High Westgarth Farm brood mares, offspring and stallions.

28/01/2025

Must admit so many people don't focus on this when they are warming up. Nervousness or simply too focused on horses but when your competing a stallion it gets dangerous 😳

23/01/2025

Does anyone else stop and rewind these programs no matter how old. Just in case there's something you didn't know.

22/01/2025

We don't breed greys at all, but good read.

Do breeders still breed grey horses together?

This was the question asked by our Studbook’s geneticist today, and sadly we had to tell her that yes unfortunately they do.

The Warlander Studbook’s overreaching policy is to create a ‘healthy’ herd book that is free of genetic issues. We do this by education and mandatory testing of known carrier lines where the parents have not been tested.

Quite recently, the Fenway Foundation revealed that over half of Friesians carry the Foundation Chromosome (Chromosome 3) that indicates a horse can get Megaesophagus. Other secondary chromosomes are required and one has been found and its name is Chromosome 9. This will not affect the Warlander in the first generation however; second and subsequent generations that carry a high percentage of Friesian blood could have the propensity to be carriers. We believe that a test will be developed for this and that plans will be made to protect the future of the Friesian breed through testing as was done for Friesian dwarfism and hydrocephalus.

The Warlander Studbook will incorporate a health plan for this issue into our herd book when we have more information

Now this leads us back to the original question – Do people still breed grey horses together?

A problem that has surrounded all breeds with grey horses is melanoma and even before testing, it became evident that breeding two grey horses together could result in progeny with two copies of the grey gene which put them in a higher risk category of developing melanoma.

That being said, not all grey horses develop melanoma and breeder experience and research indicates it could be in certain bloodlines.

For anyone who has experienced melanoma it can lead to early mortality and we have seen horses as young as yearlings whose exteriors are riddled with melanoma and are inoperable which only begs the question as to what is going on inside them. Other horses may make it to midlife before developing melanoma, often in the tail, which sometimes has to be removed… and some with melanoma make it old age but their lumps and bumps have to be carefully managed to avoid infection.

UC Davis has identified two different variants of the Grey gene, G2 and G3, which affect horses differently. G2 causes them to grey out at a slower rate. G3 causes more rapid greying and also increases the risk of melanomas.

This is a huge breakthrough as it will allow breeders to make more ethical choices about what breeding stock they use.

The Warlander Studbook Society is working with our geneticist to develop a plan for our members to utilise this testing world-wide in order to make it an important selection criteria for suitable matings.

As a first step, we will be making testing of grey breeding stock (mares and stallions) mandatory at Assessment when horses are moved from the foal to adult book.

Once we have developed the full plan to ensure our herd book is ‘Melanoma free’, we will keep you all posted.

Lastly, we send a strong message to all would be purchasers of grey Warlander horses (whether they are registered or not), particularly if both the parents of the horse are grey is to find out the genetic status of the parents from the breeder.

Responsible breeders ensure that their matings are based on fact and science in order to minimise the risk to the foal.

This post is 'not' an attack on grey horses. Most people in the Warlander Studbook own and love them. It is about using the opportunities to make better breeding decisions. To be ethical and educated breeders. Pictured is a heterozygous Warlander, he still got melanoma so it is not a simple matter of how many grey genes they carry - it is whether they carry the extra gene. Now that there is a test our hope is that there will be 'more' healthy grey horses in our herd book in the future.

21/01/2025

Look what Jill Britton has just sent me.
Good read

INDIVIDUAL STABLING FOUND TO ALTER IMMUNE RESPONSE

Research has found that horses moved from group housing to individual stabling showed changes in their white blood cell counts and plasma cortisol levels. These changes could mean they are at a higher risk of infectious disease.

Equine scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany studied 12 warmblood geldings aged 2-3 years old during several management changes, monitoring their behaviour and immune response.

The horses used were all living in a group, turned out at pasture. For the first part of the study the group was then split into two, each kept in a separate paddock so that the horses in one group could not see the others. After a trial period of eight days all the horses were returned to their original group, living together. They were then were left out at pasture for eight weeks.

For the second part of the study the horses were all moved into individual stables, where they could see and touch their neighbours through bars. During the first week of being stabled, the horses were given 30 minutes of turnout in an indoor area. From the second week onwards, the horses were lunged.

