We are proud to offer routine and advanced reproctive medicine services here at Montana Equine. Our team is prepared to offer services to help your horses from the very beginning to the very end of pregnancy, not to mention all the important phases in between.
From simple ultrasound exams to determine where your mare might be in her cycle to problem breeders, and from routine artificial insemination to advanced procedures like embryo transfer, Montana Equine has the tools, materials, and expertise to help produce the next generations of quality horses in our region. We also offer stud collection and evaluation services, as well as preparation of chilled and frozen semen. Finally, our on-site and highly trained staff can monitor your broodmares around the clock, prepared to help during any type of dystocia (foaling problem) or sick newborn. Our double-sized foaling stalls in our heated ICU barn are equipped with internet cameras, so you can even monitor the progress from the comfort of your own home!
We have outlined the details of all these techniques and procedures below, and our accomplished team of equine-only veterinarians and specialists are always here to answer any other questions you might have (406-220-1221).
Embryo Transfer
Stallion Management
Montana Equine employs personnel with years of experience and advanced training in Equine Reproduction. We focus on advanced reproductive techniques including embryo transfer. Our local recipient herd is comprised of mares that are individually screened and closely managed. This ensures that each donor mare will have the best recipient ready and waiting for her embryo. In addition, we work closely with other embryo transfer facilities to facilitate additional opportunities for our clientele.
Our Mares:
Are screened for reproductive health prior to entering our program.
Are easy to handle.
Are maintained on a regular deworming and vaccination program.
And fed to a high standard.
Who Uses Embryo Transfer
Embryo transfer is utilized across many disciplines and breeds:
| Diverse Breeds | Diverse Disciplines |
| Quarter Horses | Racing |
| Saddlebreds | Reining |
| Morgans | Cutting |
| Arabians | Halter |
| Warmbloods | Show Jumping |
| Standardbreds | Pleasure Class |
| Gypsy Vanners | Three Day Event |
| Appaloosas | Saddle Seat |
| Paints | Dressage |
| Etc... | Etc... |
They all have one thing in common: producing exceptional foals with the help of surrogate mothers.
Why Use Embryo TransferThe reasons are as varied as the donor mares themselves . . .
Inability To Carry To Term - Older mares have age-related problems that may prevent them from carrying a foal such as poor uterine environment, cervical tears, soundness problems etc.. Some younger mares may be unable to carry a foal due to injury, physical condition or poor fertility.
Performance Career - Embryo transfer allows a mare to produce foals without interrupting her performance career. Early season and well timed mid-season transfers can work around race and show schedules.
Multiple Foals - Some breeds allow a mare owner to register more than one foal for a given year. Or, a mare could produce foals for more than one breed registry.
Late-foaling - Embryo transfer allows a late foaling mare to produce yet still be available for an early breeding date the following year.
Reduced Risk - An owner may not want a particular mare to go through the stress or risk of carrying and delivering her own foal. With embryo transfer, the recipient mare takes that natural responsibility.
The End Result Remains the Same: Special Foals With Not One, But Two Very Special Mothers.
How it Works
Donor Mare - Embryo transfer begins with breeding the donor mare (the mare “donating “ the embryo. Bred as usual, she is monitored daily using ultrasound to establish the exact date of ovulation the day that her oocyte is released.Recipient Mare - At the same time the recipient mares (the ones “receiving” the embryo) are also monitored with ultrasound. We look for the one mare that best matches the donor mare’s reproductive cycle.
The Flush - Seven days after the ovulation date, the donor mare’s uterus is flushed. Flushing on day seven maximizes the chance of recovering an embryo that is the ideal transferable age. The fluid from the uterus is run through a special filter cup that is designed to catch the embryo. The flushed fluid is searched for an embryo under a microscope.Embryo Recovery - A transferable embryo is between 6 and 8 days old. At 5 days the embryo is not yet in the mares uterus and cannot be flushed. At 9 days the embryo becomes too large and fragile to handle. The prime 7 day embryo is approximately ¼ to ¾ millimeters in diameter. It is visible to the well-trained naked eye.
