Unwanted Mares Find A Home Thanks To James Lala’s Wellington Quarantine
By Carrie Wirth
James Lala’s Wellington Quarantine is like Ellis Island for horses coming from abroad. The peaceful Wellington facility, just minutes from the show grounds, aids emigrating horses through federal requirements, including one that mandates that stallions breed two test mares, each by live cover. The bred mares are then tested and, if found negative for CEM, a sexually transmitted disease, the
stallions are that much closer to getting to their final destination. With more than 200 international sport horses going through Wellington Quarantine each year, Lala must have enough mares on hand to provide the CEM process required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a bonus to fulfilling the requirements of the quarantine, Lala also has an opportunity to give unwanted or rescued horses a quality life. “I really like our mares, and we give them a great home,” Lala said. “It’s important that they are safe for the stallions — that is our greatest concern. So, for a mare to be useful, she has to have a good nature. They should be sturdy and on the smaller side.”
help make certain that a valuable, yet frisky stallion doesn’t suffer a wellplaced kick from an unhappy mare during amorous activities. Most of Lala’s test mares are bred only four times during an entire year. Lala works closely with Dr. Erin Newkirk of Reid & Associates Equine Medicine and Surgery for all the breeding and testing, and the USDA protocol is supervised by a Florida Department of Agriculture veterinarian.
The mares must be well-mannered to
Newkirk is the most experienced CEM veterinarian in Florida and was chosen by the Florida Department of Agriculture and the USDA to conduct a symposium on and teach other veterinarians how to properly test for CEM. “I appreciate Dr. Newkirk’s extensive knowledge of reproduction and particularly live breeding,” Lala
(Left) James Lala with one of the test mares, Lady.
PHOTO BY CARRIE WIRTH |wellington the magazine| November 2013
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