PASADENA—The Pasadena Tournament of Roses has selected 17 equestrian groups to ride in the 131st Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, and the list includes 13 units from California—including the Horsewomen of Temecula Wine Country (California Horsetrader article, August issue).

Presented by Honda, this year’s parade theme is “The Power of Hope,” and equestrians participating in the Rose Parade will showcase a variety of breeds as well as unique tack and costumes. All riders must have previous parade riding experience. In addition to riding in the five and a half mile-long Rose Parade route on Wednesday, Jan. 1, these equestrian groups are invited to take part in Equestfest presented by Wells Fargo, which will take place on Sunday, Dec. 29, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. During Equestfest, groups perform trick riding, drills, dancing and roping skills, and attendees can walk through the stables and speak with the riders.

In addition to the Horsewomen of Temecula Wine Country, the other dozen California-based equestrian units in the next Rose Parade will include the Arabian Horse Association (Sierra Madre), the Blue Shadows Mounted Drill Team (Castaic), Buffalo Soldier Mounted Cavalry Unit (Mojave), Knott’s Berry Farm (Buena Park), Los Hermanos Banuelos (Altadena), Mini Therapy Horses (Calabasas), Painted Ladies Rodeo Performers (Roseville), Scripps Miramar Ranch (San Diego), Spirit of the West Riders (Leona Valley), the USMC Mounted Color Guard (Barstow), and The Valley Hunt Club (Pasadena).

Non-California equestrian units will include the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment (Texas), the Budweiser Clydesdales (Missouri), the Express Clydesdales (Oklahoma), and the Rural Media Group (Nebraska).

Details of Parade Horse Units: http://bit.ly/2020roseparade

Horsewomen of Temecula Wine Country will be conducting a fund-raiser Oct. 23 at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula. For more info, go to the website http://bit.ly/910fundraiser.

UC Davis: ‘Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome’ is not linked to catastrophic breakdowns in Thoroughbreds

DAVIS—Researchers at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have published the results of a study that investigated the frequency of the Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS) mutation in Thoroughbreds. The study demonstrated that the WFFS mutation is not a genetic risk factor for catastrophic breakdown and is only present at a very low frequency in this breed.

Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion, meaning that a horse needs to have two copies of the mutation to be affected. WFFS is a fatal genetic defect of connective tissue characterized by hyperextensible, abnormally thin, fragile skin and mucous membranes. More than 700 Thoroughbreds were tested for the WFFS mutation, including 22 catastrophic breakdown fatalities. The allele frequency among all samples was 1.2 percent and the carrier rate (or horses with one copy) was 2.4 percent. None of the horses in the study had two copies of the mutation and only one of the 22 catastrophic breakdown cases carried the WFFS allele.

The UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory offers the WFFS genetic test and recommends testing for all Warmblood breeds since the carrier rate in Warmbloods is estimated to be around 9-11 percent. Since the allele was found to be present in the Thoroughbred population, albeit at a low frequency, genetic testing could eliminate the possibility of breeding two carriers with the potential of producing an affected offspring.

More online: http://bit.ly/910davis

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