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Daniel & Peg Fultz This site is maintained by Advanced Computer Networking,Inc. Copyright © 2002 by [Advanced Computer Networking, Inc.]. All rights reserved
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HORSES
- STALLIONS
The Story of Houston... Houston was born on a Friday morning, May 4, 2001 with an uneventful delivery by a maiden mare "Ambers Romance" an APHA Tri-color Tobiano and sire was "Sonnys Zippin It" APHA sorrel Frame Overo.,and this is the part where Houston got his name...I sent a message via our Foal Cam for my Hubby at work that said "Houston, we have a problem"...he rushed home shortly thereafter. We were amazed by his large size as he was being foaled and kept saying "Okay, now...where are his Spots?. I asked for White...but, NOT all White!. Our hearts just sank, called the veterinarian for advice and to be put on alert and went to our favorite Horse Forums for
advice. After Houston (our Living Lethal/Extreme Tovero) was foaled out, we gasped in horror and wondered, how did THIS happen?. All kinds of advice was given to us such as "oh, you better just put him down now, and not let the little bugger suffer, and the heartbreaker feeling of the possibility that this might have to be done if he started exhibiting pain.....After many calls to our vet for advice and to standby "just in case" .We waited and thought that the magic time frame would be 12-24 hrs...we saw Houston poop (pass feces) and were overwhelmed with JOY..talked to the internet forum people with my joyous news the following day and our vet.....more veterinarian advice..."no, you are not out of the woods yet...had to wait at least 72 hours when Houston would be passing not only meconium, but Milk Feces...meaning that would be the determination whether he lived or died. Oh man, did that hit us like a bomb when our hopes were So High!...another couple days of torture and waiting, and since we had given him two enemas, finding feces in the hay was like...well...like finding straw colored feces in a
Hay Stack...almost impossible and we could not see him passing it and thought we
saw a trace on his leg, but...maybe we were just wishing...Finally by the 3rd
day, there it was...Houston was passing Milk Feces and not showing any signs of
distress and eating and playing like any Normal Foal!. We could not believe
our good fortune and could not contain our excitement that Houston was going to
LIVE!, our Living Lethal. We did not have to give him any special care ...just closely observed him and his symptoms and elimination process'. Found out the "probable" reason for him being "All White" with pink skin and blue eyes and ALIVE...was that he was a "Extreme Tovero"...from Quad Patterns (we research back in his pedigree) ie: Frame
Overo, Tobiano, Tovero, Splash or Sabino patterns.... It was a "nightmare" experience to say the least. If nothing else comes of this...perhaps the term "Living Lethal" would be a good lesson for other paint breeders out there to simply "not assume" you have a
lethal white...perhaps it's an Extreme Tovero, and to watch and wait ...if you make it past 72 hours and your foal is eating and acting healthy and passes feces (not as simple as just watching for some feces. Heard from a vet that some lethal actually can still pass meconium feces and that the intestinal paralysis is closer to the stomach, and lethal white's
cannot pass Milk feces) hence, waiting 72 He really can stop traffic by our road! and he's developing a beautiful Hunter Under Saddle/Western Pleasure Body and disposition. About Houston's Genetics...
In a conversation online with a Horse Genetic
expert talking about homozygous paint patterns and the 3 Overo Paint
patterns and what they can produce, she revealed this about Houston's
genetic patterning percentages (Houston has 4 paint patterns that created
his All white):
We know of at least four paint patterns, tobiano
(TO), frame overo (FR), sabino (SA), and splashed white (SP). A horse could
have two or more of these patterns and not be homozygous for any one of
them, and could throw the occasional solid color.
I thought I should come back and add the genetic formula of the horse that would have all four paint patterns: If it was a chestnut, (ee,TOto,FRfr,SAsa,SPsp). If a horse has two of the patterns, the odds are 25% for a solid when bred to a solid. If a horse has three of the patterns, the odds are 12.5% for a solid if bred to a solid. If a horse has all four patterns, the odds would be 6.25% for a solid if bred to a solid. I may be off a little bit, but when I write down the different paint and paint pattern combinations, I come up with 15 different patterns and combos for a horse having all four patterns and of course the solid pattern, making the total 16. The patterns I come with, with a horse having all four are, solid, (TO), (FR), (SA), (SP), (TO,FR) (TO,SA), (TO,SP), (FR,SA), (FR,SP), (SA,SP), (TO,FR,SA), (TO,FR,SP), (TO,SP,SA), (FR,SP,SA), and (TO,FR,SA,SP). This horse could produce a lot of paints in a lifetime, but there is always the chance for a regular solid (not minimal marked) to be produced. I thought I should come back and add the genetic formula of the horse that would have all paint patterns: If it is a chestnut, (ee,TOto,FRfr,SAsa,SPsp).
Footnote:
Houston has been tested as having the "red
factor" and he has 1 copy of the Olws gene (like his frame patterned Dad).
Fultz Family Farm
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