Collect & Send Hair Samples for DNA Testing

I received my DNA testing kit from The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) to begin testing for Violet's potential Morgan parentage.

I received my "DNA testing kit" in the mail from the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) a few weeks after submitting my request. The first lesson I learned: the "DNA testing kit" is simply a piece of paper to tape hair to. I was confused why there was an option to email the "kit." I chose to receive it by mail because I thought an emailed version would require me to procure something else on my own. For others considering this testing, I highly recommend selecting the emailed version.

The "kit" was relatively easy to complete. First, I verified the printed information on the top of the form, which was pulled from my original application. Next, I needed to pull 20-30 mane or tail hairs with roots from Violet. If you have done any DNA testing through hair before, then this is probably nothing new to you.

I enlisted the help of a friend to pull the hairs with me. It can be a bit of a process to collect enough hair without losing them or touching the roots. We decided to pull mane hairs because that seemed more manageable than her tail. All in all, it took about 10 minutes to collect the necessary hairs.

The instructions state that you should mail the hair off soon after collection, so I dropped the completed form in the mail that evening. I could not find any information on how long processing takes, but I eagerly await the results!