Transfer or Shipment - If the donor mare is bred and flushed at Montana Equine the embryo can either be transferred into a waiting recipient mare or prepared for shipment. The shipped embryo is packaged for same day delivery, and transferred immediately into a waiting recipient mare. The pregnancy rates for shipped and on-site transfers are the same.The Beauty of Embryo Transfer - Genetically intact at recovery, the embryo contains all the genetic material for its own development as well as for the development of the placenta. All the recipient mare provides is nutrition to the transferred embryo with NO direct blood transfer. When she foals next year, she raises the genetically unrelated foal as her own.
Montana Equine employs personnel with advanced training in Equine Reproduction. At our facility we have the capability to collect, package and ship both cooled and frozen semen. We take extra care to make sure not only that the right semen is shipped to the right place but also the semen arrives with the best quality. Since we are a veterinary hospital we see to it that sexually transmitted disease remains extremely low. In 2012 we plan to add additional facilities to further enhance your reproductive experience at Montana Equine, allowing us to better help you manage your reproductive program.
Our facilities - We offer both indoor and outdoor housing for stallions. It is a short walk to the breeding area where we have several tease mares ready and willing to help in the collection process. We prefer to collect stallions using a breeding phantom; this insures safety of not only our staff but of your stallion as well.
Training - Stallions who have not collected prior to arriving at Montana Equine will require training in order to collect the best quantity semen sample for further processing. Stallion training is two fold. First the stallion is trained to accept the Artificial Vagina. Second he is trained to mount the Phantom. Some stallions require very little in order to be trained, while others require more training and time. Many factors play a role including previous handling, age and any breeding activity. Our calm patient staff will insure that your stallion gets the best experience possible.
Semen evaluation - Each time a stallion is collected the ejaculate is evaluated for quality assurance. Not only do we look at the ejaculate quality but also we evaluate sperm concentration, sperm motility and primary morphologic abnormalities. We consider this a necessary prerequisite to cooling or freezing. By evaluating each ejaculate we can often catch a stallion’s reproductive problems early, thus ensuring the best quality product, in the end.
Semen Cryo - preservation (freezing)-Freezing equine semen is a delicate process that is routinely preformed. It is however a delicate process with many facets. While most stallions’ sperm can be cryo preserved each stallion freezes differently and may require several iterations in order to provide the best possible end product. We typically freeze stallions at 200,000 sperm per ml in ½ ml straws. This not only produces a better product but allows the least possible sperm number to be used for other advanced reproductive techniques such as deep horn insemination, gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT), and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Cryogenic preservation requires that the samples be kept in special tanks filled with liquid nitrogen. Owners can either keep there preserved genetics at Montana Equine for a quarterly fee or have them transferred to their facility.
Why Use Advanced Reproductive Techniques in Your Stallion’s Management
Safety - Live cover carries many risks to the stallion, mare and handler. These risks are minimized by utilizing artificial insemination in your breeding program you have effectively minimize career ending and potentially life threatening injury to both the stallion and mare.
Sexually Transmitted Disease - Equine viral arteritis and contagious equine metritis are two disease processes that can abruptly end an otherwise successful breeding season. These diseases can show no outward clinical signs until they have a firm hold on a breeding farm and they are difficult to eradicate. Not to mention the transmission of other more common bacterial agents that may decrease the pregnancy rate of a breeding season.
Greater Distribution - By collecting and utilizing a sperm rich sample we can often breed 8-10 mares from a single ejaculate. This maximizes the number of mares bred in a season while minimizing stallion stress.
Cryo-preservation - Freezing a stallion’s sperm allows his genetics to be utilized after he is gone. However it does more than that. By freezing very small aliquots we can use a very small number of sperm for other Advance Reproductive Techniques such as endoscopically guided deep horn insemination, gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Cryo-preservation also insures that in the event a stallion becomes sick during the breeding season there is a back up to cover the booked mares.
