DNA My Horse

02/22/2024

FUN FACT FRIDAY! Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice, good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
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Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

01/20/2024

Przewalski horses cloned from a stallion that died in 1998 could help reintroduce much needed diversity to the species that was once declared extinct in the wild...

Przewalski horses cloned from a stallion that died in 1998 could help reintroduce much needed diversity to the species that was once declared extinct in the wild.

01/18/2024

Go on and tag your "honey" or share this post and let them know what you want for Valentine's Day this year... a horse breed DNA test!

See the link in our bio for more info and how to purchase a test!

01/10/2024

The Bhimthadi equines, an integral part of the cavalry of the Maratha army in the 17th and 18th centuries, have finally been documented as an independent breed. It was not acknowledged among the seven recognized breeds of India till now. A mission which began in 1996 by Baramati-based Ranjeet Pawar has paved the way for the revival of this native breed, known for its endurance and strength.

Used by the Maratha army in its cavalry, the horse’s endurance and strength is exemplary

12/21/2023

The introduction of horses to South America led to a rapid social and economic transformation, researchers report.

“Perhaps nowhere in the ancient world was the impact of domestic horses on human societies more impactful than in the plains and foothills of the Southern Cone of South America after the onset of European colonization"...

"These results reinforce emerging evidence for rapid indigenous-mediated dispersal of horses in the Americas and demonstrate that horses catalyzed rapid economic and social transformations."

12/06/2023

The Faroe Islands’ unique horses are at risk of dying out. Their advocates are considering using Icelandic mares as surrogates in order to save the breed.

Faroese horses (also called Faroese ponies) share many similarities with their Icelandic relatives, though they are slightly smaller. Both breeds share the ambling gait known as the tölt and grow shaggy winter coats that they shed again in the spring. DNA analyses in 1978 and 2003 have established that the Faroese horse is indeed its own breed, and that the Icelandic horse is its closest relative.

Icelandic mares could save the closely-related Faroese horse breed from dying out by serving as surrogates.

12/04/2023

Researchers who investigated Russia’s horse breeds have warned of the need to find ways to preserve genetic diversity within native breeds.

“Scientific and technological progress, along with historical factors, have had a significant impact on indigenous horse populations,” Mikhail Atroshchenko and his fellow researchers said.

“There is a risk of permanently losing not only the horse breeds themselves, but also the monuments of the historical development of mankind, that include not only artworks and architecture, but also the unique genomic architecture of animal breeds."

The unique genomic architecture of animal breeds need to be preserved, they say, as they represent monuments of the historical development of mankind.

11/30/2023

💋 Pucker up. Giving your horse a quick kiss on the muzzle can reveal important information about his health. >>bit.ly/EQKissYourHorse

11/19/2023

11/14/2023

Great practical information courtesy of the horse doctors at Barrow Veterinary Service:

NORMAL: NOT JUST A SETTING ON THE DRYER!
If your horse seems a little "off," do you know what his "normal" is? One of the best ways you can determine if your horse is ill is to know his normal vitals—temperature, breaths per minute, heart rate, and capillary refill time. If they are outside the normal range, a call to your equine veterinarian is definitely warranted! Any refusal to eat a meal or to get up from a recumbent position is also a clue that you and your equine friend need assistance.

11/12/2023

Get the ultimate holiday gift for your loved ones - or treat yourself!

For more info on the horse breed DNA test with free parentage search please visit our website: https://dnamyhorse.com

12/18/2022

Need a last minute gift idea? Give the gift of a horse breed DNA test!

Our favorite way to gift one of our tests is to give the giftee a little model horse that looks like their horse. We then place a handwritten tag around the horse that says "Find out your horse's breed with a DNA breed test" along with printed DNA Submission Sheet.