In offering reproductive services, our goal is the same as yours – to help breed a healthy, happy foal. But, sometimes breeding naturally just isn’t in the cards. With today’s technology, we are able to offer artificial insemination to help breeders simulate natural breeding and reproduce healthy horses. In order to achieve this, we offer several methods of insemination that require testing to accurately time the mare’s ovulation patterns, increasing her chances of successfully producing a foal. If you have any questions, or want to make an appointment to begin the process for your horse, contact our office today.

Reasons To Consider Artificial Insemination: 

  • Convenience of not needing the stallion and mare to be in same place at the same time
  • Cuts down on breeder costs because the mare doesn’t have to be shipped to the stallion
  • Good for mares who have had difficulty conceiving
  • Mare isn’t interested in stallion, or mare won’t allow stallion to mount her
  • If stallion is a show horse, artificial insemination won’t interrupt his show schedule
  • Stallion is younger and doesn’t understand mounting process

Breeding A Mare: The Typical Process

Artificial insemination is the insemination of your mare from semen that was specifically collected, processed, and delivered to your barn in a specialized, cooled transport container.  Your mare is readied for breeding by either allowing her to come into heat on her own or by manipulating her cycle so that she is breedable during the week. We usually begin the breeding process by evaluating your mare to ensure that she is normal in her anatomy and that there are no surprises in the form of uterine cysts, ovarian tumors, uterine fluid or other problems. These exams are accomplished via rectal palpation and ultrasound. We follow your mare’s follicle development in her ovaries to determine the best time for ordering semen and breeding. Once she is artificially inseminated, we often give a hormone injection to stimulate ovulation (release of the egg). Your mare’s first ultrasound is generally at 14-16 days post-ovulation when the embryonic vesicle (a baby) is visible and to be sure there is no twin. Another ultrasound exam is scheduled at ~25 days post-ovulation to see the embryo’s heartbeat and to be certain that there is not a twin embryo present. Other rectal palpations or ultrasounds are scheduled as needed. Mares are also scheduled for rhinopneumonitis and 6 way vaccines during the pregnancy to help protect against abortions and to ensure high antibody counts in you mare’s first milk (colostrum).

If you have any questions about artificial insemination for horse, please contact our office.