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Equine Dwarfism
Seek veterinary advice if you suspect this disease.
Dwarfism is defined as the “underdevelopment of the body characterised by an abnormally short stature often with underdeveloped limbs and other defects.” It is a condition which is passed on to offspring if both parents carry the recessive gene. It can happen even to the most diligent of breeders sometimes however, inbreeding/irresponsible breeding is a big problem and results in most Dwarfism cases.
The incurable condition causes major health challenges, leading to a heightened risk of functional handicaps, nutritional disorders, chronic pain, and serious welfare concerns.
Symptoms
- Roached Back
- Disproportionate Body
- Pot-belly
- Cow hocked
- Bow Legged
- Wide or Close Stance
- Weak hindend
- Short legs
- Misaligned teeth
Common in
- Miniature horses
- Shetland Ponies
- Friesians
- Mustangs
Treatment
There is no treatment for Dwarfism, but affected horses can have a good quality of life.
Prevention
The occurrence of dwarf horses is a matter of chance, but the fewer horses in a population that carry the affected genes, the lower the chances that two carrier horses will be bred and produce a dwarf foal.
To avoid dwarfism and reduce the frequency of affected genes in a population, carriers of affected genes should not be bred.
How Happie can help you manage your horse's health
Digital health management offers numerous benefits in modern equine healthcare.
With the Happie Horse App, you can track symptom patterns and body values, such as Temperature, Pulse and Respiration. Allowing you to notice abnormal changes in body and behaviour early on, leading to more successful treatments.
The Happie symptom checker allows you to add all of your horse's abnormal symptoms in order to present potential causes and diseases.
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