Horse won’t mate? Maybe she’s a he

WHEN IT COMES TO mating horses, there’s a lot at stake. Stud fees can soar into the tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. And likewise, offspring from a particularly promising pairing can be extremely valuable. These animals could be the start of a new line, and lead to generations of prime performers.

But what happens when normal looking horses with what should be a healthy sex drive display no interest in the other sex… or in sex whatsoever?

University of Guelph biomedical sciences researcher Allan King says they may be inadvertently hiding something – like their gonads.

And that’s if they even have them.

King and his team (Profs. Daniel Villagomez and Tamas Revay, and students Eastman Welsford and Colin Bolzon) have discovered genetic mutations that cause sex reversal in horses. That means genetically male horses develop female reproductive parts on the outside, but male reproductive systems inside.

“We look at gender as

of them. We want to make sure everyone is working together at a good pace.”

They expect to be open six days a week, potentially every day. With all the staff already hired, all that’s left to do is put the medical equipment in the rooms and install the signage, which he expects will take about a week. Then cleaners will come to give the place a good scrub.

“We like to find doctors who are between finishing their residency, maybe all the way up into maybe 3540. We want someone that’s going to be here for longterm, so that way if people are going to have a family doctor, we don’t want them getting up and leaving. My doctor, I’ve had him for 25 years. I grew up with him. We want to have that established here too.”

They’re opening Apr. 3 and will be located at 820 King St. North on the first floor. For more information call 519-206-0211.