Ailments & Deformities

 
 

Here are a list of possible traits a foal may inherit if it is inbred or crossbred; Ailments can occur from any inbreeding, and can occur with any unsafe crossbreeding. Deformities occur from 1st generation to the 2nd Generation; 3rd Generation inbred horses will only have Ailments. Deformities can occur with any unsafe crossbreeding, but have a higher chance of up to 2 deformities when using exotic crosses. Health is affected by the ailments and deformities your Ballator has.

Below are the possible rolled affects, along with information about them and ways you can draw your horse with the ailment/deformity. Any possibly disturbing images will be indicated.

 
 
 

Sickly Ballator Ailments

If your foal is a Male Carey Carrier or a double merle, these will affect your foal.

MALE CAREY CONDITION (MCC)

Male Ballators who do not die in-utero of Lethal Carey Condition (LCC) will instead have a lesser form of the same issue, called Male Carey Condition. This condition affects only stallions who carry, or in rare cases (which do not occur in the current group), express carey.
MCC causes the horse to have a hard time absorbing calories, calcium, and other needed vitamins/minerals which help make bones, teeth, horns and hooves strong. This causes the horse to have an overall thin and/or sickly appearance often coupled with the horse being quick to become tired; these horses, to stay healthy, must consume more food and minerals than the average Ballator. 
 Health affect: moderate 

 

DOUBLE MERLE EFFECT (DME) / MERLE EFFECT

Double merle (MM) Ballators carry the risk of being Blind, Deaf, or stillborn. DME causes a mutation of the genes, turning the horse an overall white color with merle spots; DME also causes the horse to sunburn very easily due to their pink skin. Merle Ballators who are heterozygous (nM) also can be affected by the Merle Effect if Merle touches the eyes or ears.
In addition to blindness, the foal can have one of two eye abnormalities: micophthalmia or Corectopia. Micophthalmia is a condition wherein the eye is extremely small inside the socket, causing vision issues. Corectopia causes the pupil of the eye to look as though it has ‘slipped’ or been placed in the wrong part of the eye.
Health affect: moderate, or poor if combined with blindness or defects 

Ailments

BLINDNESS

Always refers to complete visual blindness. || Eyes may be cloudy or hazy blue in color or appear completely normal. || Eyes may be removed, as in the case with the horse Endo the Blind, covered, or left as is. || Guide companion animals, special turf differentiating ground, or other aids for blind horses can be used for said horse if desired. Health affect: poor

DEAFNESS

Always refers to complete deafness. || There are no outward physical indicators that the horse is deaf. || Article about equine deafness hereHealth affect: moderate

BALLATORIAN ALOPECIA

Ballator will be either nearly or completely devoid of a coat and may not have any indication of a mane, Ballator manes, or tail. If a mane or tail exists, it will be very thin and scraggly, with only a few strands of hair clinging to the horse. Image of Affected Foal with complete baldness || Image of horse with a few hair patches | Health affect: moderate

FLOPPY EARS

Horse will have ears with extremely weak cartilage and will flop over. Horse will retain some movement of the ear, but will not be able to straighten the ears. Ears may bend at the base or halfway up, but must be visibly floppy. || Image of base-flopping ears || Image of mid-floppy ears | Health affect: moderate

 

 
 

SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY (SCID)

Horses affected with SCID are unable to produce a certain set of white blood cells, and thus are subject to a wide range of infections. As these horses are unable to fend off said infections well, these can often take a heavy toll on the horse and become dangerous. || Article on SCID in Horses | Health affect: very poor

BALLATOR STUNTED HORN SYNDROME

EBSHS causes horns (and oftentimes, hooves) to become shrunken or extremely underdeveloped. Horns will appear very knotted, small, dense, and be accompanied with extreme headache or body aches where the horn is located due to malformation of the horn core. | Health affect: poor

FRAGILE BONES

Horse will have bones too fragile to support riding or strenuous activity. Bones will take much longer to heal and repair themselves. Skeletal deformities are common, including roughening or thickening of the bone. || Bones may appear thicker under the skin || Similar to Equine Bone Fragility Syndrome. || Health affect: very poor

FRAGILE HORNS

Horse will have extremely weak horn structure, often seen with cracking, crumbling, or breakage of the horn. Horns will often show cracks or peeling. Horns that crack near the base will be painful and bleed due to the Horn Core. || One may add leather protective sleeves to the horn, or add sealant to fill cracks. | Health affect: very poor

 
 
 
 

Deformities

 

VARUS or VALGUS ANGULAR LIMBS

Varus angular limbs are limbs that turn inward, giving the horse a bowlegged appearance. These most often occur on the front legs and affect both of the front legs rather than just one. || Splints may be drawn to aid the horse, however in Ballators these deformities are permanent. || Image of Foal || Illustration | Health affect: poor
Valgus angular limbs are limbs that turn outward, often with the knees touching in extreme cases. These most often occur on the front legs and affect both of the front legs rather than just one. || Splints may be drawn to aid the horse, however in Ballators these deformities are permanent. || Image of Foal || Illustration | Health affect: poor

BALLATOR OVERGROWN HORN SYNDROME

EBCPS causes a horse’s horns to be larger than expected, but with detrimental costs to the health of the horse. All horns on the horse will become thick, malformed, and large (up to adding half of the expected size to the horn). Horns on the head will cause pressure upon the skull and brain, making the horse’s behavior become strange and erratic, such as constant circling, bumping into things, and being unaware of it’s surroundings. Horns on the body will cause tears in the skin due to their heavy weight and it is often suggested that special harnesses or braces be placed on the horns to assist the horse. Skeletal deformities such as bone knotting are seen around the bases of the horns.  | Health affect: very poor

SHORT SPINE SYNDROME

*Images may be upsetting to some. This severe deformity causes the horse to have an extremely short spine, giving it a ‘squashed’ appearance and comes with a plethora of issues. The horse may appear normal except for the short spine, as in this horse | this horse, or the horse may appear dwarfed, with an abnormally large head and short limbs, as with this horse. | Health affect: very poor

HERMAPHRODITISM

Horses who exhibit hermaphroditism may appear as one sex on the outside, but their internal organs are that of the opposite sex. At times, it may be that a supposed mare has male organs where her female organs should be, and a male horse will have ovaries rather than testes. There are many expressions of Hermaphrodite horses; here is a article on male pseudohermaphroditism in horses. | Health affect: moderate

 

POLYMELIA / PARASITIC LIMBS

*Images may be upsetting to some. As the name suggests, parasitic limbs are limbs that unusable and attached to the host animal due to the foal having a twin in the womb that was not fully developed. Ballators may have a maximum of 2 parasitic limbs that appear nearly anywhere on the body. These limbs most often are shrunken with little muscle mass due to being unusable. || Example of a Calf with polymelia | Health affect: moderate

WRY MOUTH

Wry Mouth is defined as an abnormal curving, crossing, or malformation of the horse’s jaw or nose. The nose may be only slightly turned, or extremely curved. In extreme cases, the tongue may be unable to stay inside the mouth and the lower jaw may curve to create an underbite. || Image || Image | Health affect: poor

MISSING LIMBS

Characterized by limbs which are either completely missing or lower half of limbs missing, Ballators with this affliction may be fitted with artificial limbs to help them walk, however ample support must be provided to the opposite limb to prevent injury to the other limb. | Health affect: very poor

ACHONDORPLASIC DWARFISM

Affected horses will have short limbs with a normal body, often with an elongated back. They do not appear dwarfed or shrunken in any area except the legs, and possibly the ears. || Image || Image || Dwarfism Examples | Health affect: poor

 BRACHYCEPHALIC DWARFISM

Horses affected with brachycephalism will have shortened faces, making their noses appear squished; they may also have a domed head. || Image *This horse had wry Mouth but was corrected by surgery, however he is a good example of a horse with a shortened face. || Brachycephalic Dwarves are horses who exhibit extremely shrunken bodies, large joints,  domed heads, and many other bodily deformities. || Image || Dwarfism Examples | Health affect: very poor

 BALLATOR SKELETAL MALFORMATION SYNDROME

Foals born with this collection of deformities known as EBSMS with exhibit malformed teeth (‘snaggleteeth’, loss of teeth, overbites, underbites, or ‘parrot mouth’), and bones (long bones specifically – knotted bone, thickened bone, joint issues or locking joints), and horns (brittle, knotted, malformed, or abnormally small horns). | Health affect: very poor

DISCONTINUED AILMENTS/DEFORMITIES

The below ailments/deformities were discontinued at some point or another, but possibly exist in the group still.  They were replaced, most likely with a Ballator-Specific disease or ailment.
You may reference them below as examples if needed!

 
 
 

HYPERKALYMIC PERIODIC PARALYSIS (HYPP)

HYPP is an inherited disease in which the affected horse experiences muscle tremors/twitches,  weakness, and often collapse. These attacks can be triggered by environmental factors such as a diet change, exercise change, or fasting. || Article/Video on HYPP  | Health affect: very poor

EPILEPSY

Defined as reoccurring seizures, epilepsy is not caused by an outward physical issue, but rather one with the brain. Seizures may cause the horse to tremble, collapse, or shake – however, after the seizure has passed, the horse will appear and act completely normal.  || Article on Equine Epilepsy | Health affect: poor

 

 

CLUBBED FOOT

Horse with this deformity will have a permanent malformed foot and hoof, often presenting as a hoof with a vertical wall. Special shoes can help the horse walk comfortably. || Image | Health affect: poor

TRIGEMINAL MEDIATED HEADSHAKING

Characterized by sudden and often violent shaking of the head, this condition causes uncontrollable shaking from either side-to-side or up and down, often with the horse tossing the neck as well. Snorting, sneezing, or irritation to the nose is also seen during these episodes. || Article on ETMH || Video of horse experiencing ETMH | Health affect: poor

SELF-MUTILATION SYNDROME

In extreme cases, Equine SMS causes a horse to attack, bite, thrash, or otherwise harm itself seemingly ‘out of nowhere’. Milder cases may only exhibit flank-biting, spinning, or behaviors commonly associated with boredom, such as cribbing, weaving, or pacing. || Article on ESMS || Video of a stallion exhibiting ESMS | Health affect: moderate