Naked Foal Syndrome Research Paper

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Argued to be one of the oldest horse breeds in the world, the Akhal-Teke is an animal bred for the harsh climates of the desert. This breed is on the CPL (Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List). This breed however, has gotten to a point that the inbreeding has created a genetic disorder called Naked Foal Syndrome, or NFS. This genetic defect causes the foal to be born with no hair; there are sometimes a few stands or tuffs of tail hair, but nothing else.
Bred by Turkmen, the Akhal-Teke is from the country of Turkmenistan and is considered the forefather of the Arabian breed, which gave rise to various other breeds of horses. The Akhal-Teke is known for the metallic sheen of its coat and having very thin skin. They are a superb show horse …show more content…

Therefore, NFS is inherited as an “autosomal recessive trait” which means that there are 2 copies of the mutation, which are required to produce a positive offspring.
Results for genetic code:
N/N No copies of the NFS mutation; animal is normal.
N/NFS 1 copy of the NFS mutation; animal is normal but is a carrier.
NFS/NFS 2 copies of the NFS mutation; horse is …show more content…

Since then, the number has steadily increased. Many of the horses with the disorder were most likely registered as stillborn.
Signs of NFS
The primary signs are lack of “body, mane and tail hair,” there is also “abnormal teeth development”, “digestive disorders”, “persistent diarrhea and laminitis-like problems”. There are some cases, that the front teeth are “in” at birth or the molars grow “abnormally” from normal jaws. Secondary symptoms include “scaly, dry and inflamed skin”, as well as severe cases of sunburn in the summer and frequent “pulmonary infections” during the winter. This is due to the fact that there is no hair to keep the foal protected from the desert climates and normal weather patterns.
Death from NFS
Early demise is usually caused by digestive problems, whereas older horses need to be humanely euthanized because of severe laminitis-induced pain. Most of the time the foals are dead within a few weeks to months. The longest living NFS foal is about 3 years old. It is not clear whether a specific disease process causes their premature deaths as there are numerous problems that affect the foal.
Case

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