The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association is pleased to announce that the parentage verification program for Tennessee Walking Horse registrations will be converted from blood typing to DNA beginning January 1, 2007. The TWHBEA will be running 17 DNA markers, recognized as the standard equine parentage panel by the International Society for Animal Genetics. The conversion is being directed by Kathy Zeis, TWHBEA executive committee vice president of breeders.

“The new DNA process will be faster, less expensive and more convenient for our members than the blood typing program,” said Kathy Zeis. “In addition, the conversion will allow us to further streamline our internal processes which will have a significant impact on customer service.”

Based upon the recommendation of the TWHBEA breeders’ committee, headed by Kathy Zeis, the TWHBEA executive committee voted unanimously on Oct. 30 to award the contract to the Department of Veterinarian Science of the College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky. Kathy Zeis said “the Gluck Equine Research Center College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky is a world renowned equine research laboratory and we are pleased and excited to be partnering with them in this conversion.”

For more information, visit www.twhbea.com.