Cooled vs. Frozen
February 22, 2010
How to make the best artificial insemination choices to make sure your older mare gets pregnant.
Question:
I have a breeding for an older mare (18 years old), who has previously taken successfully with frozen and fresh semen. With this breeding, we can choose fresh, cooled or frozen. Do you think her age will matter and, if so, which should we choose?
Answer:
The American Association of Equine Practitioners provides a practical answer:
It has been proven many, many times that older mares ovulate far inferior oocytes and develop much less viable embryos than they did when they were younger.
So, if you are starting with an 18-year-old mare, she is remarkable in that she is past what one would consider her reproductive prime.
Frozen is the least desirable of the three (fresh, cooled or frozen) because it is viable the least amount of time.
I usually tell my clients to expect to spend two times the vet bills to breed a mare with frozen vs. cooled/chilled semen, because you invariably have to spend twice as much time monitoring and confirming her ovulatory cycle.
As far as averages go, fresh semen yields about 70 to 90 percent pregnancy rates; cooled yields about 60 to 80 percent, and frozen may yield as low as 30 to 50 percent.
– Dr. Ben Espy of San Antonio, Texas, is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.
Comments
4 Comments on “Cooled vs. Frozen”
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February 24th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I had a mare i raised from birth who had never been bred. After I lost her stablemate I decided to try breeding her. She was 19. I had the vet check her and he said she was in great shape and there was no reason not to breed her. She was only bred 3 times over a one week period, but she took and I got one beautiful amazing filly from her. Mama mare lived to be almost 30, the ‘filly’ will be 15 this year and is doing great! So I say take a chance as long as the mama mare is in good shape and doesn’t have any health issues. Good luck.
February 26th, 2010 at 2:07 am
I wish the veterinarian who wrote this article had included the importance of making sure the older horse is checked by a vet to make sure she is not only heathy, but is also examined internally to make sure she does not have anything going on inside that would make deliver difficult or even problems carring the foal. It is not always good for somebody who just has a good old horse they love to decide to breed her. Their maybe somebody who reads this article and decides to breed their horse without realizing the danger of loosing the foal, the horse, or both.
March 5th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Susan, we hear you, and we’re working on a story for early April that addresses the older broodmare. Thanks for your comments, and watch out for the story by our good friend Dr. Tom Lenz.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:10 am
I have a beautiful lusitano mare with a wonderfull pedigree, the mare is now 12 years old. I have 4 foals of her from fresh semen (using INRA extender and transport with EQUITAINER).
This mare often have big folicules and broke about 48 mm.
This year i have choose a trakhener for breed. I receive the cooled semen dose in a poliexpan box with frigo blocks. The semen is taken in the morning and i receive the next day in the midday. I am having problems with it to be pregnant. The mare is healthy ( it had pyroplasmosis two years ago but after that it have a filly from natural breeding). This year the ifi of theileria equi and babesia caballi are negative and she doesn’t have any sinthomp. The ultrasound develop a uterus with fold of oedema in the heat but never liquid in side. After the ovulation i see the folicule full of white tisue. But in the last tre times every fortnight ther is nothing in the uterus, i don’t Know what is heppening. Can you help me. I am Pedro Cid DVM Spain.