British racing is testing thoroughbreds for gene doping after investing almost £2m into ground-breaking research – and the FEI has also enhanced its rules in this area.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced on 25 March that testing will be “incorporated immediately” into its routine raceday and out-of-competition sampling. The FEI’s strengthened rules on gene doping came into force on 1 April. This involved explicitly defining genetic therapy, gene editing and genome editing, and adding these to the FEI’s prohibited substances list.

“These regulations allow the FEI to conduct testing for gene doping. FEI-accredited laboratories have the necessary capacity to carry out such testing,” an FEI spokesperson told H&H.

Gene doping is the genetic or cellular manipulation of DNA, either directly by gene-editing techniques, or by adding genetic material into the cell by gene transfer, for the purpose of improving performance. In a presentation at the 2024 FEI Sports Forum, FEI senior veterinary adviser Caterina Termine said genetic manipulation could be applied to embryos, youngstock and adult horses.

There are concerns over potential unintended consequences of genetic manipulation that could lead to health and welfare issues. There is also an integrity risk if an animal were to be gene-doped in such a way that improved performance – for example, through increased muscle mass and oxygen-carrying capability – and/or post-exercise recovery.

It is already banned by both the BHA and FEI – and neither have had any recorded cases of gene doping – so these moves are to protect welfare and sporting integrity over emerging risk. There are examples of gene editing for performance purposes in ponies bred for polo in Argentina.

“Testing for gene doping is a significant step forward for British racing and reinforces our commitment to safeguarding the welfare of our horses, protecting the thoroughbred breed and integrity of our competition,” said Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s acting chief executive officer.

“While there are international examples of the use of genetic manipulation in other equestrian activities, there is no evidence to suggest that this is taking place in Britain or across any other international racing jurisdictions. However, scientific and technological advancements mean that genetic manipulation poses a very real risk to horseracing and the essence of the thoroughbred breed.

“It’s essential that we are proactive in this space, and through investing in this cutting-edge research we now have the technological capabilities to detect and deter any attempts to exploit nefarious techniques that could give horses an unfair advantage.”

The FEI and BHA both have tightly controlled exemptions in their rules to allow gene therapy to treat clinically diagnosed injury or disease in specific circumstances.

The BHA has invested the seven-figure sum into research at the LGC laboratory in Cambridgeshire, to improve detection and monitoring of gene doping.

LGC’s laboratory director for animal sports testing, James Scarth said that the funding means that the company is now able to deploy “routine tests to tackle this potential threat”.

He added that the innovative detection methods have been “developed with flexibility in mind, allowing us to add new genes should new threats emerge, ensuring the relevance of the technology for years to come”.

“The experimental work has been complemented in parallel with the establishment of partnerships with other global laboratories and racing authorities, which has led to the development of international guidelines for gene doping analyses,” said Dr Scarth.

British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) chief executive David Mountford told H&H: “Unlike traditional selective breeding, gene doping can make targeted genetic changes in a single generation. It’s novel, potentially powerful – and highly controversial.

“As described in a recent review published in BEVA’s Equine Veterinary Journal, it throws up serious ethical and competitive integrity questions and BEVA supports the BHA and the FEI in taking proactive measures to prohibit its use.”

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‘A pandora’s box’ or good news for future equine breeding?: New gene editing law passed

Gene editing: a compromise or a boost to animal welfare?

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A new law that allows plants to be genetically edited has recently been passed and will serve as a stepping stone towards the technology being used in animals.

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2003 passed into law on 23 March, with its main intent being reinforcing food security. In other words, allowing farmers to grow drought- and disease-resistant crops.

Although the green light is on for plants only at the moment, the law includes provision to explore how gene editing could be used in future to help breed animals that are protected from catching diseases. That means establishing a proportionate regulatory system for precision-bred animals, to ensure welfare is safeguarded.

Lucy Morgan, of Stallion AI Services and Gemini Genetics, told H&H there are many different areas to consider with this new technology.

“Looking at its application in plants and food production, that does relate to the animal sector as well, when you are thinking about food for animals. We are seeing with our changing climate hay yields, for example, vary dramatically year on year,” she said, adding that with the warming climate, there could also be uses for the technology in protecting against certain diseases that may come to our shores in future.

