BREAKING NEWS:Equine-Reproduction.com Participates in British Horse Breeding Video Series
07/06/2010
OTHER NEWS:USDA Voluntary CEMO Stallion Testing Program; New CEM Situation UpdateIn February 2010 USDA announced a cost-sharing voluntary CEM testing program for stallions resident in the USA. The intent was primarily to determine if there was an absence of the causative organism Taylorella equigenitalis in the domestic herd, or if it was found to be present to facilitate traceback ability and determine degree of prevalence. In order to achieve this level of testing, USDA shares the primary cost of the evaluation covering provision of swab and shipping materials, shipping costs and all lab costs for growing and reading the resulting cultures. The stallion owner is solely responsible for the veterinary costs of the swab collection (typically a call-out fee and time for the collection process which should require only a few minutes). With the ongoing CEM outbreak that had the index case in Kentucky in December of 2008, the origin of which has yet to be established, and the newest threat presented with an imported Arabian stallion presenting a positive result for a strain of T. equigenitalis not related to the Kentucky incidence, American breeders have to take very seriously the need to identify possible positive carriers and ensure elimination of the organism from the resident horse population. Until this has been achieved and proven, restrictions related to cross-border shipments of semen and horses which have in some instances had a tremendous negative impact on available markets - the Canadian market being particularly affected - will remain in place. Many US stallion owners have simply ceased offering semen sales from their stallions to Canada owing to time and cost restraints of achieving the required paperwork in an adequate manner. There is little doubt that the possibility of there still being CEMO-positive stallions unidentified in the horse population exists. This makes participation in the USDA testing scheme even more enticing, as if one is unfortunate enough to have a stallion test positive by USDA through this voluntary scheme, USDA will pick up all the subsequent treatment costs of the stallion and we have been advised, test-breeding of mares! The same does not happen if one is identified as having a CEMO-positive stallion without having participated in the voluntary scheme, for example through a traceback from other positive animals identified in the ongoing investigations. From an ethical standpoint, voluntary participation is of value because - as with EIA ("Coggin's") testing, the more horses that are tested, the less chance there is of having an unidentified positive (infectious) animal in the resident population. More details of this voluntary testing scheme are available from your local USDA office, or in the .pdf articles to be downloaded from the USDA's website here. Note that the scheme is scheduled to close at the end of August 2010, so a rapid involvement is necessary! There are some restrictions as to what stallions may be eligible (for example stallions already tested within the last 6 month, or that are known contact animals of the current outbreaks are not eligible), but it certainly behoves USA breeders to either participate in this USDA scheme or follow Britain's HBLB protocols, although of course this latter route will cost more! The current USDA update on the new instance of CEM in the Arabian stallion located in California indicates that the stallion was imported into the United States in March 2010 from a country not known to be affected by CEM. It is not yet known whether the imported stallion was positive at the time of his importation or was exposed after importation. In addition to the one positive stallion, another 22 horses have been exposed to T. equigenitalis through contact either with the stallion or other contact animals, the same facility or through shipped semen. The 23 horses are located in or are being traced to 7 States, including 6 exposed or positive stallions and 17 exposed mares. 06/15/10 New Case of CEM in USA Unassociated with Prior Outbreak The OIE has reported that an 11 year-old imported Arabian stallion located in Santa Barbara County, California was confirmed culture positive by the USDA APHIS VS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for Taylorella equigenitalis, the bacterium that causes contagious equine metritis. The Taylorella equigenitalis confirmed positive animal is a clinically healthy stallion that was identified during routine semen export testing. Numbers reported for susceptible horses are preliminary and subject to change as the investigation continues. The following information was also provided:
