Connemara Pony Tales
Podcast series celebrating all things related to the Connemara Pony — its heritage, breeding, and global community. Produced by Connemara Pony Tales with part funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Equine Technical Support (ETS) Scheme 2025.
Connemara Pony Tales
Getting to the Bottom of HWSD in Connemara Ponies
In this episode, we cover Hoof Wall Separation Disease, also better known as HWSD. This is a condition that has been identified in Connemara ponies. HWSD is an autosomal recessive disorder that causes the hoof wall to easily break and crack.
Joining us on this podcast are the following guests:
1. Sheila Ramsay is from New Zealand and has performed research in Animal Science, Parasitology and Genetics. Her current project is 'Hoof Wall Separation Disease (HWSD) in Connemara Ponies.'
2. Melissa Cox is based in Germany and specialises in animal genetics, having earned her doctorate in Genetics through the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University, and has concentrated on comparative genomics with an interest in domestic animals throughout her career.
3. Marian Pritchard is from the UK and is a Connemara enthusiast who bought a Connemara pony from Ireland that she later found out was HWSD/HWSD.
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