Ridecamp: Re: [RC] FYI

> ET may not actually increase the number of foals as the
> market will only bear so many.  But what it would do is
> have a severe impact on the total genetic pool available.

I personally don't think the ET ruling will have much effect on the industry
at all.  First of all, mares are not as receptive to superovulation as are
cattle--hence, it is difficult to harvest more than just a few embryos per
year.  Second, the cost is quite high.  I think that a few high rollers will
play with it--but 85% or more of the industry is not involved in the
high-dollar glossy-ad show world anyway, and a great many of those 85% are
not even interested in the same types of horses.  I think they will continue
to play the game pretty much the way it's always been played, perhaps
occasionally scraping together a few bucks for an occasional ET for
preservation purposes.  (There again, success with ET in older mares has
been quite limited, likely due to chromosomal abnormalities that occur with
age--the embryos are harvested just fine, and implant just fine, and die in
45 days or so--exactly the way they do in the old mares themselves.  Which
suggests that the problem lies with the embryos from aged ova, not
necessarily with the older mares' ability to carry foals.)

I've heard all my life the theory that the TB's don't permit much of the
reproductive technology to support sire lines or to preserve economics.  Yet
as you stated, the sire lines are in jeopardy anyway, and furthermore, the
TB industry takes major financial hits from time to time.  Technology is
only what we make of it--we can use it for constructive purposes, or for
destructive purposes.  The bottom line remains with the intent of the
breeders involved.

Heidi

Heidi


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