA testing tell me the sire and dam of my horse if I don't know who they are?

Yes and no. Most often, no. This is like trying to find a needle in a haystack because the parents would need to already have DNA on file first in order for the lab to do a DNA parentage verification. We can run a horse's DNA to see if there are any matches but the likelihood of success is small and there are additional costs involved. Contact us via email for more information and fees. (We want to be clear: the majority of people who run this test DO NOT find a match, there are additional fees involved, and the fees are non-refundable even if there is no match found.) Please don't be fooled by sellers telling you all you have to do is a DNA test to prove the parentage of your horse -- we recommend sorting out any DNA/parentage questions BEFORE purchasing a horse. We've seen too many disappointed buyers burned by dishonest sellers.

Please do not be misled by sellers claiming a horse of unknown parentage can be registered as a Friesian Sporthorse simply by doing a DNA test.