Throughout the study the research team collected blood samples from the horses to analyse their immune cell numbers and cortisol concentrations.

The results showed that moving the horses to individual stabling led to acute stress-induced immune changes. However, dividing the larger group into two smaller groups at pasture did not.

“The number of eosinophils, monocytes and T cells declined, whereas the number of neutrophils increased resulting in an increased N:L ratio. This pattern of change resembles the well-known picture of an immunomodulation induced by acute social stress."

The plasma cortisol concentrations didn’t change after dividing the group into the two smaller groups at pasture, but there was an increase in cortisol concentrations one day after stabling which then returned to the previous levels eight days later. However, the researchers reported that “Although cortisol concentrations returned to baseline level after 8 days, the alterations in most immune cell numbers persisted, pointing to a longer-lasting effect on the immune system of the horses."

The team also found that some of the horses started to perform stereotypical behaviours as soon as one week after stabling.

The team reported that the results “strongly indicate that social isolation is a chronic stressor with negative impact on welfare and health of horses and highlight the advantage of group housing systems in view of immunocompetence."

The researchers concluded that “relocation to individual stabling represented an intense stressor for the horses of the present study, leading to acute and lasting alterations in blood counts of various leukocyte types. In contrast, fission of the stable group did not result in behavioural, endocrine or immunological stress responses by the horses."

This sudden change from group turnout to individual stabling with training being introduced is a very common scenario for horses being started for the first time. This study gives us yet more evidence that stabling horses individually is stressful for them and detrimental to their physical and psychological wellbeing. The majority of the horses I see are stabled for the bulk of the day. I do wonder how much evidence is needed before horse owners, yard owners and professionals act on this information and change their management to increase turnout and group living...

The research is free to access and is a very interesting read: Schmucker S, Preisler V, Marr I, Krüger K, Stefanski V (2022) Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272445.

21/01/2025

For everyone worried about Gastroparesis and Gastric rupture. I don't know what percentage of the Friesian population has the genes that make them predisposed to this gastroparesis condition. The Fenway / Kentucky university studies are currently on megaoesophagus.
However at High Westgarth Farm we haven't experienced neither atm, it leads us to hope that keeping a Friesian at grass and feeding mash feeds helps greatly. I was told by an old school vet a long time ago that horses on grass full time grass don't get ulcers and I have read recently that grass stimulates gut movement. So lets keep our Friesians as close to nature as possible and love them for many years to come.

Any colic type symptoms with full Friesians should be taken seriously due to this condition.
I've been and bought more grass nuts, they are fab soaked.

These collagen conditions do not affect 1st cross F1 crossbreds. A cross between 2 purebred of different breeds are less likely pass on the diseased genes from both parents and secondary genes to get the condition.
I shouldn't say can't as if you read this other horses do carry thd genes too. Just not as high risk.

Research has indicated Friesians appear to be disproportionately affected by primary gastric rupture. One theory researchers have contemplated is that the increased presentation of primary gastric rupture in Friesians may be caused by gastric dysmotility as a result of a breed-specific collagen-rela...

21/01/2025

Which do you prefer and which does the horse prefer.
A or B?

I must admit separate paddocks is convenient for feeding. Also we know horses fight and kick and it causes us anxiety and vet bills.
However once a pecking order is established it stops and they settle. This is one of the reasons we don't take outside mares, as it causes upset and often ends up with a vet bill.
However even horses that are the bottom of the pecking order still prefer to be in a herd. They just stick to the outside.

21/01/2025

Which one would you have for your horse?
A or B.

We have A but B looks good doesn't it?
I know A is better for horse welfare but if I had the money I'd have both and use the stables for feeding only lol.

All the horses I have ever owned prefer A.

21/01/2025

Sounds about right.

19/01/2025

18/01/2025

The decision has been made at High Westgarth to stop breeding purebred Friesians due to the high carrier percentage of collagen related diseases in the breed. This was reported by Fenway last week.

The recent information from Fenway of 75% carry the chromosomes. 60% carrier and 15% infected for megaoesophagus is over whelming. Unfortunately science is behind on this and there is no DNA testing for these diseases atm. The team have just found the foundation chromosome that they believe is responsible but other chromosomes are needed too. Fenway Foundation for Friesian Horses and a specialist genetic team have been working on this for 4 years.

