Grant available for owners of 'stranded' mares

NEW SOUTH WALES - Thoroughbred Breeders Australia is offering financial assistance to NSW broodmare owners who bred to NSW stallions in 2007 as part of the Equine Influenza Assistance Package – Individual Breeders Skills Retention.

Financial assistance in the form of a one off skills retention grant will now be made available to NSW broodmare owners who provide care for their mares most of the year and whose mares were stranded away from their home property due to the equine travel restrictions.

To be regarded as a stranded broodmare the following criteria must be met;

• The applicant must be the broodmare's primary carer most of the year and in doing so exercise skills related to equine husbandry
• The broodmare was transported to be covered by a thoroughbred stallion as a 'walk on' for the 2007 breeding season
• The broodmare was stranded in a movement restricted zone as declared by the NSW DPI and the applicant was unable to return their broodmare to be cared for at its home property after conception
• Once zoning and equine movement restrictions enabled the broodmare to travel from the movement restricted zone, the mare was transported to the home property

Broodmares that reside permanently in the area covered by the Purple Zone during the 2007 breeding season are not eligible for this assistance.

Financial assistance will be provided to eligible breeders dependent on scale of broodmare care provided to a maximum of $2000 per applicant.