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Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, Inc.
To: Peruvian
Paso horse owners
Re: Suspensory Ligament Desmitis
Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center has been
treating
horses for over 30 years in Los Olivos,
California. We see horses of all breeds and of all
equine performance sports.
We have always seen a large
number of Peruvian Paso horses because of our locale
to many top Peruvian breeders and trainers
in the
Santa Ynez Valley and California.
In the last six years we have diagnosed well over
1,000 suspensory ligament
injuries in horses
associated with racing, jumping, dressage, cutting and
endurance events. We have diagnosed approximately
8
Peruvian Paso horses with suspensory ligament injuries
during the same time period. Of these 8 injuries in
the
Peruvian Paso horses, six were determined to be
typical overuse injuries and were treated as such at
APEMC. Of the other
two Peruvian Paso horses that did
not fit the typical overuse injury, one was due to
being extremely overweight and
poorly taken care of
and the other horse may have had what has been called
degenerative suspensory ligament disease
but it was
not confirmed with any histologic evidence.
The veterinarians at APEMC have always found it to
be
curious that this condition of the Peruvian horse
has not been described in any equine lameness or
surgery text and
has not surfaced as a cause of
unsoundness in the Peruvian Paso horses that we have
dealt with on a daily basis for
the last 30 years. On
the contrary, we have found suspensory desmitis to be
very rare in the Peruvian Paso population
that we
treat compared to a relatively high incidence in the
racehorse, jumper and dressage horses. We feel that
these
high rates are a factor of footing, training and
shoeing problems. We do feel that some of these
injuries are related
to abnormal conformation in some
horses and are not just occupational hazards. Some
large breed broodmares that have
had numerous foals
will often develop a chronic progressive suspensory
ligament degeneration and breakdown that is very
difficult
to treat as long as they remain heavy and
continue to carry heavy pregnancies. Once this
degenerative process develops
it is not possible to
reverse and return the suspensory branches to normal
with rest or treatment. Weight management
in any breed
of horse is critical to health and soundness.
I am sure that this condition has been diagnosed
and
documented in a certain number of Peruvian Paso
horses on some farms in the United States, but I have
not heard of the
numbers and the overall incidence as
of yet. We have seen this identical problem in
Thoroughbreds and Quarter horses,
but these are horses
that were poorly conformed and passed the predisposing
conformation to their offspring. The simple
answer to
this problem is to not breed bad-legged horses to
bad-legged horses, or to breed any horse with a severe
inherited
conformation fault. Once that becomes
obvious, the problem goes away.
In our experience, the Peruvian Paso, as a
breed,
is a very tough, durable and sound breed of horse when
compared to all the other breeds of horses we see at
APEMC.
I hope that the excitement and confusion over a
small group of isolated horses does not continue to
cast irresponsible
unwarranted connotations on a very
strong and sound breed of horse.
Doug Herthel, DVM Mark Rick, DVM
Greg Parks,
DVM Ed Hamer, DVM
Carter Judy, DVM
The Peruvian breed has been widely criticized by those who claim DSLD
is prevalent in our breed,
that it is genetic, and that no bloodline is
safe. As of today there is no scientifically researched and documented proof
for these claims. One of the foremost equine geneticists in America, Dr. Gus Cothran, and other researchers did genetic research
into dsld in the past searching equine DNA to find a "dsld gene". They came to a dead end. Two of the gene sites that they
suspected might be the source of the problem yielded nothing. DNA research for a "dsld gene" is not continuing at present.
Some
of the country's biggest breeders of Peruvian Horses have donated thousands of dollars to the dsld research effort and yet
they are accused of "lying", "hiding from dsld "breeding bad
horses" or "paying off the vets". Breeders, bloodlines
and individual
horses have been maligned often with no more proof than "anecdotal oral histories" - what most folks commonly
call Rumors.
The accusations are ugly. Any owner or breeder who says they've never had or even seen a dsld affected
horse is called "uninformed" or worse. The vets at one of America's best known and most respected equine veterinary clinics,
Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, wrote a letter ( listed above) addressing the dsld issue. The letter states the Peruvian
is "a very tough, durable and sound breed of horse when compared to all the other breeds of horses we see at APEMC." The vets
of Alamo Pintado stand by their letter to this day. (You can read the letter in its entirety listed above:
Hoping to get in the last word, DSLD proponents have now accused the veterinary staff of Alamo Pintado
and any other Vets that disagree with their agenda of "covering up for their clients."
The dsld proponents made
a coordinated effort to "bring this problem to light". They went to great effort to post their information on dozens of Internet
forums and websites. What have they accomplished? They have succeeded in destroying the market for Peruvian Horses. Nothing
more.
They have not found a "dsld gene", they have not cured anything,
they don't have a real "test" for dsld and as a result of what
some of them call their "life's mission" countless horses of ALL breeds have been euthanized by owners who are afraid their
horse *might* have dsld or who are not willing to deal with a lame horse.
A good number of the people who
claim their horses are dsld affected bought horses without having any pre-purchase vet exams performed, they bought horses
sight unseen, they bought the cheapest horses they could find, or took in rescue cases, horses whose past histories were filled
with abuse and neglect. Due to one of the finest characteristics of a Peruvian Horse, called Brio, some of these people have
ridden their horses to injury and beyond. Peruvians are so willing to please that they will go and go even when they are hurting.
A
lot of misinformation about dsld has been passed off as fact. For
instance, the study that is being used as the basis
for the claim that
Peruvians are in the top two of "affected breeds" was a study that
looked for suspensory injuries.
Injuries are NOT dsld. Counting injured horses does not in any way accurately assess the prevalence of dsld in any breed or
in the horse population as a whole. Further, many of the horses that have been called "dsld affected" have never been properly
diagnosed, even with the techniques the dsld proponents advocate.
I am not saying dsld does not exist. I am saying
that the "financial
and emotional devastation" is coming has already happened to
our breed; not because the
horses are diseased, but because rumors, innuendos, theories, and unsubstantiated claims have flowed freely across the Internet
without any factual legs to stand on.
The best thing any new owner can do is LEARN about the breed. Learn about proper
horse care and nutrition. Learn about the value of slow careful conditioning - this means DON'T pull your horse out after
weeks of being a pasture ornament and ride him for hours through heavy sand on the beach or through deep mud on the trails.
LEARN about proper equitation, saddle fit, and good hoof care including proper hoof length and trimming.
One fact remains:
most horses are only as sound as their owners allow them to be.
If you have more questions, just ask. There are lots
of long-time
breeders who are more than willing to help.
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