Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Wine Country/Gastroguard

> Heidi, I find it really interesting that you, as a vet
> and a breeder, would bring up genetics in a conversation
> when they are just beginning to scratch the surface of
> what will be revealed by the scoping studies.  We do not
> have any real hard data yet to support any of your
> conclusions, therefore anything that you claim here is
> still in the realm of theory.

Sure, a lot of it is still theory.  But the bottom line remains that it has
been interesting to observe over the years that the horses who exhibit
ulcer-like symptoms (much like your horse has done) are often related, and
that the ones who virtually never exhibit such symptoms are likewise also
often related.

It's too bad that more vets who are observing these horses weekend after
weekend aren't also interested in the subject of genetics in general and
population genetics in particular.  There sure do seem to be some
interesting trends.  It's also interesting to share one's medical
observations with equine geneticists from time to time.  Alas, veterinary
school does virtually nothing to educate future veterinarians about the
effects that genetics have on both performance and disease (other than
memorizing lists of breeds with predispositions to certain specific diseases
and syndromes).  Many practitioners write off problems as "environmental"
(read "management") that do, indeed, have familial patterns, and visa versa.

Heidi


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