Re: A.I. necessary; permit fee
This message is from: Mike May [EMAIL PROTECTED] At 10:09 PM 11/17/98 -0600, you wrote: This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Steven A White) Before we jump into using artificial insemination in this breed, I believe there are a few things we should consider. I don't feel that A.I. is really good for a breed. Good for some breeders maybe, but not the breed. I think it is a little late to stop the Jumping into Steve. The NFHR has allowed the use of AI shipping of semen for probably 10 years now at least. A Semen Transport permit is required for the stallion and special paperwork is required also. DNA typing is required of the sire, dam foal regardless of the sex. With AI even geldings have to be DNA typed. This is so we know the semen was only used for the intended mare it was shipped for. I was reading an article on A.I. just the other night and one of the pro's it listed for using A.I. was that it increases the gene pool. This is not the case. The dairy industry has used these techniques much longer than the equine industry. Now it is estimated that over 90% of all Holstein cows can be traced back to just 3 bulls. Where is the genetic diversity there? I think that is probably the case with Fjords already. If you go back far enough you will come to 1 of about 3 stallions I believe. One benefit I could see with Fjords would be to introduce stallions from over seas. We could get a little Old World genetics into our New World horses and vice versa. This has only been done in one case that I know of. Most of the shipping is done within the US/Canada. It really isn't used that much. Mike === Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry Mike May, Registrar Voice 716-872-4114 FAX 716-787-0497 http://www.nfhr.com mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: A.I. necessary; permit fee
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Steven A White) Before we jump into using artificial insemination in this breed, I believe there are a few things we should consider. I don't feel that A.I. is really good for a breed. Good for some breeders maybe, but not the breed. I was reading an article on A.I. just the other night and one of the pro's it listed for using A.I. was that it increases the gene pool. This is not the case. The dairy industry has used these techniques much longer than the equine industry. Now it is estimated that over 90% of all Holstein cows can be traced back to just 3 bulls. Where is the genetic diversity there? Some of you may be familiar with the disease Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (aka HYPP, Impressive syndrome). This is a genetic disease which can cause varying degrees of paralysis (even death) in horses carrying the gene. It all traces back to the sire Impressive. Impressive was a very popular stud and therefore many mares were bred to him. Thus, many horses are afflicted with this disease today. The Quarter Horse association only recently has allowed A.I. to be used in their breed. Can you imagine the disaster that would have occurred if A.I. had been allowed back when Impressive was in peak breeding? This is not an isolated case either. More genetic diseases are becoming uncovered with other breeds that trace back to individual stallions. The Jockey Club is the association that registers Thoroughbred race horses. The Jockey Club still does not allow the use of A.I.. There are two reasons for this. One is to maintain the genetic diversity that a large stallion population provides. Second is that a large stallion population maintains a large breeding industry. Secretariat was a great running horse, but was not a good producer of runners as a stallion. I'm sure after winning the Triple Crown every breeder in the world would have wanted some shipped semen from him and today we would be left with thousands of mediocre Secretariat offspring. One benefit I could see with Fjords would be to introduce stallions from over seas. We could get a little Old World genetics into our New World horses and vice versa. I know all the other pro's that many of you are thinking of (i.e. no mare transport, no boarding fees at stud farms, etc.), but as I said these are benefits to the breeder, not the breed. I'm not saying that the breed shouldn't allow the use of A.I., I'm just saying that there are many things to consider here. I'll step down from my soap box now. Steve White, DVM Waterloo, Nebraska, USA
A.I. necessary; permit fee
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) Steve, You had mentioned the necessity of A.I. not long ago, and I too agree that it would be important to the success of a program such as we are contemplating. I will certainly be willing to put together a package for Registry use that acquaints a stallion owner with the basics of collecting and shipping semen. I have wondered before why there was an extra fee for obtaining an A.I. permit for a stallion. Would one of the Board members be willing to comment? Brian Jacobsen, DVM Norwegian Fjordhest Ranch Salisbury, North Carolina ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
