And...we have a positive PSSM type 2 test. We are n/px

[scats]

I would say that she may well be able to be managed. She’s only young and had an explosive moment. I’ve had young horses, with nothing wrong with them, who have had the odd explosion early on and unseated me. Usually as a result of spooking.

I do know what managing a px horse involves, but honestly, Polly would probably still be rideable if it wasn’t for the fact it’s combined with PSD and associated issues with SI. Shes just an unfortunate combination of everything stacked against her.

If she was just a px horse, I think we’d be chugging along as best we could.

Honestly, I’d try and put it to the back of your mind for now and treat her like a sharp youngster.

 

[ycbm]

I'm really sorry that the excitement of getting a new horse and hoping to crack on with riding after a long spell on the sidelines has been taken away from you. I can imagine how gutted you are about that, it must feel very unfair.

But she's 4, she's been in England less than a month, after a move from Ireland. In the last 6 months to a year, her entire world has turned upside down. She is behaving like many a 4 year old would in that situation. Whether she has PSSM or not, she needs time, (and possibly to be sent to a really confident professional to get her back on track), before anyone could say whether her behaviour is just that of a confused 4 year old unsettled by a big move, or something more serious.

I hope she can still become the horse of your dreams, but because confidence is everything with youngsters I do agree with those suggesting you should sell her if you can't get yours back before riding her again.
.

 

[catembi]

I tested a day or two after she had arrived, just because the others tested +ve & I wanted to know. I am not sure if the long journey from Ireland affected the result. I thought that the test was looking at the DNA & I didn't realise that a spike in the adrenaline could affect the DNA. My doctorate isn't in anything scientific... This was long before any incidents of any kind. I have previously been informed that it's my management which 'causes' my horses to test positive...

The red flags in my mind were how she stands with all four feet very close together, difficulty picking back feet up and she did the odd awkward stretch to make me think, 'h'mmm...'

I am not expecting anything of the horse at this stage. We are still finding our feet. To reiterate, I tested on arrival. There is no blood test for PSSM. The muscle biopsy (as I understand it) can't be relied upon as it's not always present strongly in the particular muscle which is biopsied & there is not always enough damage to show up until the horse is older.

I was reviewing all my results recently.

Thor full TB n/p2/n/p3/n/px
Trev full TB n/p3/n/px. He is still rideable. Fine in walk, very stiff in trot but he's 20 and is an ex racer who raced a lot as a baby.
Tiffany Dartmoor n/p3 Would be rideable in light work, but as she is 12.2, I am probably a bit much for her to lug about, hence getting symptomatic when in full work.
Leroy full TB n/px
Cody QH x TB n/p1, n/p4/px/px
Finn TB x ID with a dash of warmblood n/p1, n/p4, px/px

I already have a dr coach who has ridden at PSG and a jumping coach who is an ex international eventer so I am sure between them they can counterbalance me being such a clueless numpty. Jumping trainer is due in an hour or two, in fact.

I should learn to rein in my awful ADHD tendency to share first when something happens which is totally overwhelming, and think later, when in fact I ought to think first and sit on my hands and not post.

 

[HeresHoping]

I tested a day or two after she had arrived, just because the others tested +ve & I wanted to know. I am not sure if the long journey from Ireland affected the result. I thought that the test was looking at the DNA & I didn't realise that a spike in the adrenaline could affect the DNA. My doctorate isn't in anything scientific... This was long before any incidents of any kind. I have previously been informed that it's my management which 'causes' my horses to test positive...

Are you referring to my post? I hadn't realised it wasn't a biopsy but a hair test - sorry. A spike in adrenalin will affect muscle sugar storage levels. My mistake there.

 

[catembi]

It's all so complicated, isn't it! I have read a lot about it & I'm still confused"

 

[KittenInTheTree]

Regarding a possible pattern relating to breeds, small Thoroughbred horses were crossed into the Dartmoor pony in the 1800s. So technically, it's possible that all seven do have genetic material from the same line somewhere in them.

 

[SEL]

It's all so complicated, isn't it! I have read a lot about it & I'm still confused"

PX is the one variant where it really does annoy me Equiseq haven't done more work. It's supposed to be related to how the body processes calcium - RER being the main cause of tying up in TBs. They should be able to prove it.

