This video has no words

Freeek!!:eek:

That's some seriously abnormal muscle development. Very 'Impressive' :rolleyes:

They look like beef bulls, why would anyone want a horse like that? Only in America, huh.
 
You only have to look at the pedigree to see why this horse is the way he is; he's linebred to Impressive, Conclusive and also has Skipper W in his pedigree. He is negative for HYPP so is allowed to be bred from and to be honest, although he's not my type of AQHA, he will appeal to loads of AQHA breeders.

The youngsters posted are conformationally incorrect. Period.
 
JFTD said:
This is true. Mutation in gene encoding growth regulator.

Double muscling is a commonly used term for it though :)
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Sorry, I'd posted before I saw your post :o It is the common term :) This is a whippet (yes!) with the same condition. I don't see any advantages for breeding horses like this and I wonder what health issues come with it.

http://www.cobankopegi.com/b/fasterwhippetbully.jpg
 
@doriangray, was thinking the exact same thing when watching, a Bully Whippet!
Poor horse , really shouldn't breed from horses with this condition or bully whippets :( the effects on their health can't be good at all
 
Spring Feather said:
You only have to look at the pedigree to see why this horse is the way he is; he's linebred to Impressive, Conclusive and also has Skipper W in his pedigree. He is negative for HYPP so is allowed to be bred from and to be honest, although he's not my type of AQHA, he will appeal to loads of AQHA breeders.

The youngsters posted are conformationally incorrect. Period.
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Yes, he's negative for the muscle tremor but he's positive for the genetic defect which causes abnormal muscle growth because it is abnormal. Just watching the video you can see that his movement is restricted because of the way he is built. I just find it sad that this kind of thing has found its way into the show ring. At least with the cattle you could argue that you are doubling the meat output :o
 
That is one fat horse.
It moves awfully, doesn't even nearly track up trotting in that video.

Don't know why anyone would breed from it o.o
 
Not a fan of that, at all. :(

I have a friend with a quarter horse who looks quite normal. What idiot thought to selectively breed for this mutation?
 
Spring Feather said:
Oh right. What's the name of this genetic defect?
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It is a mutation in the myostatin gene. Myostatin is a growth inhibitor which is probably the simplest way of looking at it. I had only heard of this being actively bred for in bovines - for obvious reasons. But it comes with all sorts of problems notably reproductive. I had no idea that it was being bred for in horses, I can't see the advantages.
 
Can I just add that the Quarter Horse is supposed to be a muscular breed and I understand that and I think they are super horses. I also understand that they are probably bred to enhance this musculature - but I'd be very surprised if some of these super-muscled animals do not have the gene mutation. I can't prove it of course ;)
 
doriangrey said:
It is a mutation in the myostatin gene. Myostatin is a growth inhibitor which is probably the simplest way of looking at it. I had only heard of this being actively bred for in bovines - for obvious reasons. But it comes with all sorts of problems notably reproductive. I had no idea that it was being bred for in horses, I can't see the advantages.
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Interesting. I looked it up (being the non-genetic minded person that I am :) ) but I could only find reference to it in Thoroughbreds. I wasn't able to find any links with AQHAs and it though.
 
All QH's are not bred for Halter. Reining and cutting people would not be seeking these lines for working horses. Same with racing QH's. They have lots of TB. The great Storm Cat covered via AI QH's. Just a few but he did. So saying all QH's look like this isn't quite correct.

Terri
 
Spring Feather said:
Interesting. I looked it up (being the non-genetic minded person that I am :) ) but I could only find reference to it in Thoroughbreds. I wasn't able to find any links with AQHAs and it though.
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Well, I'm not particularly genetically minded, and the only reason this caught my eye was I had come across the double-muscle bovine - in fact some of them will be at our local show next weekend! What I should have said is that I believe that these super-muscled animals be it horse or cow have this gene mutation or it can be chemically induced, in fact body builders can buy myostatin inhibitors. I don't know what research has been done on particular breeds of equines. Imo the horse in the vid looks grossly over-muscled and I'm not sure that selective breeding (or even intensive training) can recreate that look. He certainly doesn't move as freely as a normally muscled horse, in fact he looks knackered just carrying himself around! In any case I don't think it's illegal so if people want their horses to look like that so be it.
 
I've owned quite a few Impressive AQHAs and although anyone who knows anything about AQHAs could spot they are Impressive horses a mile away, none of mine were as muscled as Impressive stallions I've seen, but then mine were all mares and geldings so I guess they maybe don't muscle up in the same way as stallions do. Depending on the bloodlines, we've had some very muscley AQHA foals born on my farm; many did not have Impressive, Conclusive or Skipper W in their lines.
 
but how could a horse of such huge overbearing mass, on such tiny spindly legs, ever carry a rider when he can barely move under his own size? :confused:
 
Alainax,

There aren't called halter horses for nothing. Generally these don't go on to ridden horses. There are athletic QH's bred that are sane and sound.

Terri
 
yup not bred for riding, bred to stand in front of a sponsors sign with lots of owners and a garland round their neck ;)
 
Ah, but this is America, where everything gets "improved" beyond recognition. I left the States 20 + years ago, when AQHA halter horses were already being bred to be functionally unsound. THIS is beyond belief, and just completely wrong. Poor, poor horses. Humans have a lot to answer for.
 
They can have a double layer of muscles so it's probably muscle rather than fat. Still looks obscene though.
 
What I find sad is that an essential part of the horse has been removed, the beauty of its movement. I'm not saying that only athletic horses can move well but I doubt any horse like this will ever be able to express itself properly through the sheer joy of being a horse like bucking and farting, galloping and just generally messing around. Can they roll and get back up? They look so weird especially as horses have no muscle below the knees and hocks so the bigger the muscle gets the spindlier (is that even a word?) these areas look. How much strain on the tendons I wonder? Have to agree with posters, what a beautiful refined head.
 
That horse is way overweight - it is fed for the show ring and over time folk can't tell the difference between a fat horse and a horse with muscle.

Horses do build muscle but the amount depends on the exercise they do and I haven't yet seen one body building in the local gym :)

No matter what the breed - horses are not meant to look like cows.

The fatness test will be to see if;
1. it can roll and
2. how difficult it is for it to get back up onto it's feet again afterwards.

Look at Pigeon's horse - just right - free moving and has beauty and elegance to boot, oh and muscle in the right places.
 
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I think that you will find that the amount of muscle many halter horses carry is not related to the amount of exercise they do. Because generally they can't :p.
 
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