WBFSH Joint Interstallion Discussion
At Golden Tulip Rainbow Hotel,
Brussels Airport
Date and venue: Thursday, 29 June, 2006, Golden Tulip Rainbow Hotel, Brussels Airport.
Present: Jan Phillipsson, Ingvar Fredricsson, Peter Ljungcrantz, Dr. Werner Schade, William Martin-Rosset, Benoit Chaigne, Jan Pedersen, Paul Hubert, J. E. M. van Campen, Jim Flanagan, Rik van Miert, Dr. Thomas Nissen, Karina Christiansen, Xavier Guibert , Johan Knaap, Nicholas Finnerty, Rudi Eerdekens, Dr. Klaus Miesner, Christina Brogaard Lund (ref.)
Item: The Interstallion Project - a fundamental discussion
President of WBFSH, Jan Pedersen, opened the meeting by explaining the background of the need for an overall discussion. Referring to item 2 in the minutes from the Executive Committee meeting on 23 and 24 March, 2006, a fundamental discussion of the Interstallion project was needed, both regarding the ownership of data, the status quo, the pilot projects, and the coming steps of the project.
Jan Philipsson as a representative of the Interstallion group and William Martin-Rosset from the EAAP had been invited to provide factual information and clarifications before and during the debate.
Very informatively, Jan Philipsson presented the background of Interstallion, the pilot projects, methods applied, the limitations, and possible ways forward, please see the enclosed powerpoint presentation (Enclosure I).
The ownership of data and the possibility of contracts between the Interstallion group and a few of the participating breeding societies were discussed. A few of the breeding societies had already signed a contract on the delivery of data before the first pilot projects were started, and some had not heard of that kind of contract before. The questions of ownership and publishing of data were crucial to some of the representatives of the breeding societies, and it was made clear during the meeting that:
· Comparing of breeding values happens every day, but it cannot be done objectively. The work of Interstallion improves the comparability
· Data is needed, or else breeding values across countries cannot be compared
· Interstallion only needs official data like BLUP indexes and not non-published information
· The exact figures from each studbook are not used, only the genetic correlations between the breeding values are estimated. Genetic correlations are only interesting, if the same stallions or sons of the same stallions are breeding in the involved studbooks
· The more reliable information, the higher mutual benefits regarding breeding better sport horses
· If the big studbooks drop out of the project, there is no project
· Each individual breeding society owns their own data and results
· A common contract for the participating studbooks or an individual contract for each member studbook, can be made. These contracts can give limitations for the use of the data
· The two first pilot projects have shown that we have the possibility of a win-win situation right in front of us, because the genetic correlation between the involved studbooks is high and therefore, the breeding values are very possible to compare if we go ahead with the next step
· A new structure is important and could involve a steering group, for instance 1 person from each studbook involved
· The decisive power is in the hands of the studbooks involved by contract
· It is all up to the involved studbooks to decide what to do with the research results.
It was decided that the work of Interstallion should proceed into the next step after Jan Philipsson has invited for a new meeting regarding the preparation of a contract between the respective studbooks and the Interstallion group, a more structured workplan, and a steering group.
William Martin-Rosset was asked about the horse related-work being done within the EAAP. He expressed much positivity towards increased information flow between the two organisations and would be very happy to receive scientific reports or other information from the studbooks and likewise to provide the studbooks with research papers from the EAAP working groups.
Jan Pedersen thanked the participants for a fruitful meeting.
August 2006.
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