Deafness in Paint Horses
Look a paint horse with a blue eye in the eye and you won’t forget it.
I’m Susan Allen stay tuned on Open Range to learn how color patterns on horses can have a profound effect on not just the on- looker but the horses health. I admit they’re stunning, paint horses with blue eyes but should we be breeding for this unique pattern? The answer is yes, but only if you are willing to do genetic screening. New research from UC Davis reveals that certain Paint horse coat patterns can increase the risk of deafness. For over seventeen years Davis students have studied the records of deaf horses admitted to the university and paint and pinto’s with no known hearing defects and concluded that deafness was more often found in horses that had splashed white coat patterns, white markings high on their limbs, extensive white markings on their face and blue eyes. Sadly this suggests a link between hearing loss and the genes responsible for giving paint horses their wonderfully “splashed with paint” type coat patterns and remarkable blue eye. The full study published in the November 2009 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends breeders who desire color to invest in genetic screening. Screening can reduce the chance of producing a deaf foal but not it will not eliminate it. Horses can certainly go on to have performance careers, but many deaf horses have been wrongly punished for not responding to verbal commands another good reason for screening. I’m Susan Allen
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