Illawarra Equine Centre offers the following reproductive procedures. Stud Service The clinic offers the complete range of routine reproductive procedures from follicle testing the maiden mare, working up the difficult breeder to delivering a new foal. These can be performed either on farm or at the clinic. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hobby breeder with one mare or a large stud. Please phone to arrange a visit or discuss the fees associated with breeding your mare. Chilled Semen Artificial insemination with chilled transported semen can either be performed on farm or with the mare agisted at the clinic. When performed on farm there is no set fee but the procedures are charged for individually, however when performed at the clinic a set fee applies per cycle plus agistment (see below). Frozen Semen Artificial insemination with frozen semen is only performed at the clinic. Due to the frequency of ultrasounds it is not viable to be performed on farm. The costs are calculated per cycle, plus agistment. A relatively newer procedure associated with frozen semen insemination is the use of low dose insemination known as Endoscopic Artificial Insemination. This allows use of fewer semen straws and the semen is actually placed via the endoscope onto the opening of the fallopian tubes. The procedure involves the use of a single use endoscopic catheter and adds slightly to the cost. Chilled and Frozen Semen Set Prices What is included: The set fee includes all follicle testing, post ovulation scanning and artificial insemination. The semen is also warmed in an incubator and examined and graded for percentage alive and also progressive motility. It also includes most reproductive drugs including prostaglandin, Ovuplant or Chorulon, Prostaglandin, and Oxytocin. Post ovulation lavages with saline containing antibiotics or plasma are included. All disposables used are included in the fee, including non-spermicidal syringes and AI pipettes. Also included is organization for the delivery to the clinic of chilled semen. What is not included: Some drugs are not included in the price, for example systemic antibiotics and regumate. Also sedation of difficult mares is not included. The reason for this is that they are not routinely used therefore it would be unfair to some mare owners to include these in a set fee structure. The set fee does not include pregnancy testing, any swabs or uterine biopsies, caslick operations or investigation of infertility. The chilled semen should be delivered to the clinic; pick-up of semen is not included nor is the return of any semen shippers. Embryo Transfer Embryo transfer can be a very rewarding procedure as it allows foals to be born from mares that no longer have the ability to carry a foal to term, or by mares that remain in Competition. However, due to the number of procedures that must be performed, there is considerable expense involved, with no guarantee of a live foal at the end. Embryo Transfer can be divided into four main procedures. These are listed below and the costs involved with each are also listed. 1. Insemination of the Donor Mare: Depending on which stallion has been selected the mare can be bred either naturally, or with chilled or frozen semen. This procedure is performed as if she was to carry the foal and the cost for this has already been listed above. Again, depending on how she was to be inseminated this could either be performed at the clinic or on farm. 2. Timing of Recipients: It is important that the mare that is to be the recipient ovulates within 48 hours of the donor mare. This is achieved by having 2 recipient mares timed similar to the donor mare. These mares can either be supplied by the mare owner or by the clinic. The best mares to be used are Standardbred, Quarter Horses or Stock Horses that are young, quiet, reproductively sound and in good body condition. A fee per recipient per cycle is charged (this fee only applies if the clinic does not supply the mare). Included in this are all ultrasounds, prostaglandins and ovulatory drugs to allow synchronization of the mare’s cycles. The standard agistment fees apply to these mares. If the clinic supplies the mares there is a rental fee for the mare for the year until the foal is weaned. It is strongly recommend that you use Illawarra Equine Centre recipient mares. 3. Embryo Retrieval: This involves flushing the uterus of the donor mare and examination of the fluid for the presence of a viable embryo. The procedure is performed at either Day 6 or 7 after ovulation and requires the mare to be at the clinic for 1-2 hours. The cost for this is per attempt and includes all sedation, flushing solution, disposables, and embryo examination and grading. Embryos are not always obtained therefore if no embryo is found then the procedure does not continue. 4. Embryo Transfer: This is done by a non-surgical technique and is similar to artificial insemination and involves the sterile placement of the graded embryo into the recipient mare. The cost for this procedure is per embryo and includes sedation of the mare and all associated disposables. For example the total cost calculation for the embryo transfer of a mare using chilled semen that was inseminated at the clinic is as follows. • Insemination $x • Embryo Retrieval $x • Embryo Transfer $x • Recipient Mare Rental $x (only paid after a positive 45 day preg test) Stallion Collection We also offer a stallion semen collection service. This involves collection of the stallion, examination of the semen and extending for chilled transportation, packaging and rental of a transport container. The fee for this includes the above mentioned procedure. Prior to transport of any semen the stallion must be collected and his semen evaluated and tested with several different extenders over a 48 hour period to assess its motility and ability to be chilled and transported. The extra fee for this includes the trials with several different semen extenders, examination of each sample at 24 and 48 hours post collection and a written report with all recommendations for the transport of the stallion’s semen. If the procedure is performed on farm the standard mileage charge applies. Stallion Centre Illawarra Equine Centre can take all the hassle away from collecting and sending semen by standing your stallion at the clinic. While at the clinic we will arrange all transport of either chilled or frozen semen and all the paper work. Illawarra equine Centre has it own Semen Collection contract and deals direct with mare owner and their vets to ensure semen arrives at he right place at the right time. Please phone to discuss standing your stallion at our clinic. Semen Freezing Stallion’s semen can also be frozen depending on the stallion. This procedure is very involved and depends on the number of straws required, and the amount and quality of the stallion’s semen. We charge an amount in addition to the cost for stallion collection to freeze the ejaculate; the number of straws obtained per ejaculate is very varied between stallions. This set fee includes all the extenders, straws and disposables associated with the freezing process. There are two important things to remember with freezing stallions semen, firstly 1/3 of stallions semen freezes well in all extenders, 1/3 freezes well using the correct extenders and 1/3 doesn’t freeze well at all. Secondly post thaw motility is not always a good indicator of fertility (just because the semen looks good under the microscope doesn’t mean it will get your mare in foal first time). Illawarra Equine Centre can also store semen for both long and short term. Charges for semen storage is a minimum fee per month per stallion, above the minimum amount straws will be charged per straw per month. Agistment All mares agisted at the clinic are fed twice daily. The options as follows: • Group Paddock $per/day • Single Yard $per/day • Stable $per/day • Wet mares are charged a extra $per/day in addition to the above fees The clinic also offers a full range of equine procedures from intensive treatment of the acutely ill foal to the evaluation of a chronic lameness. Please note all prices stated do not include GST. If there are any further questions or you wish to book a mare in for breeding, please feel free to contact me on 0409 341 313. We look forward to this years breeding season, and hopefully it is a very successful and enjoyable year. Industry regulations prevent us from listing specific costs online. Please call the clinic if you would like more details.