Uncertain future for hermaphrodite horse
Monday, 21 September 2009 17:49The future of an Australian racehorse has been thrown into doubt after its trainer revealed it was a hermaphrodite with internal testes and high testosterone levels.
In an equine echo of the controversy surrounding South African athlete Caster Semenya, authorities ordered hormone tests for the four-year-old mare Tuscan Abbe after she recorded a convincing victory.
Trainer Les Kosklin told Fairfax newspapers that officials raided his stables after the race, suspecting doping, and a swab revealed his charge's testosterone levels were 'through the roof'.
An examination by vets from the Newcastle Equine Centre showed Tuscan Abbe had internal testes which were producing large amounts of the hormone, and she was found to have a male Y chromosome.
Reproductive vet Dr Cecelia Cortina Di Favria carried out an ultrasound and deduced that something was wrong.
'Cecelia had an extensive look through her and we were convinced something was not normal,' the centre's Dr Patrick Kelly said. 'The mare doesn't look like she has a uterus, and potentially has two testicles inside her abdomen.
'We can't be sure they are testicles, we assume they are because they are the right size, the right consistency, and they are sitting in the right spot.'
Tuscan Abbe is now unlikely to be allowed to compete in future mares and fillies events.
Earlier in the year, Canada's Arizona Helen was found to have male and female features, while the aptly named Australian horse What Am I is also intersex.
South African athlete Semenya has undergone gender tests after her 800m world championships win, with Australia's Daily Telegraph reporting she had been found to have both male and female sex organs.
