Among those who have decided to have their mares tested is Jan Vriend, former secretary of the League of Mare Keepers and presently Treasurer of Breeding Chapter ‘Het Friesche Paard Noord- en Zuid-Holland’ (Friesian Horse North and South Holland). ‘Breeders should make the most of all available information. The Studbook is doing an excellent job, but still I would value it greatly if all stallions would be tested for carrier status’, Jan Vriend says.
Dick Reiding, who is a successful breeder with many horses in competition sports such as Rosa O., has not yet taken his mares through the process of testing. The radiologist has not come round to doing it. ‘I feel that testing is more important for some mares than for others. So this year I will put six mares through the testing phase. Another thing to keep in mind is the cost aspect. We are however, very much in favor of using innovative techniques’, Dick Reiding says.
Ardent supporter
From a breeder’s perspective Bart Aerts, Chairman of Breeding Chapter ‘It Fryske Greidhynder’, is also an ardent supporter of genetic research. ‘I want to prevent the birth of a foal with hydrocephaly. Personally, I also strive to endorse all efforts aimed at banning these genetic abnormalities from the population. I wonder if stallion selection procedures should be more rigorously applied by the upfront exclusion of all stallions with positive carrier status. Breeders should use all available data with care’, Aerts argues.
‘I’m all for transparency when the improvement of the breed is at stake’, John Boot, co-owner of Jehannes 484 says. ‘As far as I’m concerned I would welcome the step to inform us about carrier status of the older stallions. All our broodmares have been tested. In order to come to a well-considered choice you should take into account all available information’, John Boot states.
The ostrich attitude
Roel Oldenburger is a breeder and a member of the KFPS Member Council. Up to this point his mares have not been tested. ‘It may be so that I am sticking my head in the sand’, he reacts, but until today he has never encountered problems. ‘This might all change I suppose, if I would make it among the winners this year. On the flip side, a mare with carrier status drops considerably in value. I study the papers and this enables me to calculate the probability of a risky match. And in doing so I have repeatedly used stallions with a certain risk’, Oldenburger tells us.
As posted in the March 2015 KFPS Newsletter
More news
