CAHIR and Emily Libby - Rolex 2007 (©Nan Rawlins/Equimage)

The Horse/Bloodhorse reports that tying up in Thoroughbreds may be genetic. Thinking over horses who have tied up in my past, this makes sense ~ ed

Tying-Up in Thoroughbreds: Narrowing the Genetic Search

By Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc

Updated: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 4:00 PM
Posted: Friday, December 24, 2010 12:00 AM
Originally published on TheHorse.com

Researchers suspect tying-up in horses is a heritable condition; however, they have yet to determine the gene--or genes--responsible. But a team of Japanese researchers recently moved the investigation forward with a groundbreaking study of affected Thoroughbred racehorses' DNA.

Muscle disorders such as polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM, recognized mainly in Quarter Horses) and recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER, found primarily in Thoroughbred and Standadbred racehorses) can lead to tying-up. A horse that's tying-up typically displays stiffness, sweating, muscle tremors, and a reluctance to move, among other clinical signs... Read more>>