Understanding the Power of the X Factor [Paperback]

Marianna Haun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2001

Marianna Haun wrote about research on large hearts and racehorse performance in her previous book, The X Factor. After three years of continued research and more than 1,000 horse scientifically measured by equine cardiologist Dr. Fred Fregin, Haun reports the newest findings in heart score and pedigree research. She shows readers the photos, pedigrees and actual ECG records of such Thoroughbred racehorses as Northern Dancer, Cigar, Mr. Prospector and more. Standardbred and Quarter Horse racehorses are also featured.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Chapter 1: After measuring more than 1,000 horses with an ECG, Dr. Fregin has found the X Factor to be 100 percent consistent, a rarity in scientific research. We have been able to track the large heart from sire to daughter to granddaughter and grandson to great-granddaughter and great-grandson. The heart scores on certain lines have been so consistent that we have been able to determine which X chromosome was expressed and to identify the four abovementioned "super hearts" found in today's pedigrees.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Russell Meerdink Company (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929346688
• ISBN-13: 978-0929346687
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,431,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Still scratching my head, June 21, 2003

By 

Miles Michelson (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding the Power of the X Factor (Paperback)

After spending more than a week of trying to validate the information in Marianna Haun's latest book, I've come away less impressed by the whole X-factor theory than I was after reading the first book.

I think that there are some serious problems with Marianna's research, yet at the same time, she's onto something with merit. There is something to the whole idea of sex-linked performance traits, but I don't think that it's as important as Marianna makes it out to be, nor do I think that her research has been checked thoroughly enough to be very useful to thoroughbred breeders.

I found myself removing 5-10 double copy mares from her list just trying to get some of the pieces of the puzzle to fit together and always ending up with loose ends that couldn't be tied together. The end result is that it's probably not really possible to determine accurately from her theory if a specific horse is carrying the x-factor or will have it. Instead, the best one can probably do is to make sure that horses like War Admiral and Blue Larkspur appear in X-chromosome passing positions and hope for the best.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The X Factor, January 9, 2008

By 

Alex (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding the Power of the X Factor (Paperback)

A fact-filled little volume, although it's poorly written. A very detailed explanation of the "X" factor phenomenon.

Good pics and lots of ped charts.