Reprinted from the May 2006 issue of EQUESTRIAN
By Gareth Selwood

Many horse breeders the world over are now offering the services of their stallions through the use of frozen semen. For the stallion owner, there are many advantages, despite the initial investment in the freezing of the semen, storage and equipment costs, the time and labor intensive work hours saved during a busy breeding season are undeniable. Stallions are freed up to continue their show careers or attend horse fairs. For the lucky owner who had the foresight to freeze their stallion's semen before death, this technology prolongs the horse's breeding career indefinitely, or at least as long as there is available frozen inventory. Research suggests that semen stored continuously in liquid nitrogen can remain viable for 30 years, and possibly much longer.

For the mare owner, there are just as many advantages. It allows the use of stallions not available for natural cover, fresh A.I. or fresh-cooled shipped semen. The desired stallion may be deceased, incapacitated due to injury or simply living in another country. Stress on all parties involved seems to be reduced to minimum as the breeding process is more controlled by the veterinarian in a clinical situation.

If semen is of excellent (commercial grade) and your mare becomes pregnant with application of the first dose of semen, multiple shipping costs are reduced that might have occurred through the shipping of fresh cooled semen. As the veterinarian will almost always use frozen semen in a clinical environment, there are added costs due to frequent palpations and multiple ultrasound exams. This is necessary as the mare must be inseminated within 12 hours of ovulation since once thawed, and inseminated, frozen semen does not seem to last as long as fresh semen inside the mare.

All in all costs of breeding with fresh cooled or frozen semen seem to average out in the long run.

Although using frozen semen may have many benefits to the modern horse breeder, there are several issues that need to be taken into account to improve the outcome. The mare owner should read contracts carefully. The availability of "straws" or "doses" may be limited. Quality of the product may be difficult to determine unless the horse's semen has been used by many with obvious success. Mare owners should ask for references from both breeders and veterinarians who have used the stallion's frozen semen.

For the stallion owner, many of the same concerns are true, although from a different perspective. Clear contractual agreements are paramount, and the choice of veterinarian used by the mare owner should be of concern.

Some registries do not allow the use of frozen semen, so the breeder should contact the registry that he/she intends to use for the foal and also check their specific registration requirements.

Foals produced from frozen semen have competed at all levels and disciplines in the equestrian world for over a decade, further proving the viability of this futuristic method of reproduction for the modern show and sport horse.

~~~