Last week I sent away for a genetic testing kit for myself.
Why?…
Because my parents never embraced their heritage so I don’t really know much about mine.
You see, my mother, who was born on a Chippewa Reservation in Minnesota, repeatedly tells my brother and I that we are not Chippewa. Or, not much, anyway…
??
Same with my father who was 100% Sicilian. He was born here to immigrant parents who never spoke English and my Dad was determined to assimilate. My father went on to become a dentist, speak perfect (non-accented) English and to – essentially – never look back.
Hmmmmmm.
Why do I want to know my roots when both of my parents would rather forget?
I just do.
So, I sent away for the kit.
It arrived today and I dutifully followed the instructions.
Soon I will know.
But, then I got to thinking…
This is the genetic kit I am mailing in the morning…
BUT THEN I GOT TO THINKING…
I have 5 horses here who I have no idea their genetic identity.
Oh I can guess… but I don’t know.
Well, I kind-of know about Remi because when I adopted her from the BLM they told me that the blood they took from her gather indicated that the Oregon herd had a lot of Walking Horse in it.
Hmmmm.
I wonder how they knew that because…
We can be genetically test for genetic heritage in dogs and human…
But not for horses – yet.
They’ve finished the genome discoveries, but they haven’t done the breed studies yet.
Bummer!
WHAT THEY DO KNOW…
What they do know is pretty cool.
I found sites that will test for equine color and certain diseases and lots of other avenues and discovery paths that I had to list because some are common while others obscure.
Maybe this will help some of you.
Here are a few that I found during my research:
Click image to go to this site
Click image to go to site
more
Click image to go to site
Another…
This is brand new!
FASCINATING STUDIES
I stumbled upon this site. These folks are very dedicated. They are the ones who are really taking apart the equine genome and partnering with many for case studies.
Maybe some particular information about a particular trait listed below might help your horse?
This looked promising… But upon review, this group did qualify the genome, but not for breed discovery…
THIS IS A VARIETY OF STUDIES HAPPENING NOW
This is a list of studies happening now… you can go to the site now to learn more.
| Cerebellar Abiotrophy | Arabian | University of California – Davis |
| Cervical Stenotic Myelopathy | Thoroughbred | University of Kentucky |
| Chronic Progressive Lymphedema | Belgian, Shire, Clydesdale | University of California – Davis |
| Contracted Foal Syndrome | Thoroughbred | University of Kentucky |
| Cytogenetic Abnormalities/Infertility | Thoroughbred, others | University of Kentucky |
| Dwarfism | Miniature | University of Kentucky |
| Extreme Lordosis | Saddlebred | University of Kentucky |
| Immune Mediated Myopathy | Quarter Horse | University of Minnesota/ Texas A&M |
| Fell Pony Syndrome | Fell Pony | Texas A & M, Uppsala |
| Fertility and Reproduction | Various | University of Hannover, Germany |
| Fracture and Tendon Injury | Thoroughbred | Animal Health Trust,?Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom |
| Laminitis | Thoroughbred | University of Kentucky |
| Lavender Foal | Arabian | Cornell University |
| Musculo-Skeletal Defects | French breeds | INRA, France |
| Navicular Disease | Warmblood | University of Hannover, Germany |
| Osteochondrosis Dissicans | Dutch Warmblood | University College Dublin, Ireland |
| Osteochondrosis Dissicans | Thoroughbred | Animal Health Trust, United Kingdom |
| Osteochondrosis Dissicans | Hannoverian Warmblood | University of Hannover, Germany |
| Osteochondrosis Dessicans | Standardbred, Quarter Horse, Belgian | University of Minnesota/?Norwegian Veterinary School |
| Pasture-Associated Laminitis | Ponies and others | Virginia Technical University |
| Photosensitive Trichothiodystrophy | Curly Horse | Texas A & M University |
| Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy 2 | Quarter Horse | University of Minnesota |
| Recurrent Airway Obstruction | Swiss Warmblood | University of Berne, Switzerland/?Animal Health Trust, United Kingdom |
| Recurrent Airway Obstruction | Quarter Horse | Michigan State University,?Cornell University |
| Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis | Thoroughbred | Animal Health Trust, United Kingdom |
| Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis | Thoroughbred | University of Minnesota |
