Blind Appaloosas: Helping The Research Project

Today we hosted Dr. Heather Kaese, a veterinarian and ophthalmology researcher who is working to understand the genetic links between uveitis and Appaloosas.  As we documented in our new Web site, BlindAppaloosas.org, Appaloosas are much more likely to get uveitis, the leading cause of blindness in horses, than other breeds.  Consequently, blindness in Appaloosas is, sadly, far too common.  So Heather and her research team are trying to find out why Appaloosas are at such risk for this disease.

Heather is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and a resident in ophthalmology who currently practices in Kansas City.  Earlier this year we sent Heather and her research colleagues blood samples from all of our blind Appaloosas.  Her visit today was to do actual eye exams on each of them to confirm that they are in fact blind from uveitis.  If any of them had turned out to be blind from something else, it would skew the research data.

Dr. Erin Taylor, our equine vet who is a board-certified surgeon, and our small animal vet, Dr. Brenda Culver who has a special interest in ophthalmology, also came out today to work with Heather.  In the photo above, you see Erin on the left, Brenda in the middle, and Heather on the right holding the slit-lamp.  They're examining blind Rocky, one of our 13 blind Appaloosas.  Heather confirmed that all of them were indeed blind from uveitis.

Our horses are just a small part of the data sample that the researchers are collecting, and we're delighted to help in any way we can.  Now if only we could get the Appaloosa Horse Club, the official breed association, to acknowledge this problem in the breed and devote any resources to the research effort ... that would really be something.

Comments

[Jerry Stemnock]

It is, as the Disney Organization would have you believe, a small world. When she was at the Eye Care For Animals office in Chicago last December, Dr. Kaese gave our Clancy his regular eye pressure check. It's a long way from a dachshund to an Appaloosa, but Clancy got the same loving care as the big guys.

[ColleenaMareena]

What a great way for the Ranch to give back to the horse community--yet again! This is an exciting project! Hopefully this project will PROVE a cangenital basis for the disease that the AHC will finally acknowledge, so we can start seeing decrease in it's occurance over the next generations.

[Shirley & James, Portland, OR]

Keep up the advocacy for the Appaloosas'!

[Mary Ware]

It is wonderful, especially in this Christmas season, to see these three Wise-Women trekking out to the snow covered barns of Rolling Dog Ranch, hoping to find another piece of the miracle that will cure this terrible disease that causes such pain and blindness in these beautiful animals.
Mary Ware

[Debbie]

Every day I read here I learn something new. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Janet]

Methinks the Appaloosa Horse Club is simply waiting for someone else to do the hard work so they can simply "post" the information.

[G in INdiana]

Unfortunately trying to get a breed organization to recognize anything wrong with their chosen type is almost impossible. The one place I have found it IS possible is in the reputable dog breeders. They readily promote investigation of genetic problems and are more than willing to make their dogs' data available, as in the case of hip problems, splenic torsion, and bloat(Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs).
Horses, not so much. I recall a big problem in Arabian horses when I had a few around our farm in regards to some genetic problems that if both parents carried the genes, the foal would die of CID (combined immunodeficiency). Also, paint horses have "lethal white" syndrome. Quarter horses have HYPP that has plagued their breed for decades.
Since all of these registries are closed, you can only pick from what is available and if you choose incorrectly you lose and so does your horse.