The long, lonely days of a horse in exile An outbreak of equine venereal disease is sending horses into quarantine and hurting the cross-border semen trade February 23, 2009 at 8:14 AM EST By PATRICK WHITE
Globe and Mail Update
WINNIPEG — Three D Jewel is an eye-catching mare with a champion's genes.
And these days, she's very lonely.
For the past two months, accompanied only by her filly, she has ambled around a pen three fences removed from the rest of the horses at Silverline Farms in Eckville, Alta.
"There's no way they can ever touch noses or discuss things over a fence with the other horses," said owner Steve Schiestel, president of the Quarter Horse Association of Alberta.
Her banishment is government-ordered: She and several other Canadian mares may carry a virulent STD contracted from American studs whose well-travelled semen has been shipped to farms around the world.
A rare outbreak of contagious equine metritis (CEM), a virulent equine venereal disease, is galloping across the United States, and Canadian officials are scrambling to keep it from spreading north.
Their task has been complicated by an unregulated cross-border semen trade that has grown immensely in recent years due to advancements in shipping times and preservation techniques.
Over the past month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has imposed restrictions on both semen imports and live horses crossing the border. It now requires documentation proving that each horse or fluid shipment originated from a CEM-free farm.
While most breeders are applauding that swift reaction, others are chaffing at the extra time and cost of those measures.
"The time it's taking to obtain the proper certification is making it potentially prohibitive to obtain semen," said Vel Evans, an Equine Canada member whom the CFIA has consulted in their investigation.
Others worry the increased border scrutiny could affect the coming competition season.
"If they don't have the right papers or if they're showing any symptoms, even the slightest discharge, those federal border vets probably won't let them in," Mr. Schiestel said.
The virus last hit the United States in a big way during the late 1970s. In time, it was eradicated using antibiotics, but the final tab was $60-million (U.S.), according to one estimate.
Given the global reach of today's horse semen, along with the lack of regulatory limits on its movement, the possibility for a much larger and costlier outbreak now exists.
"The transport of semen is a huge thing now," said Darrell Dalton, deputy registrar for the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association. "Back in the 70s, we didn't have to worry about it spreading here as much. These days, you can transport semen anywhere in the world within 24 hours," he said.
Shipping semen has become a delicate science. Before each 20-to-30-millilitre semen shipment is sent, breeders mix in an agent that extends its motility. They then chill the semen and load it into a large syringe. A more advanced method involves freezing the semen in a portable liquid nitrogen tank.
Figures are not available on the volume of horse semen crossing the border, but one veterinarian said individual clinics can deal with upward of 50 shipments a year.
While CEM is easily treated with antibiotics, it causes temporary infertility - a calamitous prospect in an industry where fillies routinely fetch six figures.
Three D Jewel may have been exposed to the virus when she was impregnated with semen from Potential Investment, a Texas-based stallion that recently tested positive along with 10 other American studs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now testing 614 horses in 45 states that may have been exposed.
None of the 22 Canadian horses currently in quarantine have tested positive for CEM, including Three D Jewel. She is expected to foal in another six weeks.
"We are pretty sure now that she will come out clear," said Mr. Schiestel, adding that the new regulatory burden won't stop him from shopping south of the border for good semen.
Among the quarter horses he breeds, a horse is only as valuable as its pedigree. He'll continue paying up to $10,000 in stud fees and an extra $800 for shipping.
"It's all about the money," he said. "With Potential Investment, that horse has sired legends. If you were drafting talent for a hockey game and you have one kid named Sutter and another named Joe Blow, you're always going to go with the Sutter."
