Share
The skeleton of the Arabian stallion Bairactar Or. Ar. (1813-1838) in the Stud Museum Offenhausen in Germany. A tooth from this skeleton was used for DNA analysis, and he was eliminated as the purported source of Warmblood fragile foal syndrome. Photo: Stephan Kube
A study in which 4081 horses from 38 breeds were tested for the gene responsible for Warmblood fragile foal syndrome found an overall prevalence of 4.9%.
Warmblood fragile foal syndrome is a recessive disorder, caused by a variant in the PLOD1 gene. Being recessive, it must be inherited from each parent for the condition to emerge in foals.
Affected foals are either naturally aborted, stillborn, or euthanized. The distressing syndrome causes defects in connective tissue, meaning affected foals have hyper-extendible, abnormally thin, fragile skin that tears easily.