Artificial Breeding and Your Mare – 2006/2007 It has now become popular for sporthorse breeders to use frozen or chilled-transported semen from the stallion of their choice to breed their mare to. Our background is one in which we service 450 Thoroughbred broodmares each year as well as may pleasure horses. We breed our own Warmbloods to a variety of the best frozen semen stallions available. In addition we offer services to interested sporthorse breeders who wish to use frozen or chilled semen to breed their mares. Individual care of your mare is our main consideration.

Chilled Semen Chilled-transported semen is collected fresh, cooled and extended and remains viable for insemination for up to 72 hours. If collected under the right quarantine conditions, this semen can be sent from around Australia, or from New Zealand and the USA. Once your mare is scanned and her follicle size is known the semen can be ordered for collection. Chorulon or Ovuplant are then used to stimulate ovulation at the appropriate time. The semen is evaluated and inseminated when it arrives, prior to the mare's ovulation. The conception rates with chilled-transported semen usually approximate those of natural service. About 70% of mares will conceive on the first cycle and 22% on the second cycle. Typically the costs of semen collection and freight to the vet clinic are paid by the mare owner and will usually total $350-$400 per cycle.

Having said all this we prefer to work with frozen semen.  The quality and fertility of chilled semen from a range of Australia’s Warmblood stallions is highly variable.  We have had some very disappointing results and the stallion owners are not always very forthcoming about the fertility of their horses.  Also, the freight and transportation requires very close management and it is common for packages to go astray.  With frozen semen it is always waiting quietly in the corner for you until the mare needs it.             «back»

Frozen Semen Frozen semen is collected from a stallion and processed with extender to be stored in liquid nitrogen. Theoretically, the semen will last in it’s stored state for at least 50 years. Correctly collected, semen from Europe can be imported to Australia for insemination. An increasing number of Australian performance stallions are available using frozen semen only.

Unlike chilled semen, conception rates with frozen semen average only 37% per cycle. This can range from 0% to 70% per cycle, depending on the stallion. While there are some stallions out there whose semen does not freeze well, there are also the Rotspon’s and Weltmeyer’s whose frozen semen is as fertile as natural service. You need to ask the stallion semen supplier what their horse’s conception rate is. (Be very wary if they are not forthcoming with detailed information.)

Using frozen semen avoids the cost of chilled semen collection and transport. However, there will be charges relating to the handling and delivery of the semen doses to your vet or storage tank. The thing to remember is that, on average, it will take 2.9 services per conception to achieve a pregnancy with frozen semen. (That’s why the stallion owners supply 3 doses per service fee on average!)

Insemination with frozen semen needs to occur very close to ovulation for there to be a real chance of conception. Recent research indicates that insemination should occur within the window of 12 hours before to 6 hours after ovulation. We use drugs, such as Chorulon and Ovuplant, to control the timing of ovulation. Our aim is to inseminate your mare within 3 to 4 hours after ovulation. This eliminates the possibility of semen wastage and maximises the chance of a pregnancy. «back»

Hysteroscopic (Reduced-dose) Insemination (HI) The cost of stallion semen has been a consistent issue in the sporthorse world. Common wisdom has it that a normal fertile dose of frozen semen is 400 to 500 x 106 motile spermatozoa. This data was determined using regular deep-uterine insemination of frozen-thawed semen. The majority of inseminations are supplied in between one and ten 0.5 ml (ministraw) doses, while in some cases the dose may be in larger containers. Recent research has shown that good conception rates can be achieved using semen doses as low as 5 x 106 motile spermatozoa if the semen is deposited directly on the junction where the Fallopian tube joins the uterus. Depending on how the semen from your chosen stallion is supplied, you may be able to achieve good conception rates while using much smaller insemination doses.     

Elite Frozen Foals offers to clients the option to use HI. Only 1 straw needs to be inseminated to achieve the same conception rate as seen with 7 or 8 straws with deep-uterine insemination. The semen is placed at the utero-tubal junction (UTJ) on the same side as the ovulation, just after ovulation has occurred. The technique requires the passage of a sterilised endoscope through the cervix. The scope is then directed to the relevant UTJ. Once the site of deposition (the UTJ) is visualised the scope is moved as close as possible to the appropriate site. Semen is then placed in the appropriate location. The entire procedure is visualised on a monitor and can be recorded for later computer evaluation.

For those stallions whose semen comes in 8 ministraws, the client can get 8 effective doses from the straws rather than the standard single dose. We charge more for hysteroscopic insemination due to the need for sophisticated equipment, more staff and sedation for your mare. You will need to judge whether the reduced semen cost justifies the increased veterinary cost. In 2005/06 we used this technique on over 50 mares. We achieved a per-cycle pregnancy rate of better than 55% using HI. This is as good as you could expect using natural service and represents a significant improvement on our past results with frozen semen.   «back»

Embryo Transfer This is close to the cutting edge of horse reproduction. It is most suitable for competition mares where the owner wishes to keep the mare in work. Your mare would be served by a stallion or inseminated with chilled or frozen semen. The clock starts ticking at the time of ovulation. We would aim to flush the mare 7 days after the ovulation has been seen to occur. The mare is flushed and, hopefully, an embryo is recovered. The embryo is then transported to Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital and implanted into one of their recipient mares. The embryo is implanted into an appropriately matched mare non-surgically. If the mare becomes pregnant you get to rent her until the foal is weaned. The cost for renting a mare is around $1800 and it is your responsibility to care for and feed the mare.

As you can see, embryo transfer with frozen semen is only for the stout-hearted. It is a great technique for producing foals from promising competition mares. However, older mares or those with poor previous reproductive performance are often not suitable.    «back»

Foaling-Down We will again offer a foaling-down service this year. The mares are kept under 24 hour observation under the control of a vet. All mares are fitted with a foaling alarm and all foalings are attended by a vet and a vet nurse. The mares are observed in a lit paddock visible from the supervisor’s bedroom. Infra-red CCTV is used to supervise the mares in their foaling stables or yards. Close supervision of the foaling process is critical to a successful foaling. Parturition occurs rapidly in the mare and having professional attention available on the property enhances the likelihood of any problems being detected early, rectified, and a live foal born.   «back»

Agistment Agistment for visiting mares and foals is offered in a range of settings on our 45 acre property. We can offer accommodation in the form of:

• paddocks –individual or shared

• yards –individual

• stables –individual

In most circumstances the pasture accommodation is more than acceptable. The fencing is purpose-built to be as safe as possible. Spring pasture on the Hollands Creek is usually lush but all agistees are also supplementary fed with hay and hard feed.  «back»