| Recurrent Uveitis | Appaloosa | University of Minnesota/?Texas A&M University |
| Sarcoid Tumors | Quarter Horses | Cornell University |
| Shivers Muscle Tremors | Belgian | University of Minnesota |
| Stereotypic behavior (Cribbing) | Thoroughbred, Quarter horse, others | University of California – Davis |
| Suspensory Ligament Desmitis | Paso Fino | Texas A&M University |
| White Markings | Swiss Franches Montagnes | University of Berne, Switzerland |
Gene Expression Projects
| Maturation and Repair of Articular Cartilage | Various | University of Kentucky |
| Allergic Eczema | Icelandic | Swedish Agricultural University |
| Alternations of Maternal Immunity During Pregnancy | Various | Cornell University |
| Athletic Performance | Trotters | Swedish Agricultural University |
| Common Variable Immunodeficiency | Various | Cornell University |
| Early Embryonic Development | Various | Texas A&M University |
| Equine Placental Development | Various | Cornell University |
| Fertility and Reproduction | Various | University of Hannover, Germany |
| Immunity to Equine Herpes Virus Type 1 | Various | Cornell University |
| Immunity to Rhodococcus equi in foals | Various | Cornell University |
| Improved Safety of Intra-articular?Glucocorticoid Therapy | Various | University of Kentucky |
| Muscle Response to Exercise | Thoroughbred | University College Dublin, Ireland |
| Osteochondrosis Dessicans | Standardbred | University of Minnesota/?Norwegian Veterinary School |
| Recurrent Airway Obstruction | Various | Cornell University |
| Recurrent Airway Obstruction | Warmblood | University of Berne, Switzerland/?Animal Health Trust, United Kingdom |
| Recurrent Airway Obstruction | Quarter Horse, others | Michigan State University |
| Studies of Equine Allergic Diseases | Various | Cornell University |
| Suspensory Ligament Desmitis | Paso Fino | Texas A&M University |
PRETTY COOL, EH?
Someday soon, hopefully, we will be able to test for breeds….
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
I think that’s great that you sent in the kit! I am very proud of my heritage and while I’m not a manic genealogist, I have studied the family trees others have put together and know very much whence I come – at least on my dad’s side. Actually, this came about because my membership is pending in the Daughters of the American Revolution! :-) (My I-don’t-remember-how-many-Greats Grandfather was named George Washington Fream, since his dad fought under the General himself in the War). Both grandparents on Dad’s side come from very, very old New Jersey families.
On my mom’s side, I know I’m half French and half Danish. The Danish Great-Grandparents came directly from Denmark. The French Great-Grandparents were actually French Canadian. Hmm, I need to grill my mother some more about her mother’s parents…
As far as my kids, they know their dad’s dad’s family have all lived in Western Kentucky for a long time. My FIL is related to half of Trigg County. But where they came from before KY is a dead end. Nobody cares, either – they’ve lived in KY since the early 1800s and that’s good enough! :-) On Hubby’s mom’s side, it’s worse – I can’t even find out a thing about her own parents. The only interesting tidbit we’ve ever been given is that somewhere along the line there was a Cherokee Indian. This I could easily believe as my husband, his mother and his sister had jet-black hair (all grey now) and still have kind of what I call an “Indian eye-set.” But I’ve never been able to pin down the exact relationship.
That’s very curious that although your mom was born on the Chippewa Res. she claims she’s not American Indian, so you aren’t either. ?? If it was me, I’d sure want to know for college scholarship purposes, if nothing else! And your dad is a bit of an anomaly as well – the Italians I know (I grew up with MANY in NJ) are all very proud to be of that descent. BUT, they were all at least third-generation… I guess having parents who spoke no English was difficult for your dad.
Sometimes there are mystery’s within a family that have meant to be remain a mystery. Like being taught to call some family members Aunt and Uncle…and there’s always a crazy Uncle…only to find out years later that he was an actual Uncle.
But your background is quite interesting and it will be more interesting to see the follow up story.
How long do you have to wait for results?