Equine Reproduction Center Services

Management of the stallion or mare
We provide veterinary management services for the breeding of mares and stallions. This service can be provided through boarding or on an outpatient basis.

The Stallion facilities at the Center were designed with strict considerations given to safety and with the flexibility to meet the needs of the individual stallion. Stallions are stabled in well-ventilated 16 x 16 ft stallion stalls. Daily turnout is available and encouraged. Stallions are turned out in acre-sized paddocks specifically designed and constructed for their safe confinement. Semen collections are performed in our large breeding shed designed with stallion and personnel safety as the primary concern.

A complete stallion breeding soundness evaluation is performed in order to detect any abnormalities that may interfere with fertility. The evaluation includes measurement, evaluation, and documentation of seminal characteristics using state-of-the-art equipment. Quality control is enhanced using computerized sperm motility analysis. This objective evaluation provides a permanent, accurate record of semen quality from each ejaculate processed at the Center.

All collections are performed following protocols that are designed with the goal of safely obtaining the highest quality ejaculate possible.

The mare management services include mares being bred by live-cover and artificial insemination with fresh semen, cooled-shipped semen or frozen semen. We also perform deep uterine insemination either rectally guided or using endoscopy.

In order to determine the optimal time of breeding, mares are examined by vaginal speculum, transrectal palpation or ultrasonography as frequently as deemed necessary. Mares being bred by natural cover or by artificial insemination with either fresh or cooled semen will be examined daily or every other day while in heat. Mares being bred with frozen-thawed semen are generally bred using a timed insemination protocol or are examined two or three times daily for post-ovulatory breeding. After breeding, mares are examined for pregnancy 14-16 days after ovulation. Hormonal treatments are administered as necessary to bring mares into heat, hasten ovulation or maintain pregnancy. In addition, uterine treatments are performed as deemed necessary by diagnostic measures such as uterine culture and cytology or ultrasonography.

The Center is able to work up the problem or subfertile mare and to design a treatment/management protocol that can result in a live foal. As part of assessment of the cases we can project the likelihood of success, approximate costs and if necessary, assisted reproductive techniques as possible alternatives to preserving a particular mares genetics. Although a significant percentage of mares that we see fall into this “problem” category the majority of the mares we work with have normal fertility. These clients have chosen us to manage the breeding of their mares to help ensure a pregnancy is achieved as rapidly as possible.

Recipient mare herd
The Center has maintained one of the largest recipient mare herds in the southeastern United States since 1999. There is a tremendous amount of work and cost involved in acquiring, maintaining, and managing the reproductive status of a large recipient herd. However we believe it is the core to a successful embryo transfer program. The time spent in the initial selection process of these mares and then their almost daily reproductive evaluations is extremely time consuming but pays off many fold. This approach is also a way to make embryo transfer possible and affordable to many of our clients in that they don’t have to maintain them or pay for the numerous reproductive exams necessary for success. Our facility is on our 91-acre farm that allows enough room for recipient and donor mares to be housed separately.