Eurodressage has posted a report today that includes news of interest to breeders worldwide. The report was on the results of a special meeting of the German Equestrian Federation just held, to address some of the new animal regulations adopted by the European Union. Three decisions were in the report, but the most significant for North American breeders concerns WFFS.
The first new ruling is that Germany will have mandatory testing for Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome in 2019. This was prompted by the EU's new requirement for testing for genetic defects, with which Germany, as a member of the EU, must comply. This has significance to any breeder wishing to breed to German stallions. Many German registries and individual stallion owners have so far been reluctant to require testing, which puts mare owners in a bind. Many mare owners around the world would prefer to avoid the risk of delivering a foal with WFFS. They have tested their own mares, but this is only half the information they need. In order to safely breed a positive mare, they need to know that the stallion is not a carrier. It's an important step forward that all German stallions will be required to provide that information in 2019.
Other decisions addressed the status of stallions tested at the Czech Republic State Stud, and the opening of a stallion performance testing station at the State Stud of Marbach.
Read the eurodressage article here.
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