Megaoesophagus is only one of the diseases, there is also aortic rupture, gastroparesis and ligament injuries which are believed to be linked so there is a lot more work to do on genetics.

We have experienced in foals, failure to heal after hernia operations and it indicates on the podcast this could also be linked to the same collagen genes or it could of been a one off.

Unfortunately a customer has lost a purebred gelding to gastroparesis and ulcers which I hadn't heard of in horses till I was contacted a couple of weeks ago. DNA will be handed in to try and help if needed in the future.
This was the reason I put a post on asking if anyone else had any issues. It's great to find no more similar atm.

The 2 foals out of Tienke and Lucia in 2025 will be our last. Tienke's could be retained. We have 4 pure broodmares but we will not be selling any atm.

We will continue to outcross as there is less risk however the percentage of Friesian blood will be restricted. The risk of offspring getting the genes for F1 breeding (50% Friesian 50% another purebred like Andalusian) is almost zero. So if you are worried a crossbred has much less risks associated.

We will report any new data as it is accumulated. Genetics is a complicated subject and these conditions need more than one foundation chromosomes be passed onto offspring and then secondary chromosomes. So sometimes it will be passed on and other times it is not. Please listen to the podcast if you are concerned, I'm a learner too. It is on this page a few posts down or go to Fenway site. Link above.

Thank you.

17/01/2025

Anyone got any up to date photos of High Westgarth or Rosehill youngstock for me to add to the mares photo albums.
Please add to comments and ill collect from there.
Claude below, one of my parents breeding from old stock Kiestra lines.

You can also state if you are experiencing any difficulties with your horses health. We will stop breeding a pair of horses if they do not suit each other genetically.

Sweet itch for example I haven't heard of any of our foals getting it for maybe 10 years so please let us know on this thread or by private message.
Also report if your horse is healthy.

Thank you

17/01/2025

Helpful

Injection technique

10/01/2025

Lets discuss the average life of a Friesian

I've seen many posts stating 16 isn't correct.
So lets take a look. Lets say you have 10 horses and they died at the following ages. 1, 1, 5, 13, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

Its not too hard to see the few that die early bring your average down significantly. The above numbers have an average of 16.4 years of age.

Most of ours are early/ middle 20s but we have lost a foal due to hernia op and nearly 2 but pulled through and a mare during her first foaling at 5 years old. Watse my old Leffert son was 19. Roland our old stallion Age line was 23 and a few of the mares have been older.
I think its about right for an average however 16 isn't the age your horse is going to live too.

A human average lifespan globally is 67.2 years old.

I think some people think the 16 years average means years expected to live.

10/01/2025

In short to the best of my listening skills.
75% of Friesians have been found to carry the foundation chromosome that can lead to megaoesophagus. (Chromosome 3)
15% are infected so not all horses that carry or pass on the chromosomes catch the disease.
Secondary chromosomes are required to inherit the disease and these are still being studied. One secondary chromosome is chromosome 9.
One gene must come from each parent so a crossbred like an F1, offspring from two pure's can not contract the disease unless you are unfortunate enough to chose a breed who also carries the chromosomes.
F2 is more likely but less chance than a purebred.
Geldings /colts have a higher infected level than mares, maybe due to hormones.
I think 2025 will be our last year breeding pure Friesians, we have always bred more crosses and we like them more in every way.

🎙️NEW PODCAST EPISODE!! A new episode of the Friesian Advocate is out!

An important breakthrough has been made in our research to uncover the genetic inheritance of megaesophagus in Friesian horses! Join us as we discuss our latest findings and where the project is headed next with principal researcher Dr. Navid Yousefi from the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center.

🎧 Listen to the Friesian Advocate on any podcast platform or directly on our website: https://www.fenwayfoundation.com/the-friesian-advocate-podcast

08/01/2025

Need to make one.

Building a phantom mare (breeding mount) for stallions for collecting semen! Detailed plans for a homemade power-pole mount.

08/01/2025

This filly was called High Westgarth Aphrodite by her owner but after a change of circumstances, she is staying at least for a couple of weeks until passport is back but maybe longer.
We don't give them stable names when we have planned them to leave so can anyone think of an appropriate stable name for her?
I can't shorten Aphrodite.