Pre-Freeze Centrifugation Extenders Selection for Optimizing Equine Semen Cryopreservation Cryopreservation exposes spermatozoa to significant physical and chemical stress, making pre-freeze semen centrifugation extender selection critical for maintaining sperm viability and membrane integrity. This study compared four extender formulations — with and without cholesterol and pentoxifylline — to identify the most effective option for pre-centrifugation use in equine semen… Read More: Pre-Freeze Semen Centrifugation Extenders »
Counting Sperm With a Hemocytometer Counting sperm to determine concentration is an essential part of evaluating or processing semen, and counting sperm with a hemocytometer is a very accurate method when performed correctly. In order to do anything with a reasonable expectation of success when preparing semen for use, one needs to know the raw sperm concentration. There… Read More: Counting Sperm With a Hemocytometer »
Processing Equine Semen It’s not difficult to correctly process equine (horse) semen for on-farm insemination or shipping, but it is one about which we often receive questions. Here we look at the basic steps behind achieving a good shipment. This article reviews management of a straightforward stallion. Poor quality semen or that with specific issues – although briefly… Read More: Processing Equine Semen »
Constructing An Emergency Slide Warmer – Sometimes lab equipment may not be available, so one has to become inventive. An emergency slide warmer is one such piece of equipment! By Jos Mottershead Sometimes lab equipment may not be available, so one has to become inventive. An emergency slide warmer is one such piece of equipment! Easily constructed –… Read More: Warming Semen in the Field »
One-on-one Horse Breeding Training While we are renowned for offering short courses on the subject of horse breeding worldwide, we not infrequently encounter people either at the courses or through our website who are in need of more specific one-on-one horse breeding training. Perhaps they do not own stallions but want to learn more about the reproductive aspects… Read More: Individual Tuition »
The Cost of Doing Business in Shipping Semen (or “Why do I have to pay so much for collections when I breed my mare using transported semen?”) – The cost of doing business when setting up for and shipping equine semen. An overview of where that money goes! By Jos Mottershead NOTE: Not all of the items of… Read More: The Cost of Doing Business – Setup Costs for Semen… »
Setting Up For Semen Collection and Transport – What laboratory and other equipment is required as a minimum to set up for stallion semen collection to ship cooled semen? Find out here! By Jos Mottershead One of the most commonly asked questions that I hear is “what basic equipment required for stallion semen collection do I need to… Read More: Getting Set Up for Semen Collection »
Putting together an INRA (French) AV (the Equine-Reproduction.com way) – A pictorial description of assembling the INRA (French) AV with the technique used at Equine-Reproduction.com, LLC At Equine-Reproduction.com we use a variety of artificial vaginas (“AVs”), but one that we particularly favour and use is the INRA (French model) AV from IMV. We have used this AV to… Read More: Assembling Your New INRA-AV and Preparing for Collection »
The Home-Built Power-pole Breeding Mount or “Phantom” – How to build a phantom mare (breeding mount) for collecting semen from stallions. Detailed plans for a homemade power-pole mount. By Jos Mottershead Building a phantom mare (breeding mount) for stallions can be cheap and easy and we have built a lot of these very simple power-pole breeding mounts (also… Read More: Phantom Plans – Build Your Own Breeding Mount! »
The Artificial Vagina – 5 different commonly used types of equine artificial vagina compared – Colorado, Missouri, French (INRA), BotuPharma (Brazillian) and Roanoke The artificial vagina or “A.V.” is the tool most commonly used for semen collection from stallions for use in artificial insemination programs, for the semen to be frozen, or for analysis. There are many types… Read More: Artificial Vagina – Comparisons and Reviews »