If it's any consolation RER tying up episodes are more common in young TB mares and the vast, vast majority grow out of them. A friend got a cheap 3yo off a trainer who was still on box rest after a nasty tie up. Muscle enzymes still high. She always warmed her up slowly but that was it - played polocrosse, never had another episode and was lost to colic in her teens.

I can see Marion Otto has commented on your FB post. She's a fabulous nutritionist so worth paying for her time

 

[I'm Dun]

I tested a day or two after she had arrived, just because the others tested +ve & I wanted to know. I am not sure if the long journey from Ireland affected the result. I thought that the test was looking at the DNA & I didn't realise that a spike in the adrenaline could affect the DNA. My doctorate isn't in anything scientific... This was long before any incidents of any kind. I have previously been informed that it's my management which 'causes' my horses to test positive...

The red flags in my mind were how she stands with all four feet very close together, difficulty picking back feet up and she did the odd awkward stretch to make me think, 'h'mmm...'

I am not expecting anything of the horse at this stage. We are still finding our feet. To reiterate, I tested on arrival. There is no blood test for PSSM. The muscle biopsy (as I understand it) can't be relied upon as it's not always present strongly in the particular muscle which is biopsied & there is not always enough damage to show up until the horse is older.

I was reviewing all my results recently.

Thor full TB n/p2/n/p3/n/px
Trev full TB n/p3/n/px. He is still rideable. Fine in walk, very stiff in trot but he's 20 and is an ex racer who raced a lot as a baby.
Tiffany Dartmoor n/p3 Would be rideable in light work, but as she is 12.2, I am probably a bit much for her to lug about, hence getting symptomatic when in full work.
Leroy full TB n/px
Cody QH x TB n/p1, n/p4/px/px
Finn TB x ID with a dash of warmblood n/p1, n/p4, px/px

I already have a dr coach who has ridden at PSG and a jumping coach who is an ex international eventer so I am sure between them they can counterbalance me being such a clueless numpty. Jumping trainer is due in an hour or two, in fact.

I should learn to rein in my awful ADHD tendency to share first when something happens which is totally overwhelming, and think later, when in fact I ought to think first and sit on my hands and not post.

I have that ADHD thing, its a pain in the backside. I've also had a PSSM horse, luckily type 1, but I still wouldn't have another one for free.

However, the type 2 test is really not reliable at all. There are more than a few people whose horses test positive for various variants but arent symptomatic at all. We will have a reliable test at some point in the not to distant future, but there isn't one right now.

I must have missed what happened, but I'd send her off for schooling if its something you cant or don't want to ride through, and assuming she passed a vet and is sound and otherwise well. Then see what happens. They arent often symptomatic at 4 and in light work, so being in harder work will show you one way or another if there's a PSSM issue.

Going forward, test before you buy. If it means losing that specific horse or deposit, so be it. You can't keep going on this emotional rollercoaster. I can only imagine how devastated you are and my heart aches for you. Or get yourself a nice highland. As far as I know, they haven't found many, if any, PSSM type 2 highlands, and none symptomatic.

 

[teapot]

It sounds like she’s telling you the previous four weeks have been far too much for her to process imho.

Slow down, give her a chance to process everything at her own speed, and for you to learn what that speed is. She’s only four and has a lot of growing to do physically and mentally. Help, don’t hinder. One wonders why you’re so keen to be jumping and xc schooling her… she’s barely learnt to breathe with you yet.

 

[I'm Dun]

Just found and read your post about the spook. Id send her to Dan Wain if I sent her off. Hes an amazing horseman, will pick up on any posture/soundness/PSSM issues and give you the tools to work through any spooking issues. Your close enough you could go to him or he might come to you if you just wanted another set of eyes and a different skill set adding into the mix and didn't want to send her off. Even if she does have PSSM and eventually ends up retired, the stuff you learn from him will always be useful so wont be a waste. I think it would be worth it for having him have eyes on her and confirm or not that there's a potential physical issue. It might reassure you or confirm that your not going mad and imaging it.

 

[catembi]

We were on a intro to xc session which was telegraph poles on the ground height. We were trotting between two 'jumps' when some motorbikes with very loud exhausts roared past on the other side of the hedge, which was very near to us. She understandably panicked (it was REALLY loud & unexpected) whipped round, dumped me & ran back to the other horses. I got back on & we carried on trotting over telegraph poles in a different field away from the road.