“For rare breeds and breeding horses for sport, it does have relevance potentially to enable us to be more accurate in breeding.

“A lot of the animal side is still in discussion and it’s not something that can be hurried through. There’s going to be a lot of discussion needed from different parties so we can get a full assessment of it.”

She added that discussion is also needed to understand both the benefits and the potential for unintended consequences before going further.

British Equine Veterinary Association council member James Crabtree told H&H the new act has “lots of benefits for precision breeding using modern gene-editing biotechnology in cultivated plants and farmed animals”.

“Gene editing in horses and other equines could be utilised for the eradication of genetic diseases, but is restricted by many breed societies and regulatory bodies due to the potential for the technology to be used to gain a competitive advantage or compromise welfare,” he said.

“We are not aware that gene editing is commercially available in horses.

“In the United Kingdom, breeding from a gene-edited animal is restricted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and can only be performed under licence for research purposes, so we feel this is not going to result in the opening of the floodgates to widespread gene editing in equine breeding.

“Nevertheless, there is now a pathway should it offer significant advantages in the future.”

The NFU has long campaigned for this, with vice-president David Exwood adding that he is “delighted it has passed its final hurdle”. The RSPCA, on the other hand, has described it as “opening a Pandora’s box”.

“Gene editing could be a huge step backward for animals,” said RSPCA head of campaigns and public affairs David Bowles.

“We don’t believe this act should include animals, whether they’re farm, pet or wildlife. Invasive procedures are needed to create each line of gene-edited mammals, there is no history of use for this powerful technology, and it can cause unintended changes to the genome, with unpredictable effects.

“The RSPCA has serious animal welfare and ethical concerns about this.”

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Researchers examining DNA from the skeletons of historic horses – to throw light on diseases in their modern descendants – have solved the mystery of the 1880 Derby.

It has long been disputed that the winner Bend Or was in fact a horse called Tadcaster, but a stewards’ enquiry after the race found for the owners of Bend Or.

Now, work by Cambridge University has established that Bend Or was indeed Tadcaster.

Samples of DNA taken from the skeleton believed to belong to Bend Or have been shown to match living relatives of Tadcaster.

Dr Mim Bower, who led the research, said their work helped scientists understand the genetic history of the thoroughbred.

“It will help us to discover when certain catastrophic genetic diseases might have entered the gene pool,” he said.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (7 June 2012)

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Could the UK horse industry benefit from an equine biobank?

This is the question a research project at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, is seeking to answer.

And its author is calling for input from horse owners.

The study, conducted by PhD student Laura Corbin, will explore the feasibility of collecting DNA samples from large numbers of animals for new genotyping technologies.

Ms Corbin’s research has so far focused on assessing the potential use of techniques such as DNA sequencing and gene mapping on osteochondrosis – a condition that affects the cartilage of growing horses.

It is believed that research into other diseases thought to have a genetic component, such as hypersensitivity and recurrent airway obstruction, could also benefit.

“We have seen phenomenal progress being made in the field of genetics, but one of the major limitations is a lack of samples and associated animal data,” said Ms Corbin.

“This is where a biobank could be invaluable.”

H&H vet Karen Coumbe said: “Any resource that helps to preserve equine genetic information for the future is likely to be a huge asset.

Jan Rogers of the British Equestrian Federation, which is helping to fund the study, said: “We want to know if people would be prepared to contribute data and what they see the potential benefits to be.”

Visit: www.bef.co.uk/equine_research

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (12 April 2012)

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A new DNA storage service for horses offers owners an alternative to microchipping or freezemarking – and could help in the fight against theft.

Two science graduates from Bangor University, Richard Storey and Daniel Struthers, set up PetGen in 2010.

The company offers DNA extraction and storage for the purposes of pet security and identification.

Using a specially designed kit, owners take a mouth swab from their horse and post it to PetGen, where it is stored on a database and kept for up to 50 years.

“We initially concentrated on cats and dogs, but soon realised there was the potential to expand into the horse industry, where theft is a very real threat,” said Mr Storey.

By advertising the fact that animals can be traced from their DNA, Mr Storey believes it will make them a less attractive target for thieves.

“Neither microchipping nor freezemarking are foolproof,” he added. “But a horse’s DNA can’t be tampered with.”

