Embryo Transfer

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mat

mat

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Ok, so the stud season is nearly here, and people are rushing around trying to choose the right stallion for their mare.

My question is, if you are someone that has a mare you want to use for breeding, eg. due to injury etc. but don't think she is good enough to warrant the money; are you aware of, or would you consider buying an embryo from a beutifully bred/fantastic mare that is in foal to a great stallion.

This would enable you to have the foal of your dreams, but carried and given birth to by your own, maybe ordinary mare sat in your field!
 
I dont really see the point- why subject your mare to carrying a foal if it's not for a particular purpose other than you're too stingy to go buy a foal....
I'd give a breeding sound but otherwise useless mare as a recipient for embryo transfer but dont see the point in taking a risk by buying an embryo.
 
Good point! So you would rather buy a recipient mare that has already had a successful transfer performed?

I went to a foal auction in Holland in the summer, and one of the lots was a mare with a foal at foot that had used ET.

They did a display with the donor mare first as she was a GP dressage horse.. it was awesome, and it helped the foals price to soar well out of my price range!
 
I know somebody not far from you who is considering this, when they import the chilled/frozen semen for their own well bred mare, doing one run for embryo transfer then a second for the mare to carry, hopefully giving them two foals of similar age to run together
 
Cool! We are considering doing it with one of our young broodmares, so I can break and compete her while an ex racer has her foal!

some ET technicians reckon you can get four + emryo's from one mare in a season if you time it right! Think mine may start to dislike the vet a bit though...
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I have nothing at all against embryo transfer - if it means that British Breeding can move forward, with high quality mares embryos ONLY being used then I cannot see many negatives at all

As for whether I would buy an embryo so as to use my mare as an incubator - cannot comment TBH as breeding has never interested me
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imo i dont see the point. I want to breed from my mare as i want something thats 'part' of her, and thats been bred by her, not another mares foal. Its just not the same, but then maybe im too sentimental about this sort of thing.

if i wanted a foal that was that well bred i would go out and buy one.......

i think if it was my livlihood and i had a stud farm i might possible consider it. But id never in a million years consider it for my mare, but then shes a good mare so i wouldnt need to consider it.....
 
This is big over here, not for the reasons you are mentioning though.

Over here, top quality mares donate eggs and run-of-the-mill mares carry these embryo's for the owners of the foals. The recipient mare owner is paid for her time and for the rental of her mare but the foal once born is then the property of the buyer or top quality mare owner.

It's big business and has opened up loads of doors to owners of superb mares whereas before it was only the stallion owners who could capitalise on this.
 
I work on an ET and AI stud and we have mares competeing while other mares carry their foals.

Not sure i would buy an embryo for my mare to carry though, i think i would rather buy the foal, less risk to my mare and you can see what you are getting!!!

However if i had a top competition mare i would definitely consider ET to enable her to breed and compete.
 
I would only approach this from the other way round i.e. if I had a competition mare that I wanted to breed from, but didn't want to disrupt her work, I would buy or loan a mare to carry my mare's embryo transfer foal. However, like several other people have commented I would not buy an embryo to put into my own mare - I would just buy a foal. The option you suggest is in my view unduly expensive (compared to just buying the foal) and risky given the inherent risks of foaling etc.
 
I think it's more likely that premium mares will have their embryos implanted in to donner mares to enable them to continue with their competative career to be honest. Rather than someone like me wanting to use my bog standard mare to be a vessel to breed something more superior. If that makes sense .
 
I have no interest in breeding a foal, I would rather buy it as a youngster when you know what you are getting. Works out cheaper as well in the long run. But if you want to do Embryo Transfer apparently you should use a Argentinan Polo vet as they do it a lot and are very successful at it.
 
How many are we talking? If just one a year per mare then cant see anything wrong with it. Could even help the racing industry (although they will never allow it), with the belief that a raced mare doesnt pass as much on to the foal as an unraced mare.
If talking about a good mare producing embryos left, right and centre for the highest bidder to buy then that is very wrong.
 
the dressage yard were i used to work were in the process of transfering embryos from 2 of their mares who were currently being trained, not sure how succesful it was mind, seemed very complicated to me, all 4 mares had to go miles away to have it done, thier stallion also had to go somewhere else to em.. you know, and then they using another outside stallion as well, very confusing
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It would work out far more expensive then just buying the foal, because you would have the up keep of the mare for 11mths along with all the vet bills. As your bog standard or lame mare in the feild would not need the same care as if you put her in-foal. I can see it working the otherway round ie the good competition mare paying for the host mare to carry the foal.
 
The only way I think this is worth considering is if the mare belongs to you but don't want her to carry the foal herself (she is competing etc). But if the mare is not yours I don't see what the point in going through all the risks and hassel of breeding when you can buy a youngster.
 
I think you would be much cheaper buying a foal than going through ET. You have no guarantee of a live foal at the end of it and to spend thousands of pounds without any guarantee is HIGH RISK IMHO.

Have also heard that sometimes the foals follow the traits of their donor mares and not what they have been bred for.

Also the mare would have to be worth the high risk, i.e. International Grand Prix etc. Would never see the point otherwise.
 
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