For registration with ACE Group Inc., it is obligatory for all horses or foals to be DNA tested if they were produced by Artificial Insemination using frozen or transported semen or were an Embryo Transfer foal.

Where the breeding cannot be proven, a pedigree cannot be printed on the registration.

DNA testing is only available to ACE Group members.  You can request a DNA kit to be mailed to you by emailing [email protected]

DNA Analysis

A DNA profile is a unique form of genetic identification for your horse.  It is an indisputable ID for your horse that can be used to identify it with 100% accuracy should the need arise.

All horses have a unique DNA profile except for monozygotic twin horses (identical twin horses).  Identical twin horses will also have identical DNA profiles which will be indistinguishable from each other.

What sample do I need to provide?

Horse DNA tests are carried out using cells from the roots of a hair sample (roughly 20-30 hairs).

The horse hairs need to be collected by plucking not by cutting. Plucking provides the hair and the root.  DNA is only found in the root and thus, the root is what is needed for DNA analysis.  Cut hairs contain no DNA and cannot be tested.

A DNA profile is NOT a horse breed test and will NOT provide information about the genetic breeds in your horse.

For a horse, the DNA can be taken from the mane and for a foal it can be taken from the tail where the root bulbs are bigger.

Will the test establish any hereditary illnesses?

A horse DNA profile is strictly a genetic fingerprint showing the markers analysed.  It will not establish anything about the horse’s genetic health.

There are other tests available in addition to the DNA profile and can be done using the same sample if adequate roots are submitted.

These tests are “Equine Colour and Pattern” and “Genetic Disease”.

Why is parentage testing important?

A real guarantee of pedigree can only be scientifically accurate if the pedigree can be genetically proven.  In the past, pedigree was manually recorded, based on close observation.  However, these traditional methods of recording ancestry and pedigree leave room for many errors.  Parentage DNA testing is most accurate in cases where the dam, foal, and sire are analysed.

For a horse parentage test, we require DNA samples from the Sire, the Dam, and the Foal.  If you think that we may already have the Sire and Dam DNA on file then only the foal DNA is necessary.

Siblings cannot be used for parentage verification.