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Artificial Insemination

Every year our clinic provides AI services to a larger number of clients. Some of these are breeding farms, others are individual mares that are bred on the farm or in clinic. We use primarily fresh cooled semen, but can use frozen semen if that is available to you.

If you decide to have us AI your mare, we will go through several steps:
1. Set a target date to start breeding. This will vary depending on your facilities ability to handle early foaling, your mares past reproductive performance, etc.
2. Contact prospective stallion owners, determine their dates of shipping, deposit requirements, notification requirements, etc.
3. Examine your mare. Determine a plan based on her history and what our examination shows at that time.
4. Use a progressive plan to systematically examine your mare by ultrasound with the goal being to have the mare produce a 3.5 or larger follicle.
5. Ship semen. we contact stallion owners in most cases to request shipment.
6. Insemination and induce ovulation. Stallion semen lives up to 4 days, the egg that is ovulated is only fertile about 24 hours. We aim for ovulation about 12 hours following insemination (6 hours with frozen semen).
7. Observe for ovulation and/or uterine problems. 
8. Pregnancy exam day 14 post ovulation.
9. Follow-up exams at 30 and 45 days.
Once the process is started, we can help you through everything from paperwork to shipment arrangement.

Embryo Transfer

Embryo transfer is the process of allowing one mare to conceive a foal, flush out that embryo and transfer it to the uterus of another mare. This may be done to maximize the number of foals obtained from one mare, to keep a performance mare performing or to obtain a foal from a mare unable to maintain a full term pregnancy.

Embryo transfer is far from a 100% process. Most experts agree that for a given ovulation and AI with cooled semen, the chances of flushing out an embryo, transferring it and obtaining a live foal is usually less than 40%.

We try to flush mares day 7-8 after ovulation to obtain an embryo of the highest chance of surviving. Selection of recipient mares of the highest quality and of a fertile reproductive history will greatly increase survival chances.

We can provide super-ovulation (where the mare ovulates multiple eggs) treatment if necessary. This involves extra hormonal therapy.
If you are interested in these services we would be glad to discuss your individual case and provide you with an estimate.

Feel free to call or drop us a note with your questions or concerns

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Last modified: November 02, 2008

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