The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is now offering a five-panel genetic disease screening test through the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, according to a statement on the organization’s website.

The test will screen for five potentially fatal genetic diseases often found in Quarter Horses:

• Glycogen branching enzyme deficiency (GBED);
• Heredity equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA);
• Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP);
• Malignant hyperthermia (MH); and
• Polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM).

When ordered, the AQHA will mail test kits to the client, who will then send the kit to UC Davis.

"Once the tests are complete, AQHA will notify the owners and put the results on the horse’s record and certificate of registration," the statement said