European Gathering - 2007

It wasn't the first time breeders gathered together to get to know one another. It was however, one of a series of meetings by European breeders and registries that have been taking place the last three years. This time, the emphasis was on fact gathering, and moving toward a harmonious work group that together can promote the American Curly Horse today and into the future. This vision has been shared by many, and one of the fundamental corner-stones is to dispel mistrust and misunderstanding which we all feel detrimental to the image of the American Curly Horse, its breeders and registries. The concept of the meeting, therefore, was to build friendships, learn about the history of the Curly (the Nevada Horses, the Midwest Horses, the Canadian), the history of the registries in America, Curly Horse genetics, to find out what is in process on the Stateside, and how these events affect requirements, such as the quality inspections we have in Europe that have a strong impact on the selection of the horses we import to Europe.

Tom and Petra Wolf, new breeders of the American Curly Horse for about two years, took the opportunity to invite the registries and breeders from Germany, Sweden, Norway, France, Switzerland and Austria to come together at their home in Germany. The setting was magnificent, and provided a platform for discussion, fun, lectures and meals all surrounded by a beautiful home, grounds and Curlies running about! The weather was well-behaved, and the food and drink fabulous, and the discussions enlightening. Nearly two full days were spent in deep discussion, and nearly all the participants expressly felt it was a great success. Here in Europe we look forward to the cooperation of the different countries and breeders to maintain footing with other longer established breeds. Together, we hope to become one of the most respected and popular groups representing news breeds in Europe!

Lene Jensen spoke about:

ICHO Hierarchie
Horses get registered in their own European countries by the rules of that country. At the end of the year all horses registered domestically is entered in the ECHR, which keeps track of pedigrees and the breeder. Owner changes, stallion reports etc. is kept in their own country. In this way we will include all Curly horses legally bred in Europe. An own European registrar will take care of the ECHR business, so papers will not have to be sent forth and back over the Atlantic. Horses bred in Europe are required to register in the ECHR if eligible and will not be accepted in the NACHR (unless they are exported to North America). When a horse has been inspected and approved at regional or national level, it may be entered in the International Curly Approved Mare and Stud book.

NACHIP is a North American program that will supply inspection scores compatible with ICAMS, the International Curly Approved Mare and Stallion studbook. It has been developed to meet the requirements of North American Curly horse owners and in support of the vision of ICAMS. The first inspection was held in Oct. 2005 at the New Mexico ICHO AGM, hosted by Bob and Donna Hedicke with Ann Marie Gregoire, a USEF 'r' dressage judge, presiding. It served to both inspect the first group of horses and to test the proposed North American approach for its suitability in the North American environment. The results led to the following inspection directives.

Goals:

1. Provide consistent and high quality inspection results that would support the vision and goals of ICAMS, allowing North American horses to be entered into the ICAMS program
2. Provide an affordable program that will be attractive and useful to Curly horse owners regardless of individual goals, age or sex of horse (mare, stallion or gelding)
3. Provide a program that will help fill the needs of people buying long distance to get a reliable and comparable evaluation on the type and conformation of horses of interest
4. Help fill out pedigrees with information that is useful in the development of special emphasis (type) breeding programs
5. Provide some comparable information on general body type, style and breeding recommendations for owners and breeders
6. Provide education to Curly horse owners & breeders so we can better understand the importance of good conformation and how it impacts the usefulness and longevity of horses, and how this will help us preserve the most fundamental and important traits of our Curly Horses
7. Provide the base for progressive generations of approved curly horses, potentially leading to an envolved breed

Members of the European Associations are automatically included as ICHO members. They will get their ICHO news and info through the newsletter of their own Association, eliminating overseas postage costs. A board member of each Association will be represented in the board of the ECHR. A board member of each registry will be represented in the board of ICHO. This ensure a line of communication up and down, and a democratic process, where the whole membership will get their voice heard through their representatives.

EU- MEETING 2007

Petra and Tom Wolf entered into Curly breeding about two years ago. They have since become very interested in the breed and have gathered a breeding herd with the intent to provide high quality larger Curly Horses. To do this, they have built a beautiful farm in the middle of Germany and selected both ABC and ICHO horses for their program. In order to get to know the other breeders and help in discussions about the German studbook, which is presently in development, and provide a platform for fact sharing (to find out what is myth and what is not, as many falsehoods are still being propagated today!) these two very open and progressive people offered their lovely home to European breeders, registry representatives, and fans as a place to get together!