06/13/10 CFIA Clarifies Reported Change in Semen Import Protocols A CFIA spokesperson has clarified for us that the AIRS-notified change to the semen import protocol (reported below) was in fact a wording change to reflect not the routine importation - which remains unchanged - but what CBSA should do in the event that paperwork accompanying the shipment was incorrect or absent. The CFIA spokesperson went on to observe that "What is seen as a requirement is actually meant as the title to a new section. When AIRS is opened, this new section lists under what circumstances the semen is referred to CFIA. So the wording was added to AIRS, but the process was always the same... The wording of the AIRS notification is ambiguous, to say the least", but went on to confirm that there had been no changes in the process. 05/27/10 Minor Change in US-origin Equine Semen Canadian Import Protocol - Possible Delay Causer? CFIA today announced a change in the import protocol for semen originating from other countries including the USA. Following the restrictions implemented as a result of the CEM outbreak in the USA, equine semen - both cooled and frozen - from that country has been subject to inspection and additional paperwork requirements at the time of import. The inspection has been performed by Canada Border Services Agency ("CBSA" - formerly "Canada Customs"). The following statement was issued today by CFIA Airs (Canadian Food Inspection Agency Automated Import Reference System): a) Chapter 05 was published to add the recommendation "Refer to CFIA - Veterinary inspection" for frozen semen from various countries. 05.11.10.1290 Frozen bovine semen 05.11.99.1293 Animal semen (other than bovine) - frozen b) Chapter 05 was published to add the recommendation "Refer to CFIA - Veterinary inspection" for fresh horse semen from the United States. This indicates that instead of the semen and associated paperwork being inspected by a regular customs agent, it will have to be referred to the CFIA veterinary inspection agent. It is unclear at this time if this is going to cause additional potential for delays or other problems. 05/19/10
Equine-Reproduction.com Expands Operations to Europe; Shipped Semen in Europe Experiences Volcanic Problems!We are pleased to announce the approval of an Equine-Reproduction.com Certified Semen Freezing Location for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Equine-Reproduction (UK) owned and operated by Jamie Anderson from Pelion Stud is located just outside Reading, Berkshire England. A variety of services are offered, including semen freezing in accordance with our Certified Semen Freezing Location policies. Personnel from Equine-Reproduction.com are regularly in the United Kingdom and are pleased to be able to provide our services to European customers through this facility. Horse breeders using transported semen in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe are currently experiencing difficulties with transport of all products - including semen - by airline owing to the volcanic eruption in Iceland shutting down almost all commercial airline traffic. Jamie Anderson comments: "The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has been causing problems within the European breeding industry. The volcanic ash cloud from the eruption has led to the closure of all UK airports since Thursday this week, causing a huge disruptions for chilled and frozen semen coming into and out of the country". "A number of breeders across the UK have been trying to order chilled semen from stallions like Baloubet du Rouet and Canturo from Belgium, and Jaguar Mail from France but the shipment of chilled semen across Europe has all but ceased because of the ash cloud. Luckily, we have been able to meet UK demands for these stallions as we hold a stock of their frozen semen". "We are also able to send frozen semen out by road and sea, because of the hugely extended 'shelf-life' of cryopreserved sperm cells. Frozen semen has been a real life-saver in this situation. It has allowed UK and European breeders to continue with their breeding programmes without incurring the veterinary costs of wasted oestrus cycles". 04/17/10 CEM Outbreak in USA Still Producing "New" Cases This week sees the announcement by USDA of a 23rd stallion - a Holsteiner - to test positive for presence of Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative agent of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM). This is the tenth stallion to test positive in the State of Wisconsin and was located at the same breeding facility as ten of the other stallions that have tested positive, although four of those stallions were found positive when residing in a different State. This newly-found positive stallion has been shown to be carrying the same strain of CEMO as has been identified in all of the other positive stallions (and the five positive mares) and it has consequently been tied to the same outbreak. The delay in the identification of this new positive horse is as a result of the owner being reluctant to have the stallion tested, although the horse has been in quarantine said Wisconsin State Veterinarian Robert Ehlenfeldt, DVM. Fortunately other stallion owners have been supportive of attempts to identify and clear all sources of the bacteria in the breeding population and James Barrett, public affairs specialist at the USDA, observed that the extensive outbreak was "winding down" with only a few exposed horses remaining to be tested. In an apparently unrelated outbreak, the United Kingdom has identified 3 horses - one 7 year-old non-Thoroughbred mare, one 5 year-old Arab stallion and one 10 year-old Highland mare - as being positive for CEMO presence since October 2009. These are considered separate cases and the investigation of the latter two are ongoing by Defra, although the Arab stallion originated from another EU member State. The case involving the Highland mare was only confirmed on March 22nd, 2010. The United Kingdom is fortunate in that many breeders adhere to the voluntary guidelines for pre-breeding testing of horses set out by the British Horse Racing Betting Levy Board - something that breeders in the USA would be well advised to follow in view of the possibility of still unidentified positive animals being in the breeding population. 