WITH FROZEN SEMEN
BREEDING
Fifty years of advances in veterinary medicine have launched a new wave of state
of the art equine breeding practices. Between artificial insemination (AI), chilled
and shipped semen, to embryo transfers and frozen semen, advanced options
for managing equine genetics have never been more accessible. Not so very long
ago, a given stallion could only cover mares who came to visit him on site, and
only for as long as the stallion remained fit, fertile, and living. Now, viable semen
can be processed and frozen for later use, well after a stallion becomes incapable
of covering mares for one reason or another. In fact, frozen semen can be stored
indefinitely, providing it is stored and utilized correctly.
On-site artificial insemination in equines was first practiced centuries ago on the
Arabian Peninsula. While it was a truly significant breakthrough, on-site AI has
severe limitations due to the inherently limited shelf life of fresh semen. Cooling
and freezing semen, however, makes it accessible on a global scale. In the 18th
Century, an Italian scientist discovered that a stallion’s spermatozoa became
temporarily inactive when exposed to cooler temperatures, before returning to
normal mobility upon gradual warming.
Frozen Semen Pros and Cons
Pros:
• Can be shipped globally
• May be stored indefinitely, or used while the stallion is busy showing
• Maximized efficiency; multiple mares may be bred on
one ejaculation
• Eliminating risk and stress to the mare as a result of
extensive transport
• Eliminates physical risks
of live-cover
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