Dr. Karen Zierler spoke about:
American Curly Horse History and Information – dispelling the Myths
The term “F” is for „Foundation“ (f) NOT „Full“
Closing the Registry caused a split of ABC breeders some founding the ICHO Native American,Warrior, Berndt, NTS (35 horses – some mixed blood)
Damele (3 horses of mixed blood, 1 stud, 2 mares related after winter killed all horses in herd)
Curly Q (1 horse, wild horse)
Lararmie Stud (1 horse, brought from WY to run with herd of normalstock)
Skjonsberg (a few horses)
Manitoba Mare (1 horse)
Oregon herd (isolated, did not contribute to main bloodlines)
Curly Jim (1 horse, MFT curlies )
All curly horses are crosses with modern breeds because too few curlies existed to start breeding curly to curly. Outcrosses going back to the 1930s include: Arabian (Nevada Red x Damele), Morgan (Ruby Red King x Damele/Mead), Waggoneer Quarter Horse (several x Warrior, Berndt horses), Appaloosas (back to the 1930s, appaloosa was considered very close to the Curly Horse and many appaloosas are in Curly pedigrees)

The ICHO Registry shows
Accepted Horses missed by the ABC (foundation parents, curly to curly bred) SAME original source of Curlies as the ABC; Many “foundation bred” horses; Mustang Curlies Horses; Crossed Curlies; The CSI (Sport Horse Curlies – mostly crossed); Curly Types – All Modern (Foundation) Curlies come from these sources and are the result of crosses producing different types:
Native American (very rare only 3 known horses exist today and are very old)
Not crossed
Hammrich Herd – Western Body Type
Native American mixed with Quarter Horse/Appy
Skjonsberg – Small Draft Farm Horse
Native American mixed with Canadian draft
Spartacus Line – Dressage
Damele mixed with Arabian and Morgan
Damele Line – Classic Type
The three remaining curlies were mixed with Saddlebred (Tom), Arabian (Nevada Red) and Morgan (Ruby Red King) to produce the typical „ABC“ foundation Curly (note, „F“ stands for FOUNDATION not FULL, no FULL curly exists today except the 3 remaining living Native Horses); Mustang Lines – BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
Considered by some the original “foundation” Curly. It is thought today that the Curly is a Mustang with a curly coat mutation.
Curly Horses in various Mustang herds keep appearing
Canadian Lines – Western Racing Type
Damele and Skjonsberg bloodlines mixed with Jockey Club racing stock (QH and TB)
Gaited Lines – Light MFT Type
Curly Jim line (a separate curly coat type) mixed with Missouri Foxtrotters, very little curly blood, mostly MFT blood for gait
Draft Lines – Coldblood Type
Damele or Hammrich lines mixed with draft
Pony Lines – Shetty, Welsh, Mini Types
Since the 1970s breeders in America have been developing shetty curlies and mini curlies
Sport Lines – Warmblood Type
Warmblood crosses
Genetics
Follows Dominant Gene inheritance, however also showing partial dominance:
Homozygous Parents: CHCH
CHCH x CHCH
100% Homozygous offspring CHCH
Heterozygous Parents: CHch
CHch x CHch
Mixed offspring:
25% Homozygous CHCH (Curly coat/Short mane & tail, called „Extreme“)
50% Heterozygous CHch (Curly coat/Long mane & tail)
25% Recessive chch (Smooth coat)
Homozygous Parent Crossed to Smooth Coat Parent
CHCH x chch
100% Heterozygous CHch (Curly coat/Long main & tail)
Heterozygous Parent Crossed to Smooth Coat Parent CHch x chch
50% Heterozygous CHch (Curly coat/Long mane & tail)
50% Smooth Coat chch
Heterozygous Parent Crossed to Homozygous Parent CHch x CHCH
50% Homozygous CHCH (Curly coat/Short mane & tail, called „Extreme“)
50% Heterozygous CHch (Curly coat/Long mane & tail)
Partial dominance: straight coated curlies are 25% of the product from a heterozygous to heterozygous breeding. MANY straight coated curlies exhibit “bunny hair” and are hypoallergenic. A hair study in America shows that these “straight coated” curlies show curled hair under the microscope. Many allergy sufferers can have a straight coated curly from two curly parents.

