Research funded by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association has achieved a significant breakthrough in discovering a major cause for the early loss of pregnancy in equine mares. A study led by Dr Mandi de Mestre, head of the equine pregnancy laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College, revealed that a chromosomal defect known as aneuploidy occurred in a substantial number of the cases of early pregnancy loss examined. Dr de Mestre explains: “Aneuploidy involves having an abnormal number of chromoso

A rare Suffolk Punch horse has given birth to a filly foal following an innovative approach using sex sorted sperm to determine the gender. It’s the first time in the world that this technique has been used to support the survival of rare breeds. With fewer than 72 female Suffolk Punches remaining in the UK and fewer than 300 in the world, every female born is vital to the survival of this endangered and iconic British horse. In 2019 Tullis Matson, owner and managing director of Stallion AI Serv

For those importing semen, embryos or horses, this update from Defra is to explain changes to the use of TRACES to pre-notify shipments of animals and products of animal origin (POAO) into the UK."As a result of the incoming smarter rules for safer food (SRSF) regulations, which are designed to improve our biosecurity, TRACES will be decommissioned and switched off on 14 December 2019.A new pre-notification system will replace TRACES from 14 December 2019 and further information on that replacem