Genetic Basis of Equine Performance and Orthopedic Conditions

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Equids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 654

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois, 1008 W Hazelwood Dr, Urbana, IL 61802, USA
Interests: equine genetics; developmental orthopedic disease; osteoarthritis; gait; performance
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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Interests: study of pathological responses in osteoarthritis; elucidation of the role of the gut microbiome in orthopedic conditions; development of cellular and immunomodulatory approaches to treat musculoskeletal disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horse breeding for performance has always been considered as much art as science. However, the advent of high-throughput genetics and genomics tools, and the continued decrease in costs related to these tools, have brought a surge of interest in harnessing genetics information to select for specific performance traits across disciplines. Orthopedic disease is an important contributor to poor performance in horses, making it another target of interest for ongoing genetics research. High-throughput genotyping and genome-wide association studies are being paired with tissue-specific (or single-cell) transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics to give a more complete picture than ever before of the molecular mechanisms that underlie performance and disease. Concurrently, the development of new data analysis pipelines is allowing for integration of data types, moving the field towards the goal of precision management. The intention of this collection is to highlight the advances in exploring the genetic basis of equine performance and orthopedic conditions, and we invite researchers to contribute their latest findings as original works or review articles.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Annette Marie McCoy
Dr. Lynn M. Pezzanite
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • horse
  • athletic performance
  • musculoskeletal
  • genomics
  • transcriptomics
  • genome-wide association
  • precision management
  • data integration pipelines

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

32 pages, 746 KB  
Review
Defining the Impact of Genetics on Equine Performance and Development of Orthopaedic Disease
by Hannah Chernavsky, Lynn M. Pezzanite, Steve Simske and Chris E. Kawcak
Animals 2026, 16(12), 1875; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16121875 - 17 Jun 2026
Viewed by 254
Abstract
In equine veterinary medicine, there is a lack of correlation between the structural severity of orthopaedic disease and the perceived severity of presenting signs, resulting in a variable influence on performance, pain and disability. Across equine industries, there is selective pressure through breeding [...] Read more.
In equine veterinary medicine, there is a lack of correlation between the structural severity of orthopaedic disease and the perceived severity of presenting signs, resulting in a variable influence on performance, pain and disability. Across equine industries, there is selective pressure through breeding for specific traits, such as the “speed” gene (MSTN) in racing thoroughbreds and the “gait keeper” gene (DMTR3) in pacing breeds, potentially resulting in genetic predispositions that lead to an increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders. With advancements in molecular sequencing techniques, researchers have been able to identify various genes (e.g., ECA, RUNX, and ADAME1) as well as biomarkers influencing performance and the development of orthopaedic disease. In combination, these techniques could be applied clinically in the future to improve welfare and disease management through advanced characterization and treatments to delay the onset of orthopaedic disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Basis of Equine Performance and Orthopedic Conditions)
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