Dominant Gene - MFT
The Missouri Foxtrotter Curly with Curly Jim bloodlines shows a different coat type. This coat is wirey, and they tend to not shed mane or tail hair as much as a “Western” curly. The MFT dominant gene Curly is considered to be a separate strain or mutation than the other curlies.
Recessive Gene – Curly Coat
• Produces a Curly coated horse from two straight parents
• Only shows when the horse is homozygous
• Not related to the North American Curly Horse
• Occurs in different breeds
Arabian, Percheron, Shetland Pony
Several breeds, such as the Arabian, Quarter Horse, Pecheron can produce curly coated foals that are NOT related to the American Curly Horse. This is a recessive mustation in which a pure-bred horse (Arabian for example) from two pure bred parents shows coat curl. These horses carry a recessive gene for coat curl and CANNOT produce curly offspring unless the other mate has also the recessive curly gene. These horses with recessive genes SHOULD NOT be mixed with the Dominant Curly Horses coming from America.

Coat Types
The Curly gene is not straight forward, it appears to be a combination of several genes based on phenotypes:
• Extreme (very short mane and tail hair, rattail)
• Baldie (no hair on body, should NEVER be bred)
• Curly with Long mane & tail
o Wavy curl
o Ringlet curl
o Spiral curl
o Light curl
• Bunny Hair (straight coated horse that feels like angora)
• Wire Hair (like a Dachshund)
• Minimal curl (looks almost straight coated but has curls or waves in the ears)
• Eyelashes, Ears, Fetlocks
• Fatty residue (coat shows more fat, protects against the cold)
• Smell (often smells like wool or a sheep)
Microscopic Study Results: A current study is underway testing curlies from different bloodlines and coat types to determine how much curl each horse has, and why. This study has shown that even straight coated curlies show curl under the microscope and are considered suitable for breeding. Curly crosses also show curly.

Blood Typing Study – Dr. Ann Bowling
• Blood Typing study used 200 Curly Horses
• 13% came from Joe Mead representing the Damele stock
• Looked for unique genetic markers to see if the Curly Horse was a separate breed
Results of Blood Typing
• 1. The horses are very diverse in genetics
• 2. The horses demonstrated 110 out of 135 possible varients
• 3.These varients are typical of other American breeds
• Rare or unusual varients were 48% of the total varients, typical of modern horse breeds. These were concentrated on a small portion of horses
• Damele bloodlines were similar to each other and different from the MFT bloodlines, the same with the MFTs
• Graphing the varients on a comparison chart with other breeds the blood typing of the Curly fell at the low end of the chart where American breeds are, especially near to the Quarter Horse and Morgan Horse
• Rare and unusual varients found in Curlys were found in feral herds of Nevada and South America
• No common varient was found in all Curlies that could be related to Curly hair
• Conclusion: The Curly is a very mixed bunch and showed no unique breed status due to previous heavy cross-breeding. If an old Curly ancestor existed it was not possible to prove it, rather the Curly comes from feral stock refined with various modern breeds

Allergies and Genetics
Based on individual tests with over 200 allergy sufferers at Curlies Austria since April 2003, genetic markers from bloodlines, coat type are important but “purity of the Curly” is NOT important:
• Each allergy sufferer is tested singly with one horse at a time
• Not every allergy sufferer is the same, and not every Curly is the same
• Some bloodlines work for one person, while another bloodline will work for someone else (Cypress lines work for some, Damele lines for others, Warrior for others)
• Cross-breeding does not affect allergy results, some allergy sufferers are not allergic to cross-bred horses yet are allergic to the Curly to Curly bred Curlies (keep in mind, all Curlies have cross-breeding)
• Offspring of a horse that works for an allergy sufferer will often also work for that sufferer
• Over time, owning and working with a Curly can also help desensitize the person to normal horses, several customers have called to say that over the years their allergies have gotten better after having a Curly
• Coat type does not always help, some people are allergic to extreme Curlies and not other Curlies, sometimes a smooth coat Curly works best
• If all else fails try an MFT Curly (Brigitta Sperlbauer) they have a different mutation and some allergy sufferers can take MFTs better than other.
• CONCLUSION: allergies and curlies are complicated, one must test each one to find the right match to the allergies. FALSE: “Purebred Curlies are the only Curlies for people with Allergies” We have five years of evidence that says no two allergy sufferers are the same, and have matched allergy sufferers with the following bloodlines and horses: Damele, Warrior, Cypress, Curly-Cross, and MFT. We have placed over 25 horses with our customers.

