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Foal born through IVF
carol with lord nelson
Owner Carol with Lord Nelson, who she likes to call PICSI (pronounced 'Pixie').

UC Davis celebrates success with ICSI
 
A foal has been born through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at UC Davis vet school in the US. This represents a first for equine medicine at the university.

Equine reproduction specialists used the process of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Unlike traditional IVF (which often doesn't work on horses), this involves injecting a single sperm into an egg extracted from a mare.

Once the embryo has developed in a laboratory for a week, it is implanted in the mare.

Initially, specialists attempted to artificially inseminate Zholani - a thoroughbred-shire mix - using frozen sperm from an Andalusian horse called El Gavilan.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Dr Bruce Christensen of UC Davis suggested enrolling the mare in his ICSI research study.

Six of Zholani's eggs and El Gavilan's sperm were sent to the Equine Embryo Laboratory at Texas A&M University.

Due to Zholani's previous inability to get pregnant, the team decided to use a recipient mare to carry the pregnancy.

The foal, named 'Lord Nelson' was born at UC Davis' Center for Equine Health. Once he matures, he will begin training for a career in dressage. His owner Carol Alonso is excited about his prospects, based on his carefully selected lineage.

Image courtesy of UC Davis

 

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Cold-water dip to raise funds for Vetlife

News Story 1
 The veterinary mental health charity Vetlife is inviting the veterinary community to join it for a sponsored cold-water dip.

The event will take place at Walpole Bay, Margate, on 17 May during Mental Health Awareness Week. Participants of all abilities can join in the challenge and are advised to bring a towel, a hot drink, a snack, and warm clothes to get changed into afterwards.

Those taking part are being asked to try to raise £100 each to support the work of the charity.

Details about how to take part can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue low vector period ends

In an update to its bluetongue guidance, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the seasonal low vector period for the disease has ended.

With winter over, Defra is planning for a possible increase in cases as midges become more active. It has warned that farms along the east coast of England from Norfolk to Kent, and along the south coast from Kent to Devon, are at highest risk from infected midges blown over from northern Europe.

Since the virus was detected in England in November 2023, there have been 126 confirmed cases. The most recent case to be confirmed was on 1 March 2024.

Farmers are asked to continue to frequently monitor their livestock and ensure their animals and land are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency.