From
the time Walers were actively bred, they were bred in
the range situation, that is, as wild horses in large
unrestricted areas. Since the days they ceased to he commercially
bred, they have continued to run as brumbies. We are most
fortunate in this, for the wild horse, contrary to what
you read in uninformed horse books, is the least inbred
of any breed. Nature precludes inbreeding through natural
herd behavior, and with the large numbers and vast unlimited
range our horses have enjoyed, this is most true for Walers.
Origionally bred from selected breeds to create the right
types, they have bred true for a century and a half, and
become a breed. This breed was obvious well before the
Boer War. Some people say they are a type. This is a compliment,
as you need a type to have breed! Many breeds such as
the Thoroughbred, did not even have a type when they started
a Studbook. Not being inbred, the Waler's genotype is
heterozygous. Almost all if not all domestic breeds, due
to inbreeding, are homozygous. Genes are determined by
the chromosomes, to which are attached allelles; we call
this structure genes as they arc inherited and determine
all seen and unseen things about an animal, including
humans.
A homozygous horse may have one or two dominant allelies,
and three or four recessive allelies.
A Waler on the contrary has no dominants and no recessives,
but up to twenty allelles on it's chromosomes, of which
any random combination of allelles may become dominant
in the particular horse. The allelles that makes coat
colour, conformation, temperament and action in a particular
horse, are dominant in that horse, but with Walers may
not be dominant in it's offspring. For example with domestic
horses, the chestnut gene is recessive, you need at least
one chestnut parent to breed a chestnut. With Walers,
two browns, or two bays may breed a chestnut. Chestnut
is in fact associated with the black and the grey gene,
and your Waler will have these as equally as others. Two
Walers with no white markings, may throw a foal with four
white feet and a blaze. So markings too follow the random
gene pattern. Some people will tell you that line-breeding
is not inbreeding. Line breeding means having a common
ancestor in the third generation, so it's inbreeding that
is not too close. This is done to fix a gene, that is,
make it dominant. Sure you may get the look of the animal
you fixed, but you lose all other possibilities by creating
dominants. How do you then breed out a fixed fault that
may have occured? Any form of inbreeding, even linebreeding,
will radically alter gene structure. Dominants will take
over, a few recessives be fixed, and other genes simply
disappear. Close inbreeding such as brother to sister,
father to daughter, with horses, means a dominant will
become fixed, with only one or two recessives, called
over-dominance or double dominant. This becomes virtually
impossible to breed out. A reccessive gene may also become
fixed as a dominant, undershot jaw is a classic inbreeding
gene that suddenly becomes dominant. All the other allelles,
such as normal mouth, are totally lost, so if a desired
feature is lost, you can never breed it back in with that
breed and only through generations of outcrossing to more
heterozygous horses if you can find them. Even then, throwbacks
will occur, usually in the third and fifth generation.
This is a common factor with Arabians or Arabs, the most
inbred of modern breeds with an inbreeding co-efficient
of 39 percent (Thoroughbreds are the next highest with
17 percent: and wild horses have the lowest with 4.5 percent).
Cross out from an Arab three times, and instead of the
three-quarter draught you were expecting, you may well
find you have an Arab build, or it's action, or it's nature,
or the lot. So by maintaining a heterozygous gene structure,
we maintain a good breed that does not rely on "fixing"
genes - that is, making dominants - to make a breed. The
Waler breed is strong and true, and does not have to rely
on inbreeding to reproduce like types.
The Waler already has the perfect phenotype, it could
not he improved. It has the ideal genotype, for with all
these allelles) we have no dominants so can breed out
any undesirable faults in one generation by simply not
breeding to two horses with the same fault (this can fix/make
dominant a gene).
Likewise, if we like one Waler and breed it to one that
looks the same, we can then fix in, to some degree, that
look, and those qualities we desire. We breed a like dominant
to a like dominant, and we may in a few generations by
continuing this practise, create a natural dominant for
that type we desire. Just as the old horsebreeders did
long ago, and like them, without resorting to inbreeding.
It is a true adage that it takes five generations (horse
generations) of careful selection to get your stud type
perfect and breeding true to what you want - without any
inbreeding. This is an almost lost skill. There are no
shortcuts to creating the type you want, but as we see
with Walers, it's well worth all that care. Those old
breeders made us a wonderful type and breed. Most interesting,
meanwhile we cannot always predict how a foal will look,
it may be any colour, may look like an ancestor, or look
like a parent, or neither, but it's still undoubtedly
a Waler, for overall, there is a look to them - a stamp.
