Arthritis and breeding

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competitiondiva

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My earlier thread got me thinking, my mare has been diagnosed with early arthritic changes in her hocks at 16 after 10 years of active competition work, this was only diagnosed due to her taking a while to fully track up in work which was unlike her. She's not lame due to arthritis but due to an injury to a ligament. My question is that as arthritis is said/proven to be hereditary, how do studs know whether their 16 year old broodmares do or don't have early changes in their hocks as they are not in work to notice? Just wondered!
 
My question is that as arthritis is said/proven to be hereditary, how do studs know whether their 16 year old broodmares do or don't have early changes in their hocks as they are not in work to notice?
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I think that most studs are breeding from mares that ultimately have been retired to the field though precisely because some sort of problem has been identified??

Arthritis is not simply hereditary though, its cause can be the result of wear and tear - and if my vet gave me the all clear to breed the mare, and it wasn't detrimental to her health then I wouldn't hesitate.

Obviously if your 6 year old develops it - you don't even consider it. However at 16?? I would (oh, and did).
 
The WBFSH had a presentation on the subject in 2009 by Phillipson of Upsala University and you might find it on the internet. The problem was being looked at from the prospective of how was the selective breeding policies improving the health and longer competitive life of sports horses. There was evidence that some policies on navicular and OCD will show improvement. The number of top horses like Shutterfly that are competing is changed by the enviromental factors ,who rides them,who owns them how often are they required to compete and how far do they have to travel ect. The numbers then became quite small that no firm trend emerged. The Holsteiners may have figures on this subject. Dr Nissan firmly believes that
their breeding polocy improves general health.
 
Surely the number of 16yo's who have done 10 years competitive work, who don't show some mild arthritic changes are very few and far between?
 
ihatework said:
Surely the number of 16yo's who have done 10 years competitive work, who don't show some mild arthritic changes are very few and far between?
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Like hens teeth.

I am sure that a vast number of competition stallions at 16 years of age after a long and successful career at top level, would also show significant changes on x-rays. If that is the case and how breeders feel, then you should cross some of the top stallions in the world of your short lists.
 
I would have no problem breeding from a mare that had early arthritic changes at that age, after a competitive life, as long as she could cope with the weight of pregnancy. This to me is normal wear and tear. However, I would without doubt not breed from a mare with similar arthritic changes in any joint, but especially the hock joint, if she was under 8 years, without much working history. This is more likely to have a genetical influence or due to a conformational fault.

Same applies with tendon and ligament injuries. Would breed from a mare retired from a tendon injury after reaching intermediate eventing. However, a mare retired at 6 from PSD in a no no for me. There has to be a genetical weakness, which could be passed down.

I have a cracking mare that is the latter and I will sadly not be breed from, but she has already had a foal prior to breaking and me acquiring her. My question is: those mares that have never had a working life and are broodmares from day 1, how do we know if they would sustain a working life and indeed should have the right to breed? Should all stud mares be ex- competition horses? A few ponderings...
 
I also would not have a problem breeding from a horse that had a wear & tear injury after a long competion career, provided that it was mild enough not to be a problem carrying a foal. But what about other injuries ? Whilst I agree TOTALLY that we should not breed from horses with bad confirmation, or any other shortcomings e.g. poor temperament, an injury can happen at any age.

My 5 year old mare has arthritic changes in the hock caused after an accident in the field, and the subsequent lack of a correct diagnosis & treatment that could have prevented it. But that's a whole other long story... ....However, I haven't hesitated to breed from her as she is well put together, well bred, has a fantastic temperament, is a great mum and is field sound. In fact many people would ride her without even realising there was a problem.

Is a well put together horse who gets mild arthritis after an accident at 5 more likely to have an inherent weakness than a similar horse who suffers from the same injury at 12, or are they both just unlucky ?
 
Thank you for your replies, my earlier thread seemed to have a fair few peeps say because of the diagnosis of arthritic changes that they would NOT advise breeding from her due to it being passed to the foal, before the ligament injury she hasn't had a days lameness in her life. I stated the age of the mare so wondered about this, as to me 16 years after 10 years of competition work etc is bound to show some wear and tear on the joints! It was my vet (referal vet at that) who suggested a life as a broodmare as she knew she'd had one previously. I asked about carrying a foal and hereditary issues and she was not worried. Again thank you for your thoughts. I won't be breeding this year for sure but will keep my eye on stallions and see what the future brings................
 
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