Then a couple of days later, I was riding in my arena, she went to have a little look at a pile of jump wings while in canter, I went to push her past & she did another disproportionately large spook & dumped me off again. Probably repeating what she'd done before. I am now riding with a grab strap until we've broken this incipient 'habit'.

 

[BBP]

(This is a general thing not aimed at the OP, and is prefaced by saying I’m not a scientist, just an affected horse owner) I know I say this over and over but RER has absolutely nothing, diddly squat, zippo, zilcho to do with PSSM. It has zero to do with polysaccharide storage, zero to do with sugars in cells, etc etc etc.

From what I have read, horses that tested positive to the Equiseq RER test did not, on biopsy, show the more centrally located cell nucleus that is found in horses with RER, so I reserve judgement on the genetic test.

However, I will admit that managing a horse that has been diagnosed through biopsy as having RER is not straightforward. It cannot be controlled by diet in the way PSSM can. As said, the horse cannot regulate its calcium ion release properly. Excessive calcium ions floating about trigger excessive muscle contraction, and that tells the horses brain to get the heck out of dodge. Magnesium receptors are blocked so the horse doesn’t receive the signals it needs to allow its muscle sarcomeres to relax again. Stress triggers the process and it can be a self perpetuating cycle where the horse gets stressed, the muscles say run, the horse tries to run, the human says no, the horse gets stressed, the problem gets worse. There is a reason why racehorses are more prone to tie up from RER during fast canters when held back, than when allowed to shift the way they want to.

And it is hard because we put horses in stressful situations every day. We ride when they have a tweak, we accidentally pinch with the girth, we keep them stabled or in small paddocks, or with companions they don’t really like, or we separate them out, travel them, whatever. Horses constantly undergo stress. We should always be mindful to the stressors we put them through, but with an RER horse we should be even more so, as their body escalates the situation without their brains permission more than a ‘normal’ horse.

So their management and successful life depends upon how many sacrifices the owner is prepared to make. For BBP, competition was too much. Trec was his forte, the patterns of obstacles made sense to him, he had practiced them (a bit like the TRT method where the familiarity of the movement patterns help) but only when working in a pair. Being asked to move away from the other horses/his pair was a massive trigger and too much for him. He would melt down. And As much as it’s nice to be told how well you sat and how sympathetically you rode, my horse wasn’t having any fun. So I retired him from even the low level competing I did to just hacking and schooling. Hacking he was beautiful. Polite, forward, easy, light. Until he saw ‘something’. He had no middle ground. The something would trigger a full blown panic attack with whole body wobbling like a bowl full of jelly, everything in his body screaming at him to run. It was dangerous trying to get him away, and far more dangerous trying to keep going. So with that and his hypermobility injuries and anxiety I retired him completely. At home, in his safe place, with his friends, he was perfect. Never an issue.

So I do have sympathy if this mare does have RER.
BUT, I also think we have to take some responsibility ourselves for what we ask of them (and I’m not criticising OP as thousands of other riders may have done the same). You have a baby horse, a baby. Already been through what can be quite a stressful experience for a baby in being backed at 3 and ridden to the point where the new owner believes her to be ready to go to XC clinics etc. Then transported to a whole new place (was she from Ireland) and thrown straight in the deep end with ridden work. It may not have seemed like asking a lot, but she is a baby. Her growth plates aren’t fused, her teeth may not be through yet, her musculature won’t be fully developed got carrying a human, and yet we treat them like a grown up well established horse. They don’t owe us anything, no matter how much we spend on them, we throw them into our world, they didn’t ask for any of it.

I 100% know I’m in a tiny minority here, but i don’t intend to ride my pony til he is 5 or 6. His work right now as a 4yo is on being a nice guy to have around and developing the posture and skills to carry a rider once his body and his mind is ready. Now as I’m older I spend far more time thinking about how they feel about what I am asking, rather than just whether they have done as I asked. Even my older mare who I bought in March, I haven’t ridden her more than 5 times as she told me she just wasn’t comfortable yet. There is so much more joy in developing a relationship and learning how to have a happy horse than there is in riding a horse because I bought one to ride.

That was preachy. My apologies.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

That’s rubbish news, really sorry to hear it.

 

[catembi]

Jesus wept...'xc schooling'! Trotting over telegraph poles! I didn't take her team chasing!

 

[catembi]

That's very interesting, BBP, so thank you.

