Understanding Lethal White and Lavender Foal Syndromes

There seems to be a few people on this forum who think that a non-horse owner such as myself cannot possibly write a valuable horse-related article, especially since I don't have much contact with real horses in my life anymore. Well, we'll see. Here are actually two separate, very short articles I wrote that I put together to form one. Let me know if they are any good. Maybe a scale of 1-10 (1 being awful, 10 being excellent)?


Disclaimer: Please don't judge based on the links. These articles are a few years old and the links may be outdated. I haven't checked. These are for examples of my work only.



Lethal White Syndrome


Lethal White Syndrome, sometimes called Overo Lethal White Syndrome or OLWS, is a devastating condition that affects some foals of primarily Paint Horse breeding.
First discovered in 1982, its exact causes are as yet unknown, but it is always fatal. Because of this, most OLWS foals are euthanized shortly after birth, or else they die painfully soon thereafter. The condition is most closely associated with Overo Paint horses, but carriers have also been found in Tobiano and Tovero, as well as some solid-colored animals.
Both the sire and dam must carry the specific genes that contribute to this condition in order for a OLWS foal to result.
Usually born snowy white, with pink skin and light blue eyes, afflicted foals generally appear normal in every way. Because of their unique coloring, they are unusually beautiful. It's unclear why coat color has any direct relation to the affliction, but it does. However, many white foals are born that have no trace of the disease, nor are they carriers of the gene that causes it.
The problem stems from the foals' colons or intestines, which are underdeveloped. Often, the intestine stops just short of the anal opening, preventing the foal from passing feces. Because of this, they will soon colic and die.
The affliction has also been found in a few other breeds, such as Thoroughbreds, Miniature Horses, half-Arabians, pintos, and sometimes in crop-out Quarter Horses (horses with too much white to be registered as Quarter Horses).
Occasionally, surgery has been attempted in an effort to save OLWS foals, but it has always proven to be unsuccessful. The condition just cannot be cured at the present time.
If you are planning on breeding horses, and think you may have a carrier for OLWS, have your horse or horses tested. Far better to learn of it before than to go through the heartache of having to destroy one more Lethal White foal.
For more information on Lethal White Syndrome, visit these sources:
http://www.horsesring.com/articles/overo-let hal-white-syndrome.html
www.apha.com/breed/lethalwhit es03.html
www.netpets.com/horses/healthspa/lethal.htm l
http://www.stallingspainthorses.com/lethal-white1.h tml


Lavender Foal Syndrome


Lavender Foal Syndrome, also called Coat Color Dilution Lethal, is a rare genetic neurological disorder that affects foals of Egyptian Arabian breeding.
It gets its name from the unusual coat color of most affected foals; described as very pale chestnut, lavender or light purple, pewter, shimmering silver, or slightly pinkish.
These foals are unable to stand, the condition never improves, and there is no known treatment or cure, so the foals are usually euthanized. Symptoms include an inability to stand or sit upright, rolling or twitching eye movements, stiff legs or a 'paddling' or 'running' motion with the legs, and lying flat on the ground with the neck stretched back and out, and they often suffer seizures as well.
The eyes are often light colored, being described as grayish or with a bluish tint to them.
Like Lethal White Syndrome, both the sire and the dam must be carriers of the specific gene that contributes to the disorder.
Lavender Foal Syndrome has been recognized as far back as the 1950s, but surprisingly little research has been done until recently. Even now, because of the relative rarity and very few specimens to do research with, there is much mystery surrounding the affliction.
Both sexes can be affected by the disorder, but it only appears in horses of Egyptian Arabian bloodlines or their crosses.
There has been some suggestion that other Arabian bloodlines not related to Egyptian Arabians can also be carriers as well, but this is still up for debate.
Because even today, little is known of its causes, and because it is still quite rare, many veterinarians are unfamiliar with it and may misdiagnose a Lavender foal as having some other neurological disease. Much is being done in the area of studying the disorder, but there is still a long way to go.
For more info on Lavender Foal Syndrome, you can look at these sources:
http://www.foal.org/user/Lavender%20Foal%20S yndrome.pdf
http://www.foal.org/user/Fanelli_260_263_ pdf
http://www.arabians-international.com/LFS.html
Htt p://destinyarabians.com/lfs.htm
http://risingrainbow. Blogspot.com/2007/06/lavender-foal-syndrome-arabian- horse.html

Just some clarification & info to add:
OLWS is associated with the frame overo gene. It is when 2 frame carriers are crossed & each pass on the frame gene. This is Frame overo in it's homozygous form = lethal white overo foal. There is a 25% chance of this when 2 carriers are mated. There is other overo genes sabino & splash that do not create lethal white/OLWS negative. Frame overo can be minimally expressed or displayed in combination with other pinto patterns so not always recognized by phenotype,so only safe way to know if your horse is a frame carrier is by TESTING.A true tobiano does not carry OLWS. Tovero horses depends on what overo gene is at play, but very often it is frame & they will test positive for OLWS.White markings on a solid colored horse are overo genes at work{minimallly expressed},most often they are sabino or splash & horse will be OLWS negative,but it is not unheard of that it is that frame gene at work & your solid colored horse is a frame/olws carrier. Bottom line breed responsibly get your horse tested for OLWS.

I don't want to sound like a 'rain on the parader' but these aren't articles I would expect to be published. The information is straight forward, like it's come right out of a Wiki page, and isn't put together in 'article' fashion. That said, you did mention that they were a couple years old? It all comes with writing style.

Have you taken any journalism classes?

Unfortunately I'm going to pull the thread that spurred THIS thread over here, at least in regards to my own comments (and a few others, perhaps?). My only complaint is that you seemed mistaken in the '____ for no reason' mindset, which is what lead ME to question whether you were qualified to write the sort of article you were discussing. You can't do internet research, looking through other articles and expect to write your own on the topic and have it be as 'valuable' an article as one written by a professional with real, physical research to back them up (ie: vet, someone well schooled in the 'why' behind the behaviour, if there's no apparent cause then look deeper, under the skin, in the brain).

Actually, I agree with you and it doesn't necessarily reflect my personal writing style. It was written this way because those were the guidelines of the original client. They wanted straightforward facts only. The rules were very stringent- even to the point of the number of words allowed. They're short because they had to be a certain number, not even one over that. In fact, I even added a few when I posted here.

These were the kind of "articles" they were seeking, so that's what I gave 'em.