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Lavender foal syndrome (LFS), also called coat color dilution lethal (CCDL), is an autosomal recessive genetic disease that affects newborn foals of certain Arabian horse bloodlines. Affected LFS foals have severe neurological abnormalities, cannot stand, and require euthanasia shortly after birth. The popular name originates due to a diluted color of the foals coat, that in some cases appears to have a purple or lavender hue. However, not all foals possess the lavender coat colour, colouring can range from silver to light chestnut to a pale pink. Carrier horses have no clinical signs and DNA testing can determine if a horse carries the gene.
The condition gets its name because most, though not all, affected foals are born with a unique coat color dilution that lightens the tips of the coat hairs, or even the entire hair shaft. The color has variously been described as a silver sheen, a dull lavender, a pale, dull pinkish-gray, or pale chestnut. This dilution differs from gray foals because grays are born a dark color and lighten with age. It is also different from roan, because the hair is of a uniform shade, not of intermingled light and dark hairs.
Foals with LFS are unable to stand, and sometimes cannot even attain sternal recumbency (to roll from their side to lie upright, resting on the sternum, a precursor position to standing). They may lie with their necks arched back (Opisthotonos), make paddling motions with their legs, and often have seizures. extensor rigidity and seizure activity are also common signs. Apparent blindness may also be a clinical sign of the disorder, but is not seen in every case. Although they do have a sucking reflex, they cannot stand to nurse, and affected foals are usually euthanized within a few days of birth. There is no cure. In some cases, the mare may also have difficulty foaling, though foaling difficulties are not the cause of the condition. In some cases, LFS-affected foals may be larger than usual.
LFS is distinguishable from Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome (NMS) or "Dummy Foal Syndrome".