Why isn't anything with horses ever easy, so you know what something is and you know how to manage it?

 

[shortstuff99]

The link posted in the OP claims it is.

 

[teapot]

Jesus wept...'xc schooling'! Trotting over telegraph poles! I didn't take her team chasing!

No, and I stand corrected, but you still took her to a different environment when she may or may not have settled at home yet.

It may not seem like much but actually for some young horses it is.

 

[catembi]

We had already gone to that venue a week beforehand (it's 15-20 minutes away) for some low key flatwork as I was trying to set her up to succeed. So she had already seen the venue, had a mooch about in the arena, had a short box ride...

 

[paddy555]

Then a couple of days later, I was riding in my arena, she went to have a little look at a pile of jump wings while in canter, I went to push her past & she did another disproportionately large spook & dumped me off again. Probably repeating what she'd done before. I am now riding with a grab strap until we've broken this incipient 'habit'.

I'm sorry to say but I doubt this is an incipient "habit" it is far more likely to be a 4 yo very large framed horse who has had endless disruption over the last 6 months, has only been with you for 4 weeks, simply doesn't trust you yet and who is doing far too much. Try looking at it that rather than the horse having acquired a "habit" she is simply scared, very inexperienced and needs some training which appears to be sadly lacking. That is training to give her confidence, gain her trust and to get her to listen to you,


For heavens sake slow down. You are expecting too much, Young horses, and she is very young, need time and patience.

Try putting her in a position she can cope with and build it from there.
You took her to look at a pile of wings in canter. Great, she is already going too fast and is in an excellent position to either shy or run off.
Try riding her in your school at a walk on a long rein round and round the wing pile.Then when she is totally happy move onto trot. Lots of transitions between paces so she starts to learn to listen to you. That way you won't need a neck strap, she will be working with you.

do some long reining and get her listening to you and trusting you.

So I do have sympathy if this mare does have RER.
BUT, I also think we have to take some responsibility ourselves for what we ask of them (and I’m not criticising OP as thousands of other riders may have done the same). You have a baby horse, a baby. Already been through what can be quite a stressful experience for a baby in being backed at 3 and ridden to the point where the new owner believes her to be ready to go to XC clinics etc. Then transported to a whole new place (was she from Ireland) and thrown straight in the deep end with ridden work. It may not have seemed like asking a lot, but she is a baby. Her growth plates aren’t fused, her teeth may not be through yet, her musculature won’t be fully developed got carrying a human, and yet we treat them like a grown up well established horse. They don’t owe us anything, no matter how much we spend on them, we throw them into our world, they didn’t ask for any of it.

I 100% know I’m in a tiny minority here, but i don’t intend to ride my pony til he is 5 or 6. His work right now as a 4yo is on being a nice guy to have around and developing the posture and skills to carry a rider once his body and his mind is ready. Now as I’m older I spend far more time thinking about how they feel about what I am asking, rather than just whether they have done as I asked. Even my older mare who I bought in March, I haven’t ridden her more than 5 times as she told me she just wasn’t comfortable yet. There is so much more joy in developing a relationship and learning how to have a happy horse than there is in riding a horse because I bought one to ride.

That was preachy. My apologies.

this, time and again. I am in the minority with you.

I think this is perhaps not the best horse for Catembi who clearly wants to go jumping etc. An older more experienced horse would be more suitable. This one is going to need a lot of time and training and then will probably become a wonderful horse.

 

[BBP]

That's very interesting, BBP, so thank you.

Why isn't anything with horses ever easy, so you know what something is and you know how to manage it?

Tell me about it! My young horse is throwing a whole new batch of puzzles at me from BBPs.

 

[ester]

I’ll admit I was surprised at what you had done with her too having not read the nexkstrap thread until today. It doesn’t matter that it’s poles on the ground, going out is a big thing for a just turned 4 year old that doesn’t know you, and plenty don’t have an attention span over 20/30min at that age if setting up for success

 

[Hallo2012]

I'm sorry to say but I doubt this is an incipient "habit" it is far more likely to be a 4 yo very large framed horse who has had endless disruption over the last 6 months, has only been with you for 4 weeks, simply doesn't trust you yet and who is doing far too much. Try looking at it that rather than the horse having acquired a "habit" she is simply scared, very inexperienced and needs some training which appears to be sadly lacking. That is training to give her confidence, gain her trust and to get her to listen to you,


For heavens sake slow down. You are expecting too much, Young horses, and she is very young, need time and patience.

