AI – can someone make it black and white for me?

[luckilotti]

Hi,
Ok, so if I choose a stallion via the AI route, what am I going to need

My vets is listed online as on the BEVA List of Practices in artificial insemination, so I guess that’s a good start!
Once I had chose my stallion, what would I do, pay the stallions fees, get my mare scanned to see where she was in her cycle, then… would I or the vets arrange when the semen had to be delivered? How many scans do they have in relation to the AI (I guess it depends upon when the get their 1st scan?)
I have learnt quite a bit on here with regards to chilled, fresh, frozen etc and I imagine, I would end up having to go for the chilled/frozen option? Would this have any other implications?
Would I be stupid to get some frozen that is sold by the ‘dose’ ? (been looking at stallion that are more than I want to spend, then saw that I could afford some by the dose!)
What tends to be the terms with AI stud fees?

I’ve also just read on a website that now you can choose the sex of your foal before AI…. I wont ask about that!

I seem to recall last year there was a ‘dummies guide to AI’ on here but I just couldn’t find it? I think I need that

I want to be organised this year!

Thanks for reading and any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

 

[woostar]

AI route - yes. Alot easier and safer than natural covering.

BEVA listed practice, thats a good starting point, and specifically use the person in the practice who has the experience in stud work. - there was some slander on her a few months ago over the BEVA AI list, i fully stand behind it. Being on th BEVA AI list does not therefore mean that every vet in that practice is supposed to be a Studvet, but someone there will be in charge of that area of work.

You can pay stallion fees up front, but most studs ask for by oct 1st.

If you are doing from home, the vet will come and do a pre-breeding exam to make sure there is no probs that need ironing out before breeding.

They will steer the time scale depending on your mares current reproductive status and also your availability and personal preference etc.

Arranging the semen? normally if you have let the stud / ai centre know you have requested use of that particular stallion you should therefore contact them with as much notice as you can (as instructed by your vet as to time to be bred / ai'd), and they will get the stuff to you. Then contact your vet back and say when it will arrive, so he / she can plan to re-visit.

Number of scans? completely depends on where they are in the cycle, any probs etc etc etc. Cant predict that one. But everyone involved should be looking to keep it a minimum whilst not being too restrictive in order to maximise chances of conception.

Alot of people can now have frozen at home using a planned strategy of two inseminations done at specific times. In all honesty if you can get chilled, then that would be best, but doing frozen AI at home is doable as long as you use someone who is well versed in that work, otherwise sending her to a well known stud / ai centre for the frozen cycle (can only involve being there a couple of days) is the other option.

Fresh and chilled obvioulsy result in better rates of conception, but frozen is not far off, to use a two insemination stategy has been shown to work for frozen ai ( i.e. so you can it done at home ) but im not overly convinced - i think to have one insemination done as close to ovulation as poss is probably the more ideal situation. People might argue on that one as there has been very good results with a two insemination (12 hours apart) plan but that is only from a set group of cases used in the studies, so one can only extrapolate and presume.

Some frozen suppliers will supply as necessary to get a pregnancy, it completely depends on the stallion owner / ai centre etc. Ultimately you will have to go with what ever the deal is with teh stallion you want to use.

I have bred many with frozen ai where you only get two doses per shipment. If you get a well versed stud vet to set everything up spot on, then two should be more than enough.

AI stud fees - completely depends on stud, looking at their websites you can see the variations in such.

 

[jaffs]

Think Andypandy is your man for this one. Be a good one to 'Sticky' too.

 

[jaffs]

Apologies 'woostar'I think we posted at the same time!!

 

[ASM2]

This should help as a general guide

Will post separately without the advertising element

.

A Guide to Artificial Insemination


Why use artificial insemination?

Artificial Insemination (AI) greatly increases your possible choice of stallion. You can choose a stallion from anywhere in the UK or abroad without having to travel your mare great distances. Many popular stallions are only available by AI, since this method decreases the risk to the stallion. AI has success rates comparable to natural service, and the detailed veterinary attention mares receive means those with fertility problems may be more likely to conceive. However frozen semen is not advisable for mares over the age of sixteen who have not bred a foal before.