The bone, muscle, rump, shoulder, strength and good temper.
A horse with club feet, will be unlikely to throw club
feet with Walers, as it's not a dominant. We have fixed
no problems; having to survive in the wild, the Waler
has developed a hardy constitution and good conformation
and intelligence, that any small aberration to will disappear
in one generation.
We must, of course, be on the look out for problems that
do not breed out - that is a congenital fault (associated
with dominants) that may pass on, maybe the horse has
a dominant for that gene that has somehow happened through
inbreeding, a possibility with disruption to herds caused
by helicopter hunting and disturbance. It is unlikely
however. Congentital faults in other breeds, rarely occur
in Walers, and often only in the particular horse. Some
faults that are thought to he congential have happened
through handling. I have seen perfectly normal foals,
brumbies, run hard for weeks to near death to get to sale
yards. By the end of the ordeal, starved, thirsty and
exhausted they are hunch-backed to keep from falling over
' so they don't die - and these tiny survivors grow into
roach-backed horses. Yet left alone, they would not have
roach backs. Roach backs can also occur from lack of calcium,
the dam undoubtedly using all hers during her hard run.
Brumbies left in yards so their feet grow, may get club
footed. Yet in the wild this would not occur. So always
ask a horse's background before deciding whether a fault
is congenital or adventitious. If unsure, say so. Time
and breeding on will tell.
It is only if we start inbreeding or line-breeding that
we will lose this wonderful gene structure that gives
us many coat colours, lack of conformation faults and
other attributes. We have all the genes of the origional
breeds, so we get draught markings, Timor markings, Norfolk
action, Cape horse physique, any combination that is always
a surprise yet always, with the phenotype intact. The
phenotype is what a horse can do, how it looks, how it
stands up to life - what it's like inside and outside.
Basically, it's the effect environment has on the genes.
It's the strong build in a Waler, which always gives an
impression of strength whether it's a light or heavy type.
Hard hooves, strong legs, solid quarters, great bone and
tendon. It's the steady wise temperament, the frugality,
and "the bottom", that is) the ability to go for long
hours day in and day out for weeks or months doing hard
work without breaking down, knocking up, or giving up.
A Waler will never say die. So we have the phenotype that
has developed through range management, and through human
management by the original breeding practices ' which
stallions and mares were used to develop the Waler, and
through culling for temperament, and through lack of inbreeding.
Basically, it's survival in the wild that has given us
a truly magnificent phenotype.
We must strive to preserve not only the looks, but the
unseen qualities of the Waler by not coddling it and hence
dulling it's mind and body. Of course, if you are actively
using your horse, you may need to give it extra feed,
rug it in severe winters if you're making it hot through
work, and we don't all have access to a range. But we
must do what we can to preserve original characteristics.
Stop boredom, by use, rotating paddocks or running on
a range; provide salt-licks to make up for the horse being
unable to access different geological areas, let it make
a sand roll, give it trees for shade and to hide and to
rub on. Rocks and hills make it surefooted. Bogs make
it wary and able to judge ground. A creek let's it work
out how to get its own water, and it will cool itself
off there. Independance of lifestyle, being on a range,
does not make your Waler need you less. You still have
carrots, lucerne, and love. You can still take it out
for interesting rides or walks, and provide diversion
and company. A Waler, if it bonds to you, will not forsake
you. You'll keep the breed strong, active, quiet, intelligent
and therefore useful. Without a use, breeds disappear.
Running with company keeps their herd instincts working
and is of benefit. A lead horse will watch out for trouble,
that one and it's offsider will attack dogs or danger
and protect the herd, A stallion will care for his mares,
and foals if you leave him with them foaling. Being run
with one or more mares, he will be gentle to new mares
whether or not they are in season, he will court them
and care for them; unlike many stallions of other breeds
who will savage mares. Mares will help each other with
foals, taking stress off the mother and allowing her to
rest. Foals play together and get excercise and learn
to interact, and fight if they are colts. This is natural.
Herds keep horses safe and secure, and happy. It keeps
Waler's instincts true, A normal wild horse herd is rarely
more than five or six horses in total. So the Waler has
all the perfect qualities and we must keep them intact
if we care for it's survival. Inbreeding and over coddling
will destroy genotype and phenotype. So let owners know
that the genotype and phenotype must be preserved however
they can, it's what drew them to the breed in the first
place.
©
Janet Lane 1988