03/30/10 Loss of Another Top Equine Reproductive Veterinarian Dr. John P. Hurtgen, a leading exponent of equine embryo transfer, died early this morning (February 17th) while helping a mare to foal at his Nandi Farm in Pennsylvania. Dr. Hurtgen, 62, is reported to have collapsed while assisting in the foaling, and a heart attack is suspected. More than 100 mares reside at Hurtgen's Nandi Farm, including some used exclusively as recipient mares for ETs. In addition the farm stands stallions - in particular the Standardbred stallions Tom Ridge, Quik Pulse Mindale, Nuclear Breeze, Garth Vader and Lear Jetta. Dr. Hurtgen's wife, Linda, sought to assure the industry that Nandi Farm's commitment to and participation in Standardbred breeding will continue, though it will no longer perform embryo transfers. We offer our deepest condolences to Dr. Hurtgen's family on their loss of this respected leader in the equine reproductive industry. 02/17/10 Breakthrough in Equine Reproduction: Live Foal Born after Embryo Biopsy, Vitrification and Transfer  Minitube International has achieved a scientific breakthrough that will allow for genetic testing and preservation of equine embryos. The world's first foal from a biopsied and vitrified embryo transferred into a surrogate mare was born on Wednesday January 27, 2010 at Minitube International Center for Biotechnology in Mount Horeb, WI. Both the mother "Lola" and foal are doing well. The birth of "Biopsita" marks a new era in horse breeding, providing horse breeders with an opportunity to directly test embryos for genetic traits including gender, coat color, genetic diseases, etc., and select desirable genetics from stallion and mare combinations. The study will be presented at the 10th International Symposium on Equine Reproduction being held in Kentucky this July.According to Mats Troedsson, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT the Director of the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky and Director of Equine Research for Minitube International, "Embryo transfer and cryopreservation have been steadily gaining traction in equine reproduction as the technology further develops and the equestrian community adjusts registry requirements. But the ability to genetically screen an equine embryo before transfer would change horse breeding as we know it today. The economics would just make sense." To make Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) or genetic screening of an equine embryo practical, the embryo needs to be biopsied, vitrified and later transferred into a recipient. Dr. John Dobrinsky, PhD, the Executive Director of the Minitube International Center for Biotechnology, credits his team and Minitube's dedication as key to the success. "Our scientific team and research farm staff are second to none in bringing new biotechnologies to an applied veterinary and farm level," Dr. Dobrinsky stated. "Seeing that foal walking around the stall is a strong reminder of the scientific advancements that can be made when you combine a stellar team with a strong support environment like the one here at Minitube." Dr. Dobrinsky utilized one of Minitube's recently unveiled commercial products in the study: the EQUIPRO Vit-Kit™, a complete equine direct transfer vitrification kit commercially available for equine veterinarians. (Presented here courtesy of Minitube) 02/11/10 Routine CEMO Testing Now Recommended by USDA USDA is now recommending voluntary routine testing of stallions prior to the onset of breeding in the current season in an effort to identify and ultimately eliminate any unidentified carriers of the Contagious Equine Metritis Organism from the domestic population. We at Equine-Reproduction.com have been recommending for some time that breeders voluntarily follow the British Horse Racing Betting Levy Board's Codes of Practice on CEM (see news item 03/12/2009) in order to protect both themselves from a legal perspective and breeders as a whole from an ethical perspective. It is worthy of consideration that the concept of "it couldn't happen to me" is what has resulted in the outbreak in the first place, as very few in the horse breeding world thought that there was a possibility that the CEMO was present in North America and hence there has not been routine pre-breeding testing for it as is seen in other countries. It is fortunate that the pathogen was identified on a pre-export isolation check and also that the majority of the mares bred by the affected stallions were bred by artificial insemination which resulted in a considerably lower incidence of transmission (currently 5 of 716 mares, or 0.7%) than that which was seen in the outbreak in the Thoroughbred industry in the late 1970's (which demonstrated as high as 30% transmission) where live cover was mandatory. Once again, we - and now USDA - encourage both breeders and their veterinarians to do all that they can to eradicate this disease from the USA. Stallion owners need to swab and culture their stallions; mare owners need to ask for the results of the swabs (and contemplate the possible consequences if swabbing has not been performed); and veterinarians need to be aware of the disease and its implications and educate their clients on the topic. 02/10/10 Please visit our archived news page for past news items that have appeared on this index page.