Why use Tower Equine Fertility Services?

Tower Equine is the breeding division of Gibson & Lee, Equine Veterinary Surgeons, developed by equine vet Roger Lee and run in association with Brackenspa Stud. We are a British Equine Veterinary Association approved centre for Artificial Insemination. Roger has many years experience in equine fertility working as a dedicated stud vet both in the UK and Australia.
Mares for AI will board at Brackenspa stud in a new, purpose-built mare block adjacent to the covered stocks and veterinary laboratory. X acres of grass turnout is available. In addition there is limited availability at a new unit at Tower Farm itself, for mares that need increased veterinary care.

We offer optional, fixed-price veterinary packages for both chilled and frozen semen. These help you to understand what your veterinary costs are likely to be. Not all mares will get in foal at the first attempt, and by having an ‘in foal fee’ we can further reduce the per cycle price. We are confident that our prices are significantly lower than those of our local competitors. Clients are however free to opt simply to pay for each veterinary procedure individually, and prices are available on request.

Choice of stallion

Choose a stallion that will suit your mare and your purse. When using AI it is important to ensure that the stallion has a record of good fertility with chilled or frozen semen. If you are planning to use chilled semen, make sure the stallion will be available when you need him – some popular sires are busy competing as well as breeding. For frozen semen this is not an issue, but the stallion’s fertility is even more important. Not all stallions produce semen that is viable after freezing and unfortunately there is still some poor quality semen being sold.

Discuss the terms of your contract with the stud. How many goes do you get for your stud fee? Usually for chilled semen you can order it as many time as you need it within one year, but studs vary. For frozen semen you often pay per dose of semen, and you need to check if you will be charged for extra doses. If you have chosen a foreign stallion you need to ensure that the semen is collected at an EU approved semen collection centre, and that it will arrive with the correct EU certification.


Pre-breeding Check

We would advise that all mares have a pre-breeding examination to evaluate their fertility. A combination of an external examination and an internal scan will identify any problems, and make sure the mare has the best chance possible of conceiving. This is also the ideal time to take a clitoral swab for contagious equine metritis (CEM). The swab takes seven days to culture and a clear result is necessary before the mare can enter the insemination unit. For this reason the pre-breeding check may be best done at your stables.

Insemination Procedure

The mare needs to come to us when she is just coming into season. If your mare shows in season at home this is easy to plan. If she does not show or you are not sure, we may need to scan her to tell what stage she is at in her cycle.
Once at the stud the mare’s ovaries will be scanned to determine the size of any follicles on them. Growth of the follicles will be monitored closely until one follicle reaches approximately 35 millimetres in diameter. At this stage the mare is given a drug that will help make that follicle ovulate at a predictable time – typically between 36 and 48 hours after the drug has been given. This allows chilled semen to be ordered for the day following the drug injection, and for frozen semen to be inseminated as close to the point of ovulation as possible.

After she has been inseminated with chilled or frozen semen the mare will be rescanned the following day, to check that she has ovulated as planned, and to treat any inflammation in the uterus following insemination. Most mares will receive at least one washout – that is a dose of antibiotic placed in the uterus to help prevent infection. Some mares are prone to fluid pooling in the uterus after insemination and they may require additional treatment.

Chilled Semen

Semen is collected from the stallion, mixed with an extender and then placed in an insulated box containing icepacks in order to keep it cool during transport. Chilled semen needs to go from the stallion to inside the mare within twenty-four hours. Any longer than this and it’s fertility will decline sharply. This means that semen is ordered the day before it is needed – ideally the mare is examined early in the morning, it is confirmed that she has a good size follicle, semen is ordered for next day delivery by overnight courier, and the mare is given the drug to help ensure ovulation at the optimum time.

