Chine House Veterinary Hospital
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ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION OF MARES |
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Chine House Veterinary Hospital is a British Equine Veterinary Association approved centre for artificial insemination. We can inseminate your mare with either frozen or chilled stallion semen. Artificial insemination allows you to use stallions otherwise not available to you, either because they are competing so do not cover naturally or because they are too far away to travel your mare. We would recommend a pre-breeding assessment of your mare to evaluate her suitability for breeding. During this examination the vulva and vagina will examined to check there are no abnormalities that will decrease her fertility and also the uterus and ovaries will examined using an ultrasound scanner to check they appear normal. It is also recommended that a swab for CEM and a blood for EVA is taken to prove your mare is clear of these infections which can be passed to your mare as a result of Al. Chilled Semen Once you have chosen your stallion you must contact the stud and arrange a contract with them. It is important to find out contact details of the stud for when semen needs to be ordered and these need to be given to us when your mare is admitted. Your mare will be admitted at the start of her oestrus period (heat, season). She will then be monitored daily by ultrasound examination to detect when she has a developing follicle. When the follicle reaches 35mm the semen is ordered for delivery the next day. An injection of hCG is usually given once the order is confirmed which should ensure ovulation within 24 hours of insemination. The mare is then discharged after ovulation providing there are no problems. The mare will then be scanned at 15-16 days post ovulation to check for pregnancy. If she is not pregnant she can be readmitted for a further cycle. It is important to note that problems can occur if semen is required at weekends when courier services do not offer next day delivery. If coming from the UK often the easiest around this problem is for you to organise collecting the semen yourself if required at the weekend. If the semen is coming from abroad this can cause real problems as delivery is usually not possible on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and occasionally semen has to be ordered earlier than needed. If using a stallion from abroad it is important to check that the semen will be collected at an export approved semen collection centre. The semen must travel with the original of the correct EU certification that needs to be signed by a vet in the country of origin. Frozen semen is ordered before the mare is admitted to the clinic and stored in one of our liquid nitrogen canisters at the practice. The number of doses delivered depends on the contract (usually 2 doses are delivered with a further one available if required) The procedure is similar for frozen semen in that the mare is admitted at the beginning of her oestrus period. She is then monitored daily until there is a 35mm follicle. Examination then takes place four times a day until the follicle ovulates and the mare is inseminated. The mare is then checked 12-24 hours later to check for any reaction to the semen and if ok can go home at this stage. We do not have a set price for either procedure because it depends how long your mare is resident with us. As a rough guide, chilled semen will cost £300 per cycle and frozen semen will cost £350 per cycle and it is probably best to budget for two cycles. If you have any further questions please ring the practice and ask to speak to John Dickerson |