A team of German researchers might have pinpointed the genes responsible in part for the development of navicular disease as the result of a study of Hanoverian Warmbloods.

"Navicular disease, defined as the progressive degeneration of the navicular bone, bursa, and the distal (toward the ground) end of the deep digital flexor tendon that attaches to the navicular bone, is one of the main causes of chronic and, oftentimes, therapy-resistant forelimb lameness in horses," explained Ottmar Distl, DVM, PhD, a professor at the Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, and co-author of the study.

A previous study indicated that navicular disease is heritable. In that study, a segment of DNA called a qualitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 10 appeared to be associated with changes in the navicular bone of Hanoverians. The researchers found that horses with these QTLs had abnormally sized, shaped, and located nutrient channels of the navicular bone.

"In this study, we attempted to take a more in-depth look at these QTLs on chromosome 10 to see if we could identify any actual genes associated with the abnormalities in the nutrient foramina (channels within the bone)," said Distl