Blood Percentages – Myth and Truth
• It is a myth that a „pure“ Curly exists
• Registries are working toward „Breed Status“
• Closed Book concentrates both Curly characteristics but also those of the outcrossed horses: Nevada Red, Ruby Red King, Bad Warrior, Roy Olepeter, etc. and their blood
• Breeding based only on Curly blood percentages means that horses from mixed crossed backgrounds are bred together forming mish-mash conformations without checking for quality, bloodline history, and matching conformation
• The MFT Curly and the Western Curly do not have the same coat genetics
• True blood percentages are much less than listed at the ABC – the ABC arbitrarily set a group of horses as “foundation” and then set them at 100% even though they were out-crosses
• The „F“ in the ABC books stands for „Foundation“ not „Full“ There is no full blood Curly
• Smooth coat horses are a source of healthy genetics, reduce the incidence of baldies and extremes, and are in general more than 30% the production and have been shown to have curl under the microscope.

Corrected Blood Percent Calculations
An example calculation
• Assumptions – the 3 surviving Damele horses were of mixed blood (they came from the original Damele herd before the hard winter and this herd was a mixture of Curlies and other horse breeds. The three that survived the winter were related to each other so were not bred together, thus they were crossed-out. The surviving stallion got a herd of other breed mares, and the two mares were bred to a Saddlebred stallion (Tom). Although the Damele horses have less than 50% curly blood due to out-crosses to start with, back-crossing has concentrated curly genes, we apply 50% Curly Blood to Damele horses.
• Native American Horses from the Indian Eli Bad Warrior are considered 100% (NTS prefix in the name and also Miss Berndt Warrior, Miss Fort Berthold, etc.)
• Curly Jim 100%
• Mustang Curlies are considered 50% coming from a mixed herd.
• Canadian stock (Cypress and Skjonsberg) similarly have a lot of outcrossing (Jocky Club and QH) 50% Curly Blood percent.
• Examples
1. A 50% horse x 50% horse = 50% curly blood offspring
2. A 50% horse x 25% horse = 25% curly blood offspring
3. A 50% curly horse x 25% curly horse = 37.5% curly horse offspring.
All of these horses have curly coats unless specified.
Calculation for Sunnyboy (stallion in Sweden considered “FULL” Curly)
In his pedigree we have the following horses:
Cotton Eyed Joe (old one) 50%
Damele Buckskin Mare 50%
OB Pinto D 50%
Ruby Red King (Morgan Horse) 0%
JC‘s Joker ABC 512(f) 25% (Sunnyboy‘s sire)
Cotton Eyed Joe (old one) 50%
Damele Buckskin Mare 50%
OB Pinto D 50%
Nevada Red 0%
Dixie D 25%
OB Pinto D 50%
Colonel Austin 37.5%
Damele Curly Horse 50%
Damele Curly Mare 50%
Nevada Lander C 50%
Colonel Two Boots 43.75 % (Sunnybon‘s dam)
Sunnyboy‘s total blood percent is 34.375%

Blood Percent Calculations for several stallions using this calculation method:
• Walker‘s Prince T – 12.5% (MFT Stallion featured in most MFT Curly pedigrees)
• Ohio Dream – 21.875 % (Damele bloodline stallion)
• CCG Warrior Billy Jack – 53.125 % (Warrior bloodline stallion)
• SS Clooney – 25 % (Damele, Fredell, Warrior bloodline stallion)
• Sir Patrick Maximum – 9.375 % (MFT stallion)
• KC Thundercloud – 29.30 % (Damele stallion)
• Copper D – 25% (Most Damele bloodline horses decend from this stallion)
• Ebony Twist – 35.94 % (Damele bloodline stallion ancestor)
• Seeker‘s Warrior – 75 % (Warrior bloodline stallion with some Damele)
• Warrior Black Velvet – 43.75% (bloodline stallion with some Damele)
• Warrior Big Sioux – 25 % (bloodline stallion with some Damele)

Summary from Genetics:
• Dominant Gene – Western vs. MFT (two types of coat)
• Blood Typing – Curlies are a mixed bunch that share some characteristics, such as coat curl, good bone, due to back crossing to Curly coated horses.
• Coats vary alot
• Allergy testing is very individual, trends for bloodlines, depends on the person, some work with MFT, some with Damele, some with Cypress (Canadian) and some with half-curlies and straight coated curlies.
• Blood Percentage Calculations show how little original Curly blood remains and that pure Curlies do not exist, rather there are specific Curly types based on breeding methods of ranchers from 1900-1980s.

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