The joint project between researchers and veterinarians at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMÜ) and Luunja Stables that led to Endex's birth first began three years ago.

"Eggs were taken from the donor mare, brought to the lab, fertilized there, grown and then implanted into a surrogate mare," explained embryologist Elina Tsopp.

According to Tsopp, the first two years were rife with failures. "For four or five months in a row, we didn't get a single embryo from our lab," she recalled.

"We tracked down that the heating plates at our lab, which are on the microscopes and keeping the embryos warm, were actually overheating the embryos," she continued. "They were supposed to be [set at] 37 degrees [Celsius], but were 42-43 degrees. That was the hardest but also the most important lesson."

The test-tube foal's dam, or mother, is Luunja Stables' own successful sport horse Elektra, who didn't foal Endex herself because she is still in the middle of her own sports career.

"A mare carries a foal for 11 months, plus the whole weaning process," Tsopp noted. "That would be a huge blow to her sports career."

Endex's surrogate dam is Luunja Stables' mare Miss Dior.

"She's calm and doesn't get upset by anything," the embryologist said. "If a mare is very nervous and is afraid of everything, that trait is actually passed on to the foal. In that sense, she's a supermom."

Even so, Endex was in a very bad mood when he was born. "His ears were pinned back, and he kicked his mother nearly the first chance he got, and for around half an hour he was very angry indeed – until he finally found Miss Dior's udder and got some milk," she recalled. "He was full of vitality and spirited right from the start."

The young foal was sired by Ermitage Kalone, a top stallion from Belgium who even competed in the Paris Olympics this summer.

"Of course we have high hopes; genetically speaking, he has huge future sports potential," Tsopp said. "But you never know with horses."

To date, five labs in Europe have offered test-tube embryo services. Now, researchers from EMÜ in collaboration with Luunja and Perila stables, make the sixth biotechnology center to provide the service. Eggs are sent to the Estonian lab from all over the world, where they are fertilized and then carried by surrogate Estonian mares.

This summer, EMÜ researchers also succeeded in cloning a horse embryo.

"For cloning, we use stem cells that we insert in an emptied egg cell; the DNA has been removed from the egg," Tsopp said. "Then, using various solutions and protocols, we start the embryo growing."

Next year, they hope to have seven new test-tube foals already. According to Tsopp, the goal is to accelerate and improve horse breeding and provide horse breeders with the opportunity to utilize state of the art genetics to achieve success on the global market as well as in competition.

As for cloning, one goal is also to preserve endangered breeds.

"Even here in Estonia we have three endangered horse breeds, and cloning would definitely be one way to save the breed," the embryologist added.

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