Clinic: colour genetics

On the 27th of February 2010, ICAMH had organized a full day clinic with Corine Mennuti about colour genetics in horses. Afterwards, the group could join in a diner.

The clinic has been held at Restaurant Kanters, Steenweg 2, Moerdijk, the Netherlands. An overnight stay could be booked at the Express by Holiday Inn Moerdijk, which is a partner of Restaurant Kanters.

Corine Mennuti

My name is Corine Mennuti, I am 37 years of age and have been involved in horses since I was 8. From the age of 16 on, I have also been working in the horse business.
When I was 18 years old, I came to work at a stable in the US, Double-J-Paints in Arizona. At first, I was hired as trainer. The stable was mainly a breeding farm for Paint Horses, and each year the foals were taken to Futurity shows and the mares, when open, to the regional APHA shows.
After having been employed as trainer for 3 years, I became Breeding Manager of the stable with 20 mares. They had no stallion of their own, so each year it was upon me to find a suitable mate for each mare, truly a great job!
But, in order to be able to do that well, I had to learn more about genetics. And, as colour does play a big part in Paints, also about colour inheritance. That quickly really fascinated me! It dawned upon me that many things that I “thought”, which seemed “logical” to me, weren't true! In those days, so many things had not been scientifically researched yet. Testing for something was still fiction! Nowadays, lots of research has been done about the various colours and we know much more, even though, luckily, not everything is common knowledge just yet.

So, I made it my hobby to fully understand colour genetics and with my background as trainer, and later instructor, I manage very well to pass this on in easily understandable terms. Annually, I conduct about 2 to 3 clinics for breeders/clubs, with the greatest pleasure and success.

Programme

The day commenced with an explation about the basics of genetics; Corine made it easy and explained only the necessary parts.
After that, the group went over all the horses' colours: what are their characteristics - and how are they passed on?
Then, the white-factors came to the table: all grey, pinto and appaloosa factors.

Finally, the group took a little test, just to confirm what has been tought. Afterwards, the group went over the test questions together, so if certain things were still unclear, they still could be explained better.

Below, two of the participants share their experiences with this clinic.

Impression Juno

My name is Juno Koehler. I follow a course on animal care at the Wellant college. My interest lies mainly in horses, that's why I am an intern at Stal Zegwaard.

My internship mentor, Priscilla Nuijens asked if I ever had followed a clinic on colour inheritance. I was taught at school about inheritance, but not yet on colour genetics in horses. So I was very excited when she asked me if I wanted to attend an ICAMH clinic on this topic.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were welcomed with tea, coffee and pastries. At the start of the clinic, all present introduced themselves and shared why they attented this clinic. I liked hearing from the various people how they had ended up in this horse world.

The clinic itself, I found very interesting. Many topics that were covered at the beginning of the clinic were already familiar to me, but that was a good repetition. As the clinic progressed, I began to like it more and more, because I understood it all and many things were new to me.

The day was quite long, but I learned a lot. Much of the information I included in a report for school. In summary, it was a successful and informative day!

Impression Charell

I am Charell Bignell. Like Juno, I am an intern at Stal Zegwaard and qualified through Priscilla Nuijens for participation in the ICAMH clinic on colour inheritance in mini horses.

First, my compliments to the hostess Claudia. I thought it was a very nicely organized and well catered day!

Then the clinic itself. Even though the speaker spoke very quickly, the day still took quite long. I couldn't remember everything because it was an abundance of information, but every now and then things pop up of which I think: “hey, I know that, this is what I learned at the clinic!”

I thought it was a very informative day indeed and went home feeling content. But not only with a sense of satisfaction, also with an ICAMH Certificate of this clinic.

At the end of the day, we all enjoyed a nice dinner with Claudia, which was very good too.