But according to an announcement made Thursday, an international team has reached that milestone, which could improve breeding, treatment of disease and performance traits.

"It is the ultimate map," said Raudsepp, an assistant professor of genomics at Texas A&M. "You can call it a bible, or a cookbook. ... It directs us in a much better way how to search for genes and other sequences, not only for human interest but also to make the life of horses better."