Abstract
IntroductionMyopathy associated with a gain‐of‐ function mutation in the GYS1 gene is known in Quarter Horses and cold blood breeds. The mutation occurred between the collapse of the Roman Empire (500 AD) and the upsurge of Carolinian Reign (800 AD). The aim of this review is to reconstruct the development of the cold blood (brachimorph) breeds in Europe using existing literature.MethodsLiterature reviewResultsAlthough archaeological evidence indicates the existence of a mesomorph horse (Cob) type in the early Iron Age, real cold blood breeding only started after 1750. The demand for draught power in the early Industrial Revolution resulted in a large population of cold bloods from 1850 onwards. In Roman times, the huge ugly horses from Thrace were known as “easy keepers” and Ardennes might have been the first land races carrying the GYS1 mutation. Hunnish horses might have contributed to the prototype cold bloods as well. With mtDNA, Y‐chromosome polymorphism, satellite markers and SNP genotyping some indication from where ancestors of particular breeds originate was obtained. Most phylogenetic trees place cold blood breeds, including Fell ponies, Haflinger and Friesian in a clearly different cluster than ponies, saddle horses and Thoroughbreds. Fjords and Mongolian horses are in neighbouring clusters. Since the last 200 years, genetic bottlenecks and the popular sire phenomenon could have caused high GYS1 H allele frequencies in many continental cold blood breeds.ConclusionsCold blood breeds and the GYS1 mutation likely trace back to the mesomorph tough, easily satisfied horse types from Eastern Europe and central Asia.Ethical Animal ResearchNo animals were used in the study. Sources of funding: none. Competing interests: none.
Published Version
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