CPL and Belgian Drafts

[Tulla 100]

Well 10 years ago l posted my delight/excitement of buying a yearling Belgian Draft filly. Horse and Hound Forum members, may remember the thread. Not all Ardennes are Fat. Well 10 years on, after a huge battle with CPL. Which when l bought her , had never heard of CPL. PTS age 11 years last week. CPL started when she was about 6 years old, tried all sorts of treatments. CPL plus flies , the lymphedema and maggots suddenly overwhelmed her body. Horrific to witness. CPL is the most awful disease ever. I would not want anyone else to go through this. A huge percentage of these Belgian Drafts have this disease. Buyers beware.

 

[Widgeon]

I'm so sorry - that sounds just appalling.

I had a look and I'm amazed at the prevalence in Belgians.

Chronic Progressive Lymphedema in Belgian Draft Horses: Understanding and Managing a Challenging Disease

Chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL) is a condition with a significant impact on the health and welfare of the current draft horse population. Clinical signs are severe and primarily involve the progressive swelling of the distal portions of the legs, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Tulla 100]

Yes awful disease. At the end her legs looked sticky/wet, as the farrier was due, l hosed/washed them OMG the maggots coming out was horrific, plus she had a huge swelling on the chest, as the lymph system suddenly failed.

 

[SEL]

I'm so sorry. I think I saw your FB post. I lost my Ardennes to his arthritis a year ago and although he had CPL it thankfully never got that bad. I can still remember when we x-rayed his ringbone back in 2015 and I could see the skin and all the lumps on the x-ray. The vet said then she thought it was CPL but she'd never really seen it before. I'd never heard of it.

Sadly I suspect a lot of the Belgians being imported as cheap young stock may give their new owners an expensive shock down the line.

Very sad for you xx

 

[paddy555]

I'm so sorry. I too had never heard of it. Thanks for posting.

 

[Surbie]

It's a horrible disease. I knew a very heavy-feathered coblet with it, though not as severely as you describe. She was still really difficult to manage with how sore her legs got.

I am so sorry you lost yours so young.

 

[ycbm]

85%!

I'm so sorry you lost her to it, but thanks for the heads up about the prevalence of the disease. I can see the problems with the gene pool but I can't help wondering if it would be better to let the breed die out than to continue to breed with such a likelihood of pain and distress.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I'm so sorry! I love the Brabants but will certainly avoid Belgian Drafts in the future.

 

[shortstuff99]

It is a terrible disease! I love cobs but not sure if I will get anymore after my current one as they take so much managing with mites, mallenders, CPL, weight.

Not the easy starter horses everyone thinks they are!

 

[Glitter's fun]

"De Keyser et al. established a prevalence of 85.86% in the Belgian draft horse population, demonstrating the significant impact of CPL on the conservation of the breed .....
........... Belgian draft horses were incorporated as ancestors in draft horse breeds all over the world, and all these breeds now appear to be affected by CPL . Moreover, CPL also seems to be more prevalent in certain bloodlines. However, additional selection against a genetic disorder will be challenging without a further limiting genetic variation in the population."

 

[Glitter's fun]

"the condition has also been frequently observed in other breeds, such as in the Shires and Clydesdales , Gypsy Cobs and Gypsy Vanners , Friesians, the American Belgian, German draft horse breeds (the South German, the Black Forest, the Schleswig, the Saxon-Thuringian, the Rhenish-German, and the Mecklenburg) , the Percheron, the Ardennes, the Breton and Boulonnais, the Cheval de Trait Auxois , the Trait du Nord, the Trait Mulassier Poitevin, and the Comtois, as well as in several crossbreeds from the aforementioned breeds. Although no population-wide studies have been conducted on these susceptible breeds, the disease prevalence is expected to be high"

There are a lot of Clydesdales where I live. I don't hear this spoken of at all. Is it less prevalent than feared or are people afraid of admitting their line has it?

 

[shortstuff99]

"the condition has also been frequently observed in other breeds, such as in the Shires and Clydesdales , Gypsy Cobs and Gypsy Vanners , Friesians, the American Belgian, German draft horse breeds (the South German, the Black Forest, the Schleswig, the Saxon-Thuringian, the Rhenish-German, and the Mecklenburg) , the Percheron, the Ardennes, the Breton and Boulonnais, the Cheval de Trait Auxois , the Trait du Nord, the Trait Mulassier Poitevin, and the Comtois, as well as in several crossbreeds from the aforementioned breeds. Although no population-wide studies have been conducted on these susceptible breeds, the disease prevalence is expected to be high"

There are a lot of Clydesdales where I live. I don't hear this spoken of at all. Is it less prevalent than feared or are people afraid of admitting their line has it?

Most people don't even know their horse has it until they take the feathers off.

 

[Tulla 100]

Thanks everyone. But even today looking through various websites, many Belgian Drafts in the UK are for sale £4000 upwards. Folks say aren't they wonderful , l want one etc etc. Yes they are until a few years later when they become your worst horrific nightmare. As l said Buyer Be Very Aware. That's me done on this subject.

 

[Wizpop]

I’ve recently become aware of CPL having bought a traditional cob who has it, although thankfully very mild. A high percentage of cobs do have CPL although possibly unrecognised if the cob still has its feathers. It remains unrecognised by many vets sadly, and is often diagnosed as mud fever or”just typical cobs legs”. It can be managed, although time consuming and often doesn’t need the vet to prescribe.

I’m not necessarily a big Facebook group fan, but will fully recommend a very excellent group on there, more like a very well researched website: Chronic Progressive Lymphangitis. I’ve learned so much from joining this group and would recommend all cob owners to join and read as the knowledge o& this horrible condition needs to be widely shared for the sake of the horses.

 

[Tulla 100]

Yes they are good