Ranchers Dorothy and Dan Willows will have their 17th and last annual horse production sale this September because the market for one of their products is drying up.
Forty-nine prairie producers of pregnant mare’s urine have lost their contracts due to a drop in the demand for pharmaceutical estrogen.
“It has been a great business for us, but we’ll adapt to the change in markets and move on … farming will do this to you sometimes,” said Dorothy Willows, who farms at Buck Lake, Alta.
Trends in estrogen use are tied to medical research that recommends smaller doses of the hormone be given to menopausal women over shorter periods of time. That recommendation is reducing the need for the horse urine.
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Alberta farmers will no longer be in the PMU business. None of the 19 producers had their contracts renewed, while five in Saskatchewan, 24 in Manitoba and one in North Dakota will be dropped either voluntarily or by the company. This will leave 73 producers supplying the western Canadian plant.
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Premarin and Prempro, estrogen replacement products for women, maintains a collection and production facility in Brandon.
Norm Luba of the North American Equine Ranching Information Council that represents the producers said Alberta’s 1,600 kilometre haul to Brandon was the main reason for the decision about where to cut production.
Willows said her ranch has diversified its horse business and will continue to be involved in ranch horses, roping and rodeo. However, some of the mares will have to be sold this fall.
“After 20 years we will be looking to get back into some cattle and move on from there. We sell horses across North America and will continue to do that,” she said.
The American research group Women’s Health Initiative announced in July 2002 that traditional dosages of estrogen may cause more problems than they cure and recommended reduced prescription dosages by doctors.
Estrogen is prescribed to lessened effects of menopause and also provides some protection from the bone loss leading to osteoporosis.
Lower dosage
On the negative side, WHI said the additional hormones have led to heart problems, stroke, blood clotting disorders, cancer and dementia in older women. Wyeth said the hormone may cause these side effects and has released lower dosages of the drugs.
In the first quarter of 2005, sales of the Premarin group of drugs dropped 21 percent compared to the same period in 2004.
New prescriptions in the United States fell 11 percent in the same period, according to Wyeth’s reports.
Other problems for Wyeth came from organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that disliked the way the estrogen was gathered from the mares, which were stabled with urine collection devices attached to them.
Last month PETA placed a motion before Wyeth’s annual meeting to stop using the PMU source and to take responsibility for horses used in the production of the urine.
Producers say the claims of horse abuse are false.
“We’ll miss our mares, but I won’t miss the animal activists and the pressure that we are doing something wrong; the stigma that you are exploiting these horses,” Willows said.
“Our horses were in the barn only about three months last year. The rest of the time they were on pasture. When they are in the barn or anywhere else, they receive a very high standard of care. They see the vet regularly. We’ll miss the horses, but I won’t miss that stigma of PMU.”
Wyeth provides 17 months of payment to producers to support the mares after a contract is cancelled, said Luba.
“It gives producers time to find other markets or disperse the horses and provides money to support the mares in the meantime.”
