Urgent - natural versus fresh semen

[WinnieT]

I have a 19 year old mare who I am looking to put into foal for the first time. The vet has told me my mare is more likely to conceive by natural covering which obviously limits my choice of stallion. Does using of fresh semen reduce her chances of conceiving?

 

[nicnag]

If you were comparing using fresh semen against frozen semen then the chances of conception are higher with fresh semen. I am talking about AI statistics here but I believe the rates are 10% higher success rate with fresh rather than frozen but the quality of semen post freezing can vary according between stallions.

 

[Fahrenheit]

I would actually say using fresh semen over natural would increase your chances of conception with an older mare, also there are some common problems with older mares that favours using AI rather than natural.

I suggest (I am not saying its definitely the reason as I don't know who your vet is) that the reason your vet has said this is because he isn't a Vet that specialises in equine reproduction.

As long as you are using a good AI vet there is no reason why there should be any less chances of getting a mare in foal whether its fresh, chilled or frozen semen! My vet last year (widely thought of as 'one of the best' repro vets in this country) achieved more pregnancies with frozen than fresh/chilled!

Good luck... maybe post in breeding section as well, because alot of the breeders don;t venture out of that section very often!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I got a bit disturbed by the title of the post esp the Urgent tag, was quite relieved when I read it PPP