Brooks Equine Genetics Research Lab
Gait Study FAQ
FAQ
1. What breeds are you looking for? Do you accept crosses?
We need all gaited breeds! We need Tennessee Walking Horses, Paso Finos, Rocky Mountain Horses, Missouri Fox Trotters, Icelandic horses, Peruvian Pasos, Racking horses, McCurdy Plantation horses, Mangalarga Marchadors, gaited Morgans, gaited American Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Tiger horses, etc. We need crosses as well! Crosses between gaited and non-gaited breeds where the offspring are gaited and where the offspring are not gaited are especially important.
2. Does my horse need to be registered?
No, your horse does not need to be registered, but it is important that we have a pedigree for your horse. We need to determine the relatedness of individual horses as well as any breed crosses. If your horse is unregistered, but you have the pedigrees of both the sire and dam, we can accept your horse.
3. Are you looking for full siblings and half siblings or unrelated horses?
We are looking for both. Both siblings and unrelated horses will help us identify the genes responsible for gait.
4. Are there any limitations on shoe size?
Currently, we don’t have any limitations on shoe size. For the initial part of the study, we prefer horses that are barefoot or wearing “normal” shoes to determine their natural gait preference. Horses wearing performance shoes in their video will need special consideration for their gait analysis and will be used later on in the study.
5. My horse has a few old injuries, can he still be used?
It is very important to note if your horse has any injuries and/or diseases. All of the body measurements are taken from the horse’s left side, so it is especially important to note any injuries on that side. You may take measurements from the horse’s right side if the injury to the left side has caused a structural abnormality. If your horse has an injury and/or disease (such as Navicular or DSLD) that affects the horse’s gait, we can still use your horse in the study, though we will be unable to perform the gait analysis. If you have video of your horse moving before the disease and/or injury, please send us that video (even if the video is of the horse as a yearling) as we can use that video for gait analysis.
6. Are there any age limitations?
We are accepting horses that are at least one year old or older. Yearlings (or mares that have been broodmares for their entire life) would be ideal for the study because their gait has not been influenced by training. However, it’s much harder to measure yearlings and there are more older horses available with more diverse blood lines.
7. Will there be specific results for my horse from this study?
There will not be any specific results for an individual horse. Your horse will be a representative of his or her breed, body type, and gait. We will group horses of similar body size/type and gait and, using their unique genetic information, determine the genes that help contribute to different gaits.
8. What are the costs associated with this study?
The study needs mostly your time and effort. There is a small postage fee to return completed kits with the average being $2 – $3 to return up to 10 kits.
9. How long does the video need to be?
The video only needs to be about 1 minute in total length. We need about 5 strides each of your horse walking towards you, walking away from you, and walking perpendicular to you. This pattern must be repeated again at gait. Each of the 6 segments only needs to be about 10 seconds long. For more specific instructions, please see the Gait Video Instruction sheet.
10. How long is the hair sample good for? Will I have to keep pulling fresh hair samples for the study?
Hair samples, if kept in a cool, dry place, will last for years. We keep all submitted hair samples in manila envelopes and store them out of direct sunlight. We do not recommend storing hair samples in plastic baggies for long term storage, as any trapped moisture will damage the sample. The minimum 30 hairs that you originally pull for the kit should last us through the duration of the study. It is best to pull hair instead of taking samples from a brush. Hair found on brushes tends to be broken and missing the hair bulb and there is the possibility for contamination from other horses.
11. Will I have to draw blood for my horse?
Blood draws are not necessary for this study. The hair that you pull from your horse’s mane or tail is sufficient for what we need. However, blood does yield more DNA with higher purity than hair, so we would certainly accept blood samples if you would like to send them. Please email or call the Brooks Lab to receive blood tubes and specific instructions.
12. Can you accept samples and measurements from other countries?
Yes! We can import hair and blood samples from many other countries. Please contact the Brooks Lab for more information.