Our Horse Parentage Test is a quick and easy way to accurately determine the parentage of a horse, comparing Horse DNA profiles to verify if there are matching loci. We can determine if the tested sire is the biological father of the foal when we get a 23 genetic loci complete match.

Each horse has 2 alleles at each DNA marker (loci), one of which is inherited from the dam (mother) and the other from the sire (father). Our test uses a profile of 23 genetic markers, or loci, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to accurately determine parentage.

Testing of the sire, the dam, and the progeny is included in the price of £129 and, when all three are tested, we can confirm parentage with a probability of more than 99.99%.

You may know who the mother is, but it is important to include both parents because this makes testing much more powerful and leads to more accurate results. The mother’s sample is used to eliminate half of the DNA contribution, reducing the incidence of a sire being falsely confirmed as the biological father.

Extended testing using additional genetic markers is required for tests where the dam is missing or where the potential sires are closely related. This can be done for an additional fee.

• Download the Sample Collection Kit -Make Your Own at Home
• Downloand the Sample Collection Sheet Hair Collection
• Download the Animal DNA Testing Submission Form

 

Because horses are always grazing, swab samples are not recommended due to the high contamination rate. Therefore, we use hair samples.

With hair samples, we extract DNA from the hair follicle, which contains nuclear DNA, and this way the tests are more likely to give successful results.

You cannot use trimmed hairs or hairs that have fallen out loosely. The sample should consist of 12 to 15 hairs that should be plucked as follows: roll the hair on your finger close to the horse’s skin and then pull quickly and evenly. Pull hairs from the mane in case of adult horses and hairs from the tail in case of foals.

The DNA profiles of the tested horses are stored in the database of the laboratory. This will allow you to request parentage testing of a previously tested horse with others that have not yet been tested without the need to re-sample the same horse because we already have its DNA profile.

Equine parentage verification necessitates DNA samples from the stallion, mare, and offspring. In the absence of a maternal sample, extended testing employing additional genetic markers will be required to guarantee conclusive results, incurring an additional charge.

 

Once we have analyzed the DNA profiles, an email will be sent to you, containing a parentage report, confirming the result for each foal (and/or sire) that has been tested.

If the result in the report states that parentage qualifies, this means that both the father and mother matched the foal at all 23 DNA markers.

If the result states that parentage does not qualify (inclusion of the dam but the sire is excluded), then the mother matched the foal, but the sire does not and is therefore not the father.

As well as the Horse Parentage Test, we also offer our Horse Intolerance Test that checks for your horse’s sensitivity to food and environmental and artificial allergens.

We also offer a range of Animal Tests, including the Dog Paternity Test, Cat Intolerance Test, and more.

If you have any questions about a Horse Paternity Test for your horse, please do not hesitate to Contact our Customer Service Team who will be happy to help you.