|
Proudly sponsored by:  Hamilton Research Inc Home of the Equitainer  Home of the world-famous INRA '96 extender!  For your veterinary ultrasounding needs  Exodus Breeders Supply  An Industry Leader in Equine Veterinary Products!  Your compounding pharmacy for reproductive needs!  Quality Tanks at Competitive Prices!  Safe, affordable breeding stocks!  Here Today. There Today.  International Veterinary Information Service Frozen Semen Mares do NOT have a "due date"!
and enter your foal's gestational duration! Non-Reproduction Equine Headline News from: TheHorse.com News Checking the Vitals: Heart Function and Sound 29 Jul 2010 You are at a concert when suddenly the orchestra stops playing their instruments with the exception of the kettledrums. The kettle drummer hits two beats with a pause. This is repeated over and over as you realize the drumbeats are the heart... Penicillin's Effects on Castrated Horses 29 Jul 2010 Giving procaine penicillin before and after castration reduces the levels of inflammatory markers on a horse's blood test, which suggest that this approach might reduce bacteria in the surgical wounds, according to a Danish study. The researchers... Judge Denies Request to Halt Nevada Mustang Gather 29 Jul 2010 A U.S. District Court judge in Nevada has declined to grant a wild horse advocate's second request for a temporary restraining order designed to prevent the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from gathering horses from the Rock Creek and Little Humboldt... Livestock Death Prompts Call for Emergency Protocol 29 Jul 2010 In response to two separate incidents involving livestock in public places, David Wilson, DVM, director of the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis, is calling for a complete review of animal... Kentucky Derby and Preakness Winners Will Meet Again in Saturday's Haskell 29 Jul 2010 Led by Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brandswinner Super Saver and Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky, one of the deepest fields in the 43-year history of the IZOD Haskell Invitational was drawn July 29 at Monmouth Park. A field of eight... Four Horses Killed By Lightning Strike 28 Jul 2010 Four Thoroughbred racehorses were killed by lightning in Jasper, Ga., Monday, July 26. Two geldings and two pregnant mares were found dead in their field located on the 66-acre farm owned by James and Irma Green. The horses were valued at more... MyHorseUniversity.com to Offer Free Webcast on Shivers Today 28 Jul 2010 A free live webcast will be offered at 1 p.m. EDT, July 28 to address one of the most puzzling disorders in horses. "Shivers" is a disorder in horses that has been recognized for centuries. It's also been puzzling equine experts... 'Activity Monitors' for Assessing Pain in Arthritic Horses Discussed 27 Jul 2010 Activity monitors, which are small pedometerlike instruments, have been used in some scientific studies in horses, but they are still not widely used. Scientists have asked whether we're missing the boat or overestimating the applicability of... |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In our ongoing efforts to assist breeders with directing access to good quality and well priced equine reproduction equipment, we are able to offer a listing of reconditioned equine reproduction ultrasounds for sale at affordable prices direct from Universal Ultrasound.
Equine reproduction topics covered in our articles section on this site include artificial insemination (A.I.); information about, and the use of frozen semen; stallion handling articles, including "phantom mare" training, and other semen collection methods; the collecting and processing of cooled transported semen; different equipment and supplies needed for semen collection and processing, and artificial insemination; managing the mare for breeding (including hormonal manipulation and the use of other drugs such as Oxytocin); and some articles relative to foals and foaling.
It's our aim to bring you not only a wide selection of articles about both basic and advanced equine reproduction topics; but also a variety of links to sites containing more information about horse breeding. There is a book sale section where we list and review books on equine reproduction that are offered for sale there in association with Amazon.com. We also invite you to review our equine reproduction short course details, as well as stallion semen freezing and other services that Equine-Reproduction.com is pleased to be able to offer the horse-breeding public. Our bulletin board is an active community with a large membership that discusses and provides information on a wide variety of equine reproduction topics.
If you have a question about anything you see on our site, or about any other equine reproduction matters, or if you have a subject that you feel would be a good topic for an article to be written about, please contact us! Feedback is important to us to make this a useful site for all. If you would like to add a link to this site from your own, please feel free to do so. To assist you in this, we have some pre-formatted links available for you to copy here.
Please use the buttons at the top of this page or the text links below to visit the rest of the site, and remember to return periodically, as new information and articles are added regularly. If you have comments, questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us using the mail form on the contact page.
