REPORT MADE AT 2009 WAHO CONFERENCE.

Mrs. Sharzad Amir Aslani: I will now give the report for Iran.

Regarding our stud book, I am happy to inform you that Volume 3 of the Iranian stud book has finally been achieved, containing over 680 horses from the year 2000-2003 and the fourth volume will follow very shortly covering 2004 to 2008. Switching from blood-typing to DNA was a rather difficult task, because of the high number of living animals, but fortunately these problems were overcome and the registration of foals and DNA sampling is all now up to date. From now on, foals are registered and microchipped before 6 months of age, and after DNA sampling a passport is issued. Those which meet the criteria are now entering the national stud book. We still do not use Artificial Insemination nor do we allow Embryo Transfer. In 2007 and 2008 horses were imported from Italy, Germany, the UK, Qatar, the UAE and Poland.

Regarding activities, for shows Iran became a member of ECAHO last year and our first ECAHO-affiliated show took place in one of our Arabian horse populated regions, and 4 other shows were held in different regions. The main activity however, is racing, which is very popular between breeders and owners. More than 35 weeks of racing were organized last year with the participation of more than 300 purebred Arabians. There is also a very big interest in endurance, as Iran is a nomadic country. We have more than 6 big endurance competitions organized by the Equestrian Federation in different regions, and one FEI ride. Endurance is open to other breeds as well, as Iran is well known for its other local breeds, and we are hoping to improve in number and quality of rides for the future. Thank you.

REPORT MADE AT 2007 WAHO CONFERENCE: In brief, the total number of registered purebred Arabian horses in Iran is 1,714, of which 748 mares and 159 stallions have been used for breeding. Approximately 100 foals are registered annually. We have imported 2 horses from Qatar in 2005, and 1 stallion from Turkey in 2006. We moved to the DNA and micro-chip system in 2005. Over 800 samples were sent to Newmarket in 2006 for DNA typing and parentage tests, and our current stud book Volume 3 will be published next year. Neither Artificial Insemination nor Embryo transfer are allowed.

Regarding our activities, the number of flat races has increased from 52 to 78 in 2006. We had 3 shows, 6 endurance rides and for the first time an FEI endurance ride at CI level was organised in December 2006 in Khuzestan.