PMU RANCHING: A

MEDICAL MIRACLE
OR WELFARE
NIGHTMARE
BY LEXY WILLIS

Picture: About the Equine Ranching Industry –

Frequently Asked Questions
THESIS

The expansion of science is causing a

higher demand for new medical miracles
Some of these new human medical
treatments are produced at the cost of
animal welfare
An example of this practice previously
took place at PMU Ranches (Pregnant
Mares’ Urine)
Picture: About the Equine Ranching Industry
– History of Premarin
 MENOPAUSE
• Millions of women reach
menopause every year
• Menopause: when a woman
stops having menstrual periods
• The Mayo Clinic expresses a
few severe symptoms
menopause causes
(“Menopause”):
o Osteoporosis
o Cardiovascular Disease
Picture: Changes During the Meno
pause Menopause
 HISTORY OF
PREMARIN
• A drug called Premarin was created to combat
menopause symptoms
• Created in 1941 by Ayerst Laboratories
• Due to the discovery of mares’ urine
having a high estrogen concentration in
1939 (“History of Premarin”)
• NAERIC (North American Equine Ranching
Information Council) expresses that Pfizer,
Wyeth, and Ayerst put in extreme effort to
improve Premarin
• Performed around 3,000 research studies
(“History of Premarin”)
• The Journal of Animals and Human Society,
by Colin Scanes, states that over 9 million
women take Premarin in America (Scanes 13-
Scanes, Colin
40)
History of Premarin Picture: Allin, Jane
WELFARE • PMU foals and mares were often
CONCERN: purchased by slaughterhouses due
to low interest (PETA, 2019)
FOAL • Since this time, many changes
SAFETY have been made to the PMU
industry
• Pedigree studying for stallions
and mares implemented in
2021 (“Niblock”)
• This process allows for the
birth of more demanded foal
breeds (ex. quarter horse)
• Creation of incentive programs
(ex. NAERIC Advantage,
NAERIC Draft Horse Classic
Niblock, Shelagh
Sale and Futurity)
Premarin: A Prescription f Picture: NAERIC Specialty
or Cruelty Event and Programs
 WELFARE CONCERN:
WITHHOLDING
WATER
• PMU mares water intake was controlled/limited everyday
to make it, so their urine had a higher concentration of
estrogen (The Equine Advocates Organization)

• This is a big hazard due to horses' specific nutritional

requirements and delicate GI track

• To prevent this concern the Code of Practice for the Care

and Handling of Horses on PMU Ranches was created :
• States that mares are required to have access to
water 24/7
• Explains that ranches must abide by the National
Research Council Nutrient Requirement of Horses

• NAERIC also expresses that ranches have no reason to

restrict water, due to payment of estrogen being in grams
Pregnant Mares’ Urine
not by unit of volume
Picture: Equine Ranching Code of Practice About the Equine Ranching Industry –
Frequently Asked Questions
 CONCLUSION: REGULATION OF PMU RANCHES
• Clearly prominent neglect used to be in the industry, but
new regulations and rules have been created to squash these
issues

• COP
o Revised by veterinarians, ranchers, and prominent
figures in the industry
o Includes guidelines pertaining to stall sizes, nutritional
requirements, facility quality, etc.

• 2014 White Paper by The Equine Ranching Advisor Board

o Explains how Pfizer’s contracts with PMU farms
requires them to:
 Abide by the COP
 Partake in monthly audits of ranch quality, a Herd
Health Review, required vaccinations, etc.
 PMU ranches must also follow the Canadian
Picture: Equine Ranching Code of Practi
COP, and federal/provincial law
The Equine Ranching Advisor Boar
ce d
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• “About the Equine Ranching Industry - Frequently Asked Questions.” NAERIC, North American Equine Ranching Information Council, n.d.,
https://www.naeric.org/about.asp?strNav=4&strBtn=5.

• “About the Equine Ranching Industry - History of Premarin.” NAERIC , North American Equine Ranching Information Council, n.d.,
https://www.naeric.org/about.asp?strNav=11&strBtn=5.

• Allin, Jane. “Premarin Horses: How Many Does It Take to Make a Billion Dollars? Part 2.” Tuesday's Horse, 19 Mar. 2014,
https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/premarin-horses-how-many-does-it-take-to-make-a-billion-dollars-part-2/.

• “Changes During the Menopause.” TeachMePhysiology, 31 Mar. 2023, https://teachmephysiology.com/reproductive-system/development-maturation/menopause/.

• Equine Ranching Code of Practice Review Committee. Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Horses on PMU Ranches. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Manitoba
Agriculture, 2018. https://www.naeric.org/about.asp?strNav=5&strBtn=5

• “History of Premarin- About the Equine Ranching Industry.” NAERIC, North American Equine Ranching Information Council, n.d.,
www.naeric.org/about.asp?strNav=11&strBtn=5.

• “Menopause.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 17 Dec. 2022,
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20353397.

• “NAERIC Specialty Events and Programs.” NAERIC, North American Equine Ranching Information Council, n.d., https://www.naeric.org/events.asp?strNav=0.

• Niblock, Shelagh. “Canadian Breeders Producing Quality Foals.” Continuous improvement in equine ranching. CA Horse Journal, 2021.
https://naeric.org/assets/pdf/CAHorseJournal-EquineRanching-Summer2021.pdf.

• “Pregnant Mares' Urine (PMU) Industry.” Equine Advocates, n.d., https://www.equineadvocates.org/the-issues/pmu-industry/.

• “Premarin: A Prescription for Cruelty.” PETA, December 29, 2019.

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-used- experimentation-factsheets/premarin-prescription-cruelty/.

• Scanes, Colin G. “Chapter 2-Animal Attributes Exploited by Humans (Nonfood Uses of Animals).” Animals and Human Society, Edited by Samia R. Toukhsati, 2018,
pp. 13–40., doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-805247-1.00002-2.

• The Equine Ranching Advisor Board. 2014. “Care and Oversight of Horses for the Collection of Pregnant Mares’ Urine (PMU).” North American Equine Ranching