A DMRT3 mutation alters the pattern of locomotion in horses

Horses show much variation in the pattern of locomotion. The three naturally occurring gaits are walk, trot and canter/gallop. Some domestic horses can use alternate gaits, such as "pacing", and such specialized horses are referred to as "gaited" horses. Following a GWA analysis for "gaitedness" contrasting four-gaited and five-gaited horses, a highly significant association was observed between the ability to pace and a SNP-marker on EquCab2 chromosome 23. We identified and resequenced an Identical By Descent haplotype shown to be identical in five-gaited horses.