Although DNA parentage testing is already used elsewhere in the equine industry – it is compulsory for thoroughbreds registered with Weatherbys, for example – PetGen’s service should make the technique accessible to all.

H&H vet Karen Coumbe welcomed the concept, but warned that at present the potential of DNA-based identification is limited.

“Although microchipping is a legal requirement for issuing horse passports, DNA typing will only have limited uses,” she said.

“While it is relatively common for microchips to go astray in cats and dogs, in horses it is rare for them to fail – they are deliberately embedded in a very tough neck ligament.”

PetGen DNA storage kits cost £25 and can be ordered online at www.petgen.co.uk

H&H readers are offered 20% off the price, using the discount code “H&H”.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (19 January 2012)

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Coloured horses may have become popular in recent years – but scientists have established that they were roaming Europe as long as 25,000 years ago.

Until now, DNA studies have only produced evidence for bay and black horses.

But researchers have found evidence for spotted pre-domestic horses – by re-examining the DNA of horse specimens from across Europe.

Professor Michi Hofreiter of York University told H&H the discovery helped to explain the diversity of the modern horse.

“All three colours – black, brown and spotted – depicted in the cave paintings have now been found in ancient horse populations,” he said.

“Without the spotted phenotype [observable characteristics], coloured horses might not exist.”

It’s thought the three coat colours provided humans with enough variation to create the colours seen today.

The team was inspired by the cave painting The Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle in France, which clearly depicts white horses with dark spots.

Archaeologists have long debated whether these paintings were inspired by real life.

Now, says Professor Hofreiter, they have proof that the artists were representing the world around them.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse and Hound (17 November 2011)

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The importance of the inheritance of a dominant trait has just been studied by examining a warmblood sire from Switzerland.

He had been a successful international showjumper, but had an inherited form of exertional (ER, or more commonly known as tying-up).

He had 71 descendants.

The horses’ history — husbandry, feeding and use — was assessed by interviewing their owners. All animals were checked for GYS1, a dominant gene responsible for some cases of tying-up.

Signs of ER were reported in 39% of progeny, while 51% of the entire family possessed the GYS1 mutation. Horses possessing the GYS1 mutation had more than a seven-times higher risk of developing ER compared to those without the gene.

There was evidence that feeding oil reduced the clinical signs of ER, but this research highlighted the fact that breeding animals with the GYS1 mutation results in a high prevalence of ER.

And what about navicular disease?

Scientists in America at the Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation recently published a 207-page report in the journal Animal Genetics that highlighted interesting new research, including one study that pinpointed certain genes responsible in part for the development of navicular disease.

A study of DNA from 192 Hanoverian warmbloods identified two separate genes that appeared to increase the size and alter the shape of the distal border foramina (located at the lower edge of the navicular bone and a clinical sign that is often associated with this disease).

A previous study had already shown that a segment of DNA on chromosome 10 appeared to be involved.

Now the DNA is being investigated to see how crucial it really is in the development of navicular disease.

Feeding, shoeing and other environmental factors are also recognised to be relevant.

The puzzle is establishing how all the factors interact to affect horses’ feet.

For the full veterinary article on genetics, see the current issue of Horse & Hound (3 March, 2011)

Find out more about genetics in horses

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Racehorse breeders can now breed for speed following groundbreaking scientific research that has identified the “speed gene” in racehorses.

The research, led by leading horse genomics researcher Dr Emmeline Hill and funded by Science Foundation Ireland, is the first academic programme in the world to apply DNA technology to thoroughbred racing performance.

Dr Hill, alongside renowned Irish racehorse trainer and breeder Jim Bolger, has now launched a biotech company called Equinome to offer a test for the gene commercially.

The speed gene — known as MSTN — regulates myostatin protein that controls muscle cell production.

There are three different variants of the myostatin gene a horse can inherit — TT, CC and CT.

Horses with the TT version develop muscles later in life. Horses with the CC version develop their muscles earlier.

The test can reveal whether the horse is best suited to racing over short, middle or middle-to-long distances.

“Breeders currently rely on combining successful bloodlines together, hoping that the resulting foal will have a winning combination of genes,” explained Dr Hill. “Until now, whether those winning genes have been inherited could only be known by observing the racing and breeding success of a horse.

“Using the Equinome Speed Gene test it will now be possible to definitively know a horse’s genetic type within weeks of a sample being taken.

