Equine Reproduction Experience Anyone?

[chipster]

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hey guys, i was just wondering if anyone's had any experience in the equine reproduction specialty. I've been interested in it but I have no idea what the work actually is like and was wondering if anyone out there has any stories or experiences to share. thanks!

 

[twh11]

I spent a summer volunteering at Colorado State's Equine Reproduction Lab. I absolutely loved it and hope to do equine reproduction on the side when I become a vet. I did a lot of Artificial Insemination, Collecting stallions, prepared fresh, cooled, and frozen breeding doses. I was able to observe Embryo Transfers and Oocyte Transfers. While I was there I got to observe them removing ovaries from a mare who they thought might be a male sudohermaphadite. I also saw lots of ultrasounds and helped give shot such as PG, Oxytocin, and HCG, etc.

 

[silverelf]

I spent a summer volunteering at Colorado State's Equine Reproduction Lab. I absolutely loved it and hope to do equine reproduction on the side when I become a vet. I did a lot of Artificial Insemination, Collecting stallions, prepared fresh, cooled, and frozen breeding doses. I was able to observe Embryo Transfers and Oocyte Transfers. While I was there I got to observe them removing ovaries from a mare who they thought might be a male sudohermaphadite. I also saw lots of ultrasounds and helped give shot such as PG, Oxytocin, and HCG, etc.

I have a friend who's interested in possibly doing an embroyo transfer for her welsh pony mare that refuses to take...could you possibly give me a ballpark on how much the procedure costs? I tried looking around a bit and couldn't find anything.

 

[twh11]

I have a friend who's interested in possibly doing an embroyo transfer for her welsh pony mare that refuses to take...could you possibly give me a ballpark on how much the procedure costs? I tried looking around a bit and couldn't find anything.

I actually never heard any of the prices of the procedures since CSU had secretaries who took care of payment. Plus most of the embryo transfers I personally saw were for research since CSU reprod lab did both research and clinics.

I went to their website real quick. Here is CSU's info on Embryo transfer. http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/bms/ERL/ET_info.pdf

 

[Nexx]

I'll point one of my friends to this forum. She's interested in pursuing a career/specializing in Therio and has been involved in the field for many years now. And since she loves talking about it (and I love making jokes about it 😛)... I'm sure she'd be happy to answer any questions and share a few stories.

 

[Emio]

I have a friend who's interested in possibly doing an embroyo transfer for her welsh pony mare that refuses to take...could you possibly give me a ballpark on how much the procedure costs? I tried looking around a bit and couldn't find anything.

in central virginia, the embryo transfer itself costs $550. that obviously does not include culturing, ultrasounding, AI, transport of the embryo, or the recipient mare's costs. EDIT just took a look at the link posted above me... and it gets pricey. cool.

i'm not a tech by any means, but i've gotten to shadow a vet that does primarily repro work. his days seem to be mostly rectals and ultrasounding, and of course AIs and coordination of follicle size and semen shipment, lol. just the other day i got to see an embryo transfer 🙂. i actually haven't seen the other side of things... i don't know if he's the guy they call for dystocia or foal sickness, etc. maybe dealing with the foals is a separate job? there's always working in a NICU too.

 

[eventualeventer]

How would ET help with a mare