Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA)

LABOKLIN Service ID: 8139

Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is a degenerative skin disease affecting predominantly American Quarter Horses. Within the population about 1.8-6.5% individuals are carriers of the autosomal recessive disorder. Normally foals are being born without any signs of the disease. At the age of 2 years or at the time when the horse is being saddle broken, the first symptoms occur. Affected areas of the skin are distributed irregularly all over the body with a predilection for the area on the back and face. The skin of affected horses is hyperextensible skin, scarring, and shows severe lesions along the back. Histological examination of skin biopsies are not suitable for diagnosis of HERDA and can only provide hints. Currently there is no specific treatment available and horses often have to be euthanized.

Method	TaqMan SNP assay
Breed list	Appaloosa, Paint Horse, Quarab, Quarter Horse, Quarter pony
Heredity	autosomal recessive
Duration	3 - 5 days after arrival of the sample in the lab