01/23/2024
Something to watch for in Poco Bueno lines.
It is breeding season,if your mare is not tested, then make sure the stud is at least 5 panel clean . Your mare can be a carrier and breed to a neg panel stud and the foal will be fine but 2 copies of herda and it's a nightmare .
Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA), also known as hyperelastosis cutis (HC), is an inherited connective tissue disorder. It weakens the collagen fibers that holds the skin of the horse onto the rest of the animal. Affected horses have extremely fragile skin that tears easily and does not heal well. There is no cure. Most affected individuals receive an injury and cannot heal, and are euthanized. Many injuries occur from day to day activities such as riding the horse, driving the horse, and horses playing in the field with each other. The skin is so fragile that the saddle can rip it from the underlying tissue. Managed breeding strategy is currently the only option for reducing the incidence of the disease.
The disease is found primarily in the American Quarter Horse, specifically in cutting horse lines. Affected horses have been found to trace to the stallion Poco Bueno, or possibly, farther back to one of his ancestors. Researchers have now named four deceased Quarter Horse stallions that were carriers and produced at least one affacted HERDA foal; they are Dry Doc, Doc O'Lena, Great Pine, and Zippo Pine Bar. These stallions all trace to Poco Bueno through his son and daughter Poco Pine and Poco Lena. Other breeds affected are the American Paint Horse (APHA), and the Appaloosa (ApHC) and any other breed registry that allows outcrossing to AQHA horses. There are DNA tests available to determine if horses are negative, a carrier, or affected. It is highly recommended that breeding pairs have this genetic test to avoiding mating carriers to each other.
