Still Fearful of By Gigha Steinman
FIVE YEARS AGO Warmbloods Today published an article about using frozen semen, as opposed to other methods, in order to breed sport horse mares. This made us wonder—although fresh shipped semen is still more popular, is frozen semen gaining ground? Are any of the fears breeders faced five years ago dissipating? Now more than ever, the frozen option gives North Ameri- can breeders easy access to top stallions worldwide.
The Basics of Frozen Semen Semen is collected for freezing the same way it is collected for any AI (artificial insemination). After it is collected it is evaluated, centrifuged, mixed with semen extender, loaded into ‘straws,’ frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored in a liquid nitrogen stor- age tank. Most straws are .5 ml (roughly the
size of a coffee stirring straw) or 5 ml (roughly the size of a drinking straw.) The number of straws in a dose will vary based on the semen concen- tration and the progressive motility (ability to move spontaneously). The WBFSH (World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses) recommends a mini- mum of 250 million progressively motile spermatozoa per dose post-thaw. In order to meet this requirement a dose of frozen semen will usually require two to ten
Article photos courtesy of
equinereproductioncenters.com
Advantages of Frozen The biggest advantage of frozen semen is the access it gives breeders to stallions worldwide. Carol Austin, of frozen semen importer/exporter Superior Equine Sires, believes that access to foreign stallions is essential for North American breeders. “The best stallions are gener- ally in Europe. Frozen semen gives breeders access to the most proven, top stallions—few North American stal- lions have achieved the same level of accomplishment as their European counterparts,” she says. Access to popular deceased stallions is another ad-
straws.
vantage of frozen semen. Famous sires like Rubinstein I (1986–2000), Olympic Ferro (1987–2005) and Weltmeyer (1984–2011) are still available via frozen semen, giving breeders access to these well-known and proven stal- lions long after they have died. Frozen semen can also be incredibly convenient for
mare owners. It can be ordered months (or even years) in advance and then stored in liquid nitrogen tanks in- definitely, so it is readily available when needed. In con- trast, fresh semen must be collected as needed and then shipped overnight to the mare owners, who may find themselves missing a mare’s cycle entirely because of shipping delays, lost shipments or stallions who de- cided not to cooperate the day se- men needed to be collected. Frozen semen can be more convenient for stallion owners for these same rea- sons, as well as making it easier to have semen available from stallions with active training and competition schedules.
Semen straws on a freezing rack.
The Drawbacks Karen Reid of Fox Fire Farm began brokering frozen semen in the mid- 1990s. “The biggest drawback is the veterinarians,” she says without hesi- tation, and adds that some veterinar- ians lack the experience to success-
fully use frozen semen and some are unwilling to use it because the process is more demanding than handling and inseminating with fresh-shipped semen. She also
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