This message is from: "robin.holl...@murraystate.edu" <robin.holl...@murraystate.edu>
Dear Fjord Digest A little over a month ago I wrote a post regarding a research study that I am conducting on the inheritance of white markings in the Norwegian Fjord. In the post I mentioned that we submitted a grant proposal to Murray State University and were awaiting results. This post is to inform the Fjord community that we have officially received funding from the Murray State University Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activities (URSA) office for our research on the Fjord. Upon review of our proposal, professors from the University had some remarks, those of which I would like to address with the Fjord community. The largest concern was data collection. Many reviewers were concerned with the quality and quantity of data to be obtained through the surveys, being that this is a sensitive issue for owners, breeders, and/or trainers. Therefore, I would like to reemphasize a few points in regards to the surveys. Please fill out a survey for as many Fjords that you know of and can be confident of in their markings. It is not a requirement that you have owned the horse. If there is a Fjord that is owned by a friend, neighbor, family member, or another individual, you can submit a survey for that horse. It is beneficial to our study that we have multiple surveys on one horse. If we are looking through a pedigree, and we see that a horse (who was not documented as having white) has five surveys all saying that he has a small white star, then we have very high confidence that the individual has white, which is extremely important in analyzing the pedigrees. If you know of a horse that has white that you have not seen in a while and are unsure about the exact size and/or location, go ahead a complete a survey, and make a note explaining the situation. Also remember, that thorough documentation of a Fjord NOT having white is equally important in knowing that a horse has white. True, the study is on the inheritance of white markings, but we must know with as high of confidence as possible that a horse does not have white to see the overall inheritance pattern. And finally, remember that these surveys will NOT be made public. If you submit a survey on a horse that you have not owned, we will NOT contact the owner informing them that you have done so. All surveys will remain completely confidential. As we collect them, we will compare and analyze the data. Some individuals might worry about a dishonesty issue (someone possibly submitting a survey saying your Fjord has white when they do not), whether it was simply on accident or not. We realize that accidents happen, and therefore we will analyze ALL the data collected and take into account all possibilities. For example, if we receive five surveys saying a Fjord has white and one saying he does not, then we will look closer for any additional variations and possibly contact the individuals who submitted the survey for a follow up discussion on the horse. Once again, the more surveys we receive, the more confidence we will have that our results are as accurate as possible. Surveys may be obtained from our website at: http://www.murraystate.edu/fjord_horse/ under "Survey Form". You may print out the form, complete it, and send it to us by: Mailing it to: Fjord Study Department of Biology Murray State University Murray, KY 42071 Faxing it to: 270-809-2788 Or if you have a scanner, you can scan it as an image/document, and email it to: everett.we...@murraystate.edu We are currently looking into having an online submission form, either through Google Documents, or possibly on our website. We honestly and truly appreciate any information you can provide us with. If you have ANY questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact either myself (robin.holl...@murraystate.edu) or Dr. Everett Weber (everett.we...@murraystate.edu) and we will be more than happy to help in any way possible. Thank you! Robin L Holland 8510 Springer Hall Murray KY 42071 815/858-4042 Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
