WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS IF I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MY HORSE’S PEDIGREE OR PARENTS?
SHORT, SIMPLE ANSWER: The process is simple & straightforward. Apply here: https://www.animalregistration.org/animal-services/american-dna-registry/horse-registration
You WILL receive a registration certificate for your horse. Without any known parent possibilities, this process will NOT tell you who your horse’s parents are, nor will it tell you anything about the ‘bloodlines’.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?? Keep reading:
– If you do not know who the sire and/ or dam of your horse is, a DNA test will NOT provide this information to you. While this is scientifically possible; in most cases, it is not legally feasible.
WHY?:
When AQHA, APHA, ApHC, The Jockey Club, and other purebred associations order a DNA test, those organizations retain ownership of the test results and reports. So the lab is not authorized to scan their database and release that information to anyone. To further complicate things, each registry has its own account and there are multiple genetic labs whose case (reference) numbers are all formatted differently.
THIS IS WHAT SETS ADNAR APART FROM THESE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. When we order a DNA test for your animal, you own the test results and reports. Not only is the DNA case number included on your animal’s certificate, the full report is printed on the certificate. While some of the other equine registries are transparent with the dna files, many of them are NOT, including AQHA & The Jockey Club.
We ARE the dna experts and believe that it is crucial for you to not only know your horse’s DNA case #, but also have access to the FULL report at all times. YOUR HORSE’S DNA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE, THROUGH ANY ORGANIZATION. While you do have the option of ordering DNA independently, it is most efficient to order through us for a multitude of reasons.
We believe its also important for owners to have a full understanding of what we take for granted as ‘common knowledge’ because we live & breath it everyday. There’s also a TON of misinformation out there.
SO, back on track…. This is what you can (& should) do:
- Apply for a Breed Analysis registration certificate for your horse.
WHAT IS A BREED ANALYSIS CERTIFICATE? Your horse’s dna results via the breed analysis that the lab conducts will reveal the top 3 BREEDS, in your horse’s ancestry, in the order of relevance. Many of the breeds that appear in a horse’s report are what we refer to as foundation or ancestral breeds.
This means that, upon testing what we know to be a purebred horse, there WILL be other breeds identified in the analysis, as 2nd and 3rd relevant. Its very likely to see Thoroughbred in a registered Quarter Horse’s analysis and its very common to see Trakhener, Hanoverian, & other warmblood type horses in a registered Thoroughbred’s analysis. Its also not uncommon to see gaited breeds in a horse’s analysis even if a horse does not ‘gait’— just as a couple of examples.
APPLY HERE: https://www.animalregistration.org/animal-services/american-dna-registry/horse-registration
- When the DNA profile is complete, your horse will be issued both a digital AND hardcopy certificate, with all of his or her information, including ownership, ownership history (if known), color, markings, gender, date of birth or approximate age, photos, etc. And in place of a pedigree, the horse’s genetic markers and breed analysis will appear.
WHAT ARE GENETIC MARKERS? A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome that can be used to identify individuals or species. They are regions of DNA with specific, identifiable patterns of DNA sequence. This is the series of letter combinations on the DNA report. To the common individual, they are seemingly random. BUT, this specific combination of letters IS YOUR HORSE’S TRUE IDENTITY. A few select labs have complex computer programs that use algorithms to analyze these markers. This is much like a “23 and me” or “ancestry” genetic test that humans can take. Your ancestry can be roughly determined by genetic markers in your own genome, which is the collection of your DNA.
- Based on the horse’s breed analysis results, age & gender, we can give you our recommendation as to whether or not its worth your time and investment to conduct an ‘Unknown Horse Search’ through AQHA and/or APHA. If we believe it is, we will provide you with the necessary form, instructions, contact information, and a copy of your horse’s DNA report. This is an additional $100 fee to AQHA.
THIS PROCESS CAN BE A COMPLETE SHOT IN THE DARK. In order for there to a chance of finding a match, the horse must have PREVIOUSLY been registered with AQHA (or APHA) AND been dna tested through the respective registry account. Its matching genetic markers of a previously documented horse with the genetic markers of the same horse, who’s identity became a mystery at some point, through unfortunate circumstances, or more likely, irresponsible or shady people.
This process WILL NOT tell you who a horse’s parents are. In order for that to be a possibility, there must a point of reference, such as the possible sire or dam’s DNA case number. IF that is attainable, the parental verification analysis will CONFIRM or DENY a stallion/ mare as a parent.
While we realize that this information may have crushed the hopes of some owners, its still crucial to have your horse registered. Not only does it provide you with the proof of ownership & identity, but it also adds your horse to our (THE ONLY IN EXISTENCE), universal dna database. So, even if the research for ‘who’ your horse is, is a dead end now, it may not always be as genetic science advances and our database grows.
Fair warning: DO NOT give your money to https://dnamyhorse.com/ !!!!!
They have an appealing website, but they get owners’ hopes up by make false claims. If you use their service, they will email you a bunch of made up BS. But you will never be able to reach anyone with the organization by phone and they likely will not even reply to your emails.
