British Breeder Magazine May 2020

Article - INTERVIEW
Coping with
Coronavirus
Interview with Tullis Matson
of Stallion AI
How has the Coronavirus
Lockdown affected you?
For us, the effects of the coronavirus
outbreak and subsequent lockdown
were pretty immediate and far reaching.
One of the hardest things to have to do
was to cancel our annual Open Day and
Stallion Show. It was clearly not possible
to run the show under the present
circumstances, but that didn’t make it any
easier. It was a shame for all our stallion
owners and breeders who were looking
forward to the day and who value the
opportunities it provides. It’s always a
great event to kick start the breeding
season, and very uplifting to see people
interact with our stallions and having a
lovely time.
What was clear from the outset was that
we had to look after our staff and their
families, as well as the safety of our
clients in all our interactions. Everyone
is affected in different ways, and every
member of the team is highly valued.
We had to consider the needs of those
who are themselves vulnerable and
others who have vulnerable relatives
at home. Others are affected because
they have children to look after at home.
Where we can, we have reorganised our
administration, so some of those tasks
can be carried out from home, reducing
travel and enabling better distancing on
site.
The complications with horses are, of
course, that they still need looking after,
regardless of the global pandemic. The
exceptional level of care and service we
offer to our stallions and their owners lies
at the very heart of our philosophy as a
business, and is not something we were
willing to compromise on. We therefore
initially radically reduced the number of
stallions on site. Of course it was really
tough for us to do this, financially, as
well as emotionally, because we hated
having to disappoint our many loyal and
valued clients.
The wider impact of how we conduct
ourselves as an industry is very important
to us. While breeding horses might
seem like the most important thing in
the world to us, we have to accept
that the outside world sees things very
differently. We have to be sensitive to this
and understand that our industry is not
seen as an “essential business” to those
outside equestrianism. It is for that reason
that I think we have to show that we are
doing our bit to help our country through
this crisis.
To help where we can, and to set a clear
signal that we care for our communities
and the wonderful work done by our
NHS and all healthcare professionals,
we have set up a programme of sending
out gloves and alcohol spray, which we
produce in our lab, to those who need
it. In this way, we have already donated
over 2,500 gloves to carers in our
community, and we will keep going and
doing our bit.
What measures have you taken to
ensure the safety of your staff and of
your clients?
The first and most obvious thing to do
was to stop any public access, and
to limit the number of stallions on site,
which immediately reduces interactions
and allows us to implement better social
distancing procedures. Of course this
all has to be done within reason, as
it is near impossible to distance when
collecting from a stallion, for example.
We are always having to balance the
different risks and keep health and safety
and the welfare of our precious stallions
in mind.
As an industry, biosecurity is second
nature to us, and we already have a lot
of measures and procedures in place
that, although originally designed to
protect our equine clients, are equally
effective in keeping our staff and
human clients safe. This includes a
high level of awareness of biosecurity,
and the use of protective equipment
as a matter of course. Our stables are
routinely completely washed down with
disinfectant about three times a week.
We are getting through a lot of gloves in
our day to day business.
When new stallions come on site, we
now minimise any interactions by taking
the horses off the transporter ourselves.
Each stallion has their personal tack
locker, so we can reduce the risk of
infection spreading from any equipment
they bring with them. Other items coming
in and out of our facility, such as semen
storage containers and transport boxes
for semen, are thoroughly disinfected.
We are working closely with our
transport partners to ensure we keep
them safe and identify and mitigate any
potential risks.
How are things now for you, several
weeks into the lockdown?
I think it is fair to say that things are
settling down a bit into a new way of
operating. Initially, there was a lot of
confusion around whether veterinarians
could carry out any AI procedures at all,
which had a lot of impact on demand
and created a lot of uncertainty for us
all. While there are still some aspects
that are open to interpretations, breeders
now, by and large, seem to have
established workable solutions with
their vets and are carrying on with their
breeding plans.
While we have taken the decision not
to run our facility at anywhere near full
capacity this season, in order to allow
us to continue with our increased social
distancing measures, we are now able
to open the doors, very carefully, to a
few more stallions coming in, and are
able to support our clients safely and
responsibly. These stallions are gradually
“drip fed” into our facility to avoid any
risks.
One interesting effect of the crisis has
been that we have been contacted by
owners of stallions who are normally
extremely busy in the competition
career at this time of year, and - with
all national and international shows
cancelled - are now free for stud duties.
How do you see the longer term
effect of the coronavirus outbreak
and the future for British stallions and
breeders?
While I don’t have any hard figures
available, my initial impression is that
our British stallions are getting used a lot
more this year. What I don’t know is if
this is because more people are wanting
to breed this year, perhaps because
they are unable to go out and compete,
or if this is because British stallions have
increased in popularity with existing
breeders. The quality and choice of
stallions available in this country is
certainly going up all of the time, which
is great to see!
What I am certain of is that this outbreak
has brought us together as a community
and made us value each other a lot
more. It has made us all re-evaluate
what really matters in life, which is to
show concern and care for each other,
and to take responsibility in the way
we run our businesses and interact with
each other. The welfare of our staff,
clients, and precious stallions always
has to come first. Everybody has been
absolutely incredible in the way they
have worked together to face this crisis.
There is a lot of good will and generosity
out there, which will help us emerge from
this stronger than ever.
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