|
|
Post by Heather T on Aug 8, 2006 21:15:22 GMT -5
BRANDI DOES NOT HAVE CUSHINGS!!!! Yee ha!!!! I know some of you think I'm nuts, and actually I am, BUT Brandi is an absolute doll and everytime we would talk about her leaving she would come up to me and lick my hand. I knew she didn't want to leave and now she doesn't have to. We still need to address the thyroid issue, which isn't terrible - but she can be bred next year - yee ha!!!!! She has beautiful babies and she's a wonderful mare. She was excited to hear all this too - and licked my hand. Hmmmm....maybe I need to wash the molasses off of them  |
|
tinypony
Groom
^^ my pony mollie!
Posts: 764
|
Post by tinypony on Aug 8, 2006 21:18:51 GMT -5
heather that's awesome news!!! i'm so excited for you!!! and as far as brandi is concered you can keep the molasses on lol
|
|
|
|
Post by Regret on Aug 8, 2006 23:32:12 GMT -5
Wonderful news, Heather! Congrats! At least with thyroid problems, there are medications that can help out!
|
|
Melanie
Global Moderator
My Doxie baby!!! Nina Lou....
Posts: 3,173
|
Post by Melanie on Aug 8, 2006 23:57:47 GMT -5
Yeah Heather!!! I'm so excited to hear this.. Hugs to Brandi too. Poor girl with thyroid issues.. I can relate.. ugghh Hoping she gets all straightened out real soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by twnpnds on Aug 9, 2006 0:36:24 GMT -5
What wonderful news Heather! Oh happy day!!! Might think of adding a little apple or carrot to that molasses. LOL.
|
|
|
|
Post by redmustangwoman1 on Aug 9, 2006 7:42:19 GMT -5
Oh Heather,I am so so happy for you and Brandi...WOOHOO.....
|
|
|
|
Post by Steph @ Elements on Aug 9, 2006 8:33:59 GMT -5
Heather, There is an absolutely incredible list that you can join on Yahoo Groups called EquineRepro and the subject of getting and keeping mares in foal with thyroid issues has been addressed extensively there! You can join and then search the archives for all sorts of incredible information from some of the top equine repro specialists in the world!  |
|
|
|
Post by meghan2006 on Aug 9, 2006 8:35:20 GMT -5
Woo Hoo!
Glad she's Fine!
|
|
loriaz
Fly Swatter
Lean On Me
Posts: 15
|
Post by loriaz on Aug 9, 2006 9:40:54 GMT -5
Conratulations Heather!! That has to be a huge relief!!
|
|
pahobs
Outhouse Monitor
Posts: 227
|
Post by pahobs on Aug 9, 2006 11:44:50 GMT -5
What great news about Brandi! Gotta love that lickin' from her - what a sweetie!
|
|
|
|
Post by saddlebredlover on Aug 10, 2006 3:06:48 GMT -5
Absolutely fabulous news, Heather!!! WOO HOO!!!!! More Brandi watching for us!!! I can't wait!!  Things are finally looking up for ya! |
|
|
|
Post by Heather T on Aug 10, 2006 7:37:34 GMT -5
There is an absolutely incredible list that you can join on Yahoo Groups called EquineRepro and the subject of getting and keeping mares in foal with thyroid issues has been addressed extensively there! You can join and then search the archives for all sorts of incredible information from some of the top equine repro specialists in the world! Thank you! How do you go about finding the group? Would you just go to the groups and do a search by equine thyroid? I'd love to look them up. |
|
|
|
Post by terryd on Aug 10, 2006 15:27:04 GMT -5
Heather, my mother had a paso fino mare for years that had a thyroid problem and as long as she got her medication she carried many healthy foals for her. (I'm thinking 8-9 foals total) The only draw back she seemed to pass the thyroid problem to some of them but not all. And depending on how you look at it, it was worth it to us to breed her as she had wonderful foals that were easy to handle and train and showed great. I wonder if paso's and minis may be more prone to thyroid problems because they require such small amounts of feed and we tend to overfeed their requirements. Not meaning you personally, I mean as a whole I think we sometimes overfeed what a horse actually needs. Course that is nothing but a theory.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather T on Aug 10, 2006 19:41:54 GMT -5
Oh believe me - until this year, I definitely over fed. My mares looked pregnant all year and my trainers say that I still overfeed, but I'm not willing to cut back anymore at this time. They only get 1 cup of feed once a day and then their hay. They've dropped weight and they look great - probably better than they have since they arrived, except for those that were too thin when they got here - they get extra So - I can guarantee that if Brandi has a thyroid issue I probably caused it. She was anemic when she arrived, but I'm not sure if that's a side effect or not. She has a thick neck....which I guess is the first indication of thyroid issues. And someone told me, if we didn't breed a horse for fear of passing on a bad trait - we'd never breed any of them because none are perfect. I don't know that I agree with that totally as there are some things that just shouldn't be passed on, but I'm hoping that the thyroid issue is a small one. |
|
|
|
Post by risingrainbow on Aug 10, 2006 21:15:06 GMT -5
Genetics is one of my things. They're so intriguing! So here's what I know about breeding horses with issues like the thyroid thing, CID, etc.
As for the question of whether or not you breed any horse with this type of issue, you have to consider the health of your entire gene pool. When you choose to not breed , that decision has ramifications on the entire gene pool of your breed, not just your herd.
Many desireable traits are recessive and any restrictions on breeding have a big affect on those recessive genes. We don't know enough about the role of many, many genes to be able to understand how they work, what comibinations have to hook up, etc to create the perfect horse or even a black horse. Genes are still a very new frontier. What we do know is that recessive genes play a major role in what each individual is like. There are desireable recessive genes as well as undesireable recessive genes. I would think if a thyroid problem mare does not always produce thyroid problem foals, then the issue is caused by a recessive gene or combination.
While I don't know the specifics on cristeria etc for registering a mini, I do know to produce one, you have made breeding choices that have restricted certain types of genes. Any time a gene pool is restricted, it becomes vulnerable. along with the undesireable genes, good ones have been eliminated as well. What that means is, you don't want to restrict your gene pool, if you don't have to. For me as an Arabian breeder, it means I would never breed a CID carrier to a carrier but on the other hand I would never eliminate a horse from the gene pool just because it was a carrier. Our gene pool is the smallest, most closed gene pool of any breed of horse and we can't afford to be loosing any desireable recessive genes. To do so, could cause great harm to the breed that might not be understood for generations and yet would be impossible to fix.
What this translates to is it's not a bad thing to breed a mare with issues that she only passes on to part of her offspring if she is a quality individual and has other good things to offer the breed. But her issues need to be considered when choosing a mate.
If you have an issues that is always passed on (which is very rare) then that wouldn't be good and should be avoided for sure. Otherwise, you would be careful in selecting a mate to be sure you weren't breeding your mare to a stallion that had the tendency to produce daughters with thyroid issues or comes from bloodlines with them.(like I wouldnt breed a CID carrier to another carrier) If you selected a stallion with that tendency, you would be increasing your odds of getting a problem foal. . So obviously, you'd research bloodlines of any stud you were interested in to be sure you're staying away from the possibility of doubling up on those unwanted genes. This would keep the risk of producing foals with the problem to an absolute minimum
Hope I haven't confused anyone. Genetics are so complicated.
|
|
Things are finally looking up for ya!