“This will reduce much of the uncertainty that has been typically involved in selection, training and breeding decisions.”

For more information, visit www.equinome.com

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

In the past 10 years there has been an explosion in our understanding of genetics in human disease. In particular, there is a greater appreciation of how even very small differences in a person’s genetic make-up can lead to changes in the risk of an individual suffering from a particular disease.

This understanding has come as a direct result of the human genome project, which was a worldwide effort to crack the entire human genetic code. This code breaking exercise has led to a revolution in understanding of genetic diseases in man. Virtually every day researchers are identifying major medical breakthroughs, which are occurring as a direct consequence of the genome project.

For more than a century, genetic diseases have been identified in both humans and animals. It has been appreciated for a long time how some serious diseases can occur when an individual inherits a certain gene from their parents. These types of genetic disease are fortunately very rare in the horse.

An example of such a disease is combined immunodeficiency (CID), which occurs in Arabian horses:

• A foal will inherit copies of an abnormal gene from the mare and stallion (whom are carriers of that particular gene).
• Only when two copies of the abnormal gene are carried by an individual will the disease occur.The parents will be normal since they each carry only one copy of the gene. An affected foal inherits two “bad” genes and consequently a lethal inability to fight infection, and will die within the first few months of life.How common this disease is in the UK is uncertain, but experience suggests that Arabian horses in the UK may be affected less than in some other countries. There are now genetic tests available, and it is possible to screen breeding animals to identify carriers. Ultimately, it should be possible to decrease the incidence of this disease and potentially eradicate it entirely by such an approach.Causes of CID
• There are many factors behind why a horse may suffer from a disease, including the way it is managed, how it has been managed in the past, and, finally, genetics.
• The change of a horse’s genetic code can frequently be very minor, with only one or two changes of information in many millions leading to an altered risk of a particular disease, as well as the degree to which an individual may be affected.
• Identifying the presence of the genes does not necessarily mean that an animal will suffer from a particular disease. What it might indicate is whether the animal is at an altered risk of suffering from a disease.
• However, there are also likely to be genetic reasons why a horse may be at altered risk of breaking its legs.
• Unfortunately, our understanding of such genetic variation is very much in its infancy and we have a long way to go before this technology can be applied to clinical cases.Understanding geneticsThe human genome project, which has allowed understanding of genetics in man to reach its current advanced state, was a vast multi-national project that cost a huge amount of money.While some human data can be applied to the horse, there is much basic work still to be done before we can really identify the role of complex genetics in horse diseases.By its very nature, such research is expensive and requires collaboration. Currently, there is work going on worldwide into the role of complex genetics in the horse, but compared with the scale of the human project the total effort is miniscule, so progress is never going to be speedy.Ultimately, it is likely that we will have a variety of genetic tests to identify animals of either decreased or increased risk of suffering from a particular condition.The question of whether such knowledge would be useful to the equine industry has still to be answered.But one of the most interesting and controversial areas where complex genetic analysis may play a role is in identifying animals which could perform better. It may not be useful to know that a horse has a somewhat decreased risk of suffering from a particular disease.However in competition, where small improvements may be enough to win, identification of complex genetic traits that improve performance by even a fraction could endow huge advantages to those interested in selecting competition horses.This type of work is very new and is bound to create debate, but in the future such tests may become available.There is no doubt that over the next decade there will be major advances in the analysis of complex genetic traits in the horse. Then the debate can start in earnest about how we can use this technology for the benefit of the horse.

This article first appeared in Horse & Hound (10 June)

Scientists working at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket have found the location of the gene that gives grey horses their colour.

The research is part of the trust’s ongoing work to map the equine genome within the next three years.

According to a BBC news story, the discovery may help scientists understand why melanoma isso common among grey horses. Recent theories include a biochemical link between the disease and the coat colour of grey horses, which changes with age.

Dr Matthew Binns, AHT head of genetics, told BBC Online: “If we can actually understand the process maybe in the future it would be possible to develop drugs which would block melanoma.”

Once completed, the equine genome research will be used to develop tests to locate inherited diseases in horses, such as melanoma and sweet itch. This will enable breeders to breed selectively to reduce the likelihood of these diseases.

Read more about equine genetics:

• Ancestors of horses revealed
• Racing welcomes genetic research