The chief drawback to this method is that courier services will not do overnight deliveries at the weekend. In practice this means that semen may only be available from Tuesday to Friday. Mares’ ovaries do not operate on a four day week and this can make timing ovulation so it does not fall at a weekend a challenge.

If the stallion is close by, it may be possible for the owner to drive and pick the semen up – with the advantage that semen can be inseminated on the same day as it is collected. Semen can be ordered from abroad – typically Germany, France or Holland – for next day delivery in the UK, but again, only on four days of the week. Hot weather and delays in delivery are the enemies of chilled AI, and if you are planning to use a stallion from abroad it may be better to use frozen semen.

Frozen Semen

The advantage of frozen semen is that the semen is ordered in advance and stored in liquid nitrogen tanks at the AI centre, so it is available whenever required. However once unfrozen the semen does not maintain its fertility as well as fresh or chilled semen, so the mare must be inseminated very close to ovulation. This means more intensive veterinary input with at least twice daily ultrasound monitoring of the ovaries. We use a technique called deep intra-uterine insemination to deposit the semen as close to the tip of the uterine horn as possible, decreasing the distance the sperm have to swim.

Pregnancy Testing

The first pregnancy scan is done on either the fifteenth or sixteenth day after insemination. The timing of this is extremely important because if your mare has twins, one has to be pinched out before seventeen days of age. A second scan is done between twenty-five and thirty days to check the pregnancy and identify a healthy heartbeat. A third scan at approximately forty days is advised.

Once she has been inseminated and ‘checked off’, your mare can either go home until the time for pregnancy scanning, or remain at the stud. However if she returns home you will have to pay for a visit and the cost of the pregnancy scan. We would advise that mares remain at stud at least for the first scan, because if they are not in foal a second insemination may be necessary very shortly after scanning.

 

[Rollin]

I would never do it again. Two mares seven cycles vet fees in £1,000's not to mention in our case enormous cost of getting frozen semen shipped from Hungary. No foal and a season lost.

We have a lovely colt foal from natural covering last year and have now bought a stallion.

 

[woostar]

I feel very sorry for you. That sounds like a bad experience. In all honesty 7 cycles. I would have stopped after 2 on the presumption that there was something a miss and back to the drawing board should have been decided!

Frozen AI can be very good. Its proven. Like everything if it isnt done properly then thats one reason for failure, the other is undiagnosed problems.

As i said before if ive had a mare that after 2 or 3 (max) cycles we are getting no-where i would first start to question the semen or the mare or both, and go looking for specific problems! not just problems in mare management, the AI procedure after care or semen handling etc. If subsequent cycles were performed without any major changes or treatments etc then that is a waste of money.

 

[Rollin]

Thanks for your reply. Actually I think the problem was the stud and the poor vet service which included missing a cycle on a mare who had silent seasons and insisiting on giving drugs to relax cervix. The stud owner said the mare who never have stood for the stallion!! so why did she let the vet do it?

He also shaved her neck and implanted hormone treatment a few weeks before a HOYS qualifying show class and finally after the mares had come home they found another straw of semen which they didn't realise they had.

I have also had a mare injured and contract a virus.

I am very distrustful as a result of my bad experiences.

 

[Touchwood]

Rollin, it sounds like you've had a very bad experience but I would echo woostar totally. If a mare is not in foal after 2 cycles, I personally want some answers...and they are normally to be found

You see funnily enough, having originally come from a TB background, so all natural covers, I would never naturally cover one of my mares again - not unless there was a very good reason....and I'm struggling to think of one!

 

[woostar]

Shaving the neck to put an ovuplant in i guess, they should go into the vulval lip - this way if it needs to removed its easily done.

I know thats the thing, bad experiences always stay with you.

I have had bad experiences too and now that im getting good results I wont change.

 

[Rollin]

Thanks for your comments. I will let you know if my CB stallion has more success. Three out of four mares came into season Christmas week. They certainly like him.