Try putting her in a position she can cope with and build it from there.
You took her to look at a pile of wings in canter. Great, she is already going too fast and is in an excellent position to either shy or run off.
Try riding her in your school at a walk on a long rein round and round the wing pile.Then when she is totally happy move onto trot. Lots of transitions between paces so she starts to learn to listen to you. That way you won't need a neck strap, she will be working with you.

do some long reining and get her listening to you and trusting you.

this, time and again. I am in the minority with you.

I think this is perhaps not the best horse for Catembi who clearly wants to go jumping etc. An older more experienced horse would be more suitable. This one is going to need a lot of time and training and then will probably become a wonderful horse.

agree with all of this.

id be doing lots more in hand stuff at home, and even in hand hacking or joining friends doing arena hires but just to walk round and watch, at this stage.

she is being rushed.

take a breath, week in the field, start again, go slowly.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

We had already gone to that venue a week beforehand (it's 15-20 minutes away) for some low key flatwork as I was trying to set her up to succeed. So she had already seen the venue, had a mooch about in the arena, had a short box ride...

Seems like the spook at the venue can be chalked up to an unlucky mix of events. My sisters horse has a similar fright at 5 round some woods with motor bikes charging up the local A road and he spooked, bucked her off and moved away then stood stock still (an "Oh crap mums on the floor" look) even a few years later he is still tense round that area.

Completely understand the neurospicey obessesed brain....its so hard to get it to at least have a go at thinking logically and its something I am struggling with at the moment.

 

[Rowreach]

To answer all those who have quoted me because I cba to multiquote:

1. No reason all 7 couldn't have muscle myopathies, however
2. On the other thread I did agree with the OP that testing/treating for ulcers would be a good idea, given what the horse has been through lately and
3. I was querying why so many people were jumping on the "sell it" bandwagon without knowing what is going on with the horse, given the number of threads on here where people object to sellers selling horses with undisclosed issues.

 

[Indefatigable]

In the end, as experienced, but usually amateur horse owners, we are all incredibly vulnerable. I tested my struggling 5 yr old for MIM w Equisec - came back Rx and P8. BUT (and a very big BUT), during the eventual full veterinary work up (let's not go there), he turned out to have hock arthritis, kissing spine and a whole host of other issues. (Very well bred and dealer wanted to capitalise on that - and some).

 

[scats]

We were on a intro to xc session which was telegraph poles on the ground height. We were trotting between two 'jumps' when some motorbikes with very loud exhausts roared past on the other side of the hedge, which was very near to us. She understandably panicked (it was REALLY loud & unexpected) whipped round, dumped me & ran back to the other horses. I got back on & we carried on trotting over telegraph poles in a different field away from the road.

Then a couple of days later, I was riding in my arena, she went to have a little look at a pile of jump wings while in canter, I went to push her past & she did another disproportionately large spook & dumped me off again. Probably repeating what she'd done before. I am now riding with a grab strap until we've broken this incipient 'habit'.

If it’s any consolation, I was thrown off my 5 year old about 20 years ago because of a noisy motorbike. Also once because of a lawn mower. And a horse trotting past.
Broke my other ankle on two of those occasions!
Youngsters can be idiots

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I tested a day or two after she had arrived, just because the others tested +ve & I wanted to know. I am not sure if the long journey from Ireland affected the result. I thought that the test was looking at the DNA & I didn't realise that a spike in the adrenaline could affect the DNA. My doctorate isn't in anything scientific... This was long before any incidents of any kind. I have previously been informed that it's my management which 'causes' my horses to test positive...

The red flags in my mind were how she stands with all four feet very close together, difficulty picking back feet up and she did the odd awkward stretch to make me think, 'h'mmm...'

I am not expecting anything of the horse at this stage. We are still finding our feet. To reiterate, I tested on arrival. There is no blood test for PSSM. The muscle biopsy (as I understand it) can't be relied upon as it's not always present strongly in the particular muscle which is biopsied & there is not always enough damage to show up until the horse is older.

I was reviewing all my results recently.

Thor full TB n/p2/n/p3/n/px
Trev full TB n/p3/n/px. He is still rideable. Fine in walk, very stiff in trot but he's 20 and is an ex racer who raced a lot as a baby.
Tiffany Dartmoor n/p3 Would be rideable in light work, but as she is 12.2, I am probably a bit much for her to lug about, hence getting symptomatic when in full work.
Leroy full TB n/px
Cody QH x TB n/p1, n/p4/px/px
Finn TB x ID with a dash of warmblood n/p1, n/p4, px/px

I already have a dr coach who has ridden at PSG and a jumping coach who is an ex international eventer so I am sure between them they can counterbalance me being such a clueless numpty. Jumping trainer is due in an hour or two, in fact.

I should learn to rein in my awful ADHD tendency to share first when something happens which is totally overwhelming, and think later, when in fact I ought to think first and sit on my hands and not post.

I’m not a geneticist but am a director of a company where genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics play a large role in our research.

As I understand it…

The tests offered for PSSM2 rely on the hypothesis that certain genetic variants may cause symptoms which, when grouped together, could define a disease which is currently being described as Muscle Integrity Myopathy. This is yet to be scientifically validated and the research is in its infancy without proper peer reviews findings.

The company providing the tests is not testing for the presence of muscle damage, elevated proteins or sugar storage - they do not identify a physical problem or detect an illness. They only test for variants which are suspected to be linked to myopathy or be a high risk factor for myopathy. The presence of one of these variants does not mean that the horse has myopathy, is sick at all or will definitely become sick.

So my take would be that whilst a horse is positive for a one of these genetic variants, I wouldn’t be prepared to accept that this makes the horse diseased or definitely likely to show symptoms that have been identified as possibilities from such early research.

I would happily contribute to ongoing research if that option is available but I wouldn’t treat the horse in front of me any differently to a normal horse.

If the horse presents with a medical problem, then I would investigate the medical problem independently and find the cause, which may or may not be related to a specific genetic variant. I wouldn’t allow my knowledge of the fact that a particular genetic variant is present to allow me to equate every undesirable thing that a horse does, every ailment or every lameness to that particular genetic feature.

I would continue as is, but as others have said, this horse is going through a lot for a 4yo. Mine went for toddling little hacks and did about 20 min of schooling two or three times a week when they were four. So I would heed advice to slow down.

This is the RVC advice on PSSM testing.

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/Media/Default/Comparative%20Neuromuscular%20Diseases%20Laboratory/PSSM12%20genetic%20testing.pdf

Interestingly, some genetic conditions are hypothesised to arise in response to environmental challenges as a form of evolution.

Something like G6PD deficiency in humans means that whilst affected people are normally healthy, certain triggers can cause acute haemolytic anaemia. These triggers include eating broad beans. But G6PD is also associated with increased protection against malaria, so it is hypothesized that the genetic condition evolved to afford greater protection against malaria.

So slight tangent but, just because we don’t automatically recognize the purpose of genetic variants doesn’t mean that they are entirely negative. If the equine population is showing increases in the variants that are being identified in relation to PSSM2, it may be that they are evolving in response to some other factor. And it may be that avoiding triggers for the negative consequences - as is suggested in PSSM research already with dietary management being the primary recommendation - may result in a perfectly manageable situation.

 

[ester]

I think in recent history we are used to the genetics/ID of variants coming after the symptoms have been well characterised/classified and then working backwards from them to ‘find the gene for’ Whereas some of the pssm stuff is now working the other way round.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I once brought a 4 year old from Spain to Germany. He was already started under saddle, but there's no way I could've been doing all of what you're doing/have done with him. Mentally, it would've been catastrophic for him. I probably would've had the same experience(s) that you've had or worse. He became such an awesome mount with time and proper training.

With young horses, there are definitely some that give less f*cks than others, or internalize more, so you can "get away" with more (not saying you should, but some are just more subtle). This particular horse is being loud and clear.

I think that this horse has been overfaced and you need to take some steps back. Start over from the basic beginnings. If you cannot do that, find someone/a good trainer that can.

Groundwork is so valuable.

I don't know a whole lot about PSSM, so no comment there.

 

[shortstuff99]

I think in recent history we are used to the genetics/ID of variants coming after the symptoms have been well characterised/classified and then working backwards from them to ‘find the gene for’ Whereas some of the pssm stuff is now working the other way round.

It's even weirder, they've taken a suspected human gene region and then applied it to a horse.