1st Embryo Transplant Foal Born in Estonia
The first embryo-implanted foal in Estonia saw the light of day recently, ETV reported.
Veterinarian Kristiina Kuik-Tõnissoo carried out the procedure on the surrogate horse almost a year ago and the foal (baby horse) was born in late May.
ETV's Ringvaade reported today on the story of the foal, Grappa, its dam (or female mother), Virgin, and the surrogate dam, Ramona.
In this case, southern Estonian teamed up came together - Virgin is from Tartu, the surrogate is from Viljandi and the sire is from Võru.
Embryo transplants allows a number of descendants from a single biological mother to be produced in a single year. The egg donor is usually out of commission for two or three weeks.
The procedure is common in Europe but it's a first in Estonia, mainly because of the cost.
Kuik-Tõnissoo herself said he pressed hard to perform the procedure.
As it turned out, Virgin also gave birth to her own foal around the same time, and both that filly, Birgen, and Grappa are running around the corral together.