In this episode Drs. Ernie Bailey and Ted Kalbfleisch of the University of Kentucky and Dr. Jessica Petersen of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln discuss genetic variation in horse breeds, why it is important, and what we will learn from the Thoroughbred Genetic Diversity project.

This podcast is the ninth episode in our “Equine Innovators” podcast series, brought to you by Zoetis.

About the Researchers: 

• Dr. Ernie Bailey is a professor at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, in Lexington, where he trains graduate students, teaches, and conducts research into the genetics of horses.
• Dr. Ted Kalbfleisch has been working in the field of animal genetics for nearly 20 years. He is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky where his research focuses on the use of genetic sequence data to understand the genetic basis of health and disease susceptibility in horses. He led the work that culminated in the 2018 publication of an improved reference genome for the horse and has authored or co-authored more than 60 scientific publications.
• Dr. Jessica Petersen has led genetic studies to define the relationships among and within horse breeds and works to understand how genes of the horse are regulated. She is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has led or contributed to over 40 scientific publications and the textbook, The Horse (3rd edition).