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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Hereditary lethal arthrogryposis ("muscle contracture") in horses.

Journal:
Nordisk veterinaermedicin
Year:
1982
Authors:
Nes, N et al.
Species:
horse

Plain-English summary

This study looked at four female foals from the Norwegian Fjord Horse breed that were born with a serious condition called congenital arthrogryposis, which means their limbs were contracted and not able to move properly. This problem mainly affected their back legs and was also linked to having extra toes, a short upper jaw, and a cleft palate. These foals were half-sisters to four normal foals from the same father, a stallion named Bingo 1804, who appeared healthy. The condition is deadly and may be caused by a gene that affects one sex more than the other.

Abstract

In 4 female foals of the Norwegian horse breed, "Fjord Horse", congenital arthrogryposis of the limbs are described. The disorder was mainly limited to the hind limbs and associated with polydactylia and partly with brachygnathia superior and cleft palate. The defective foals were paternal halfsisters of 4 normal foals (1 female + 3 males), sired by the stallion "Bingo" 1804, which was phenotypically quite normal. The disorder being lethal, is possibly caused by a sex-limited or a strongly sex-influenced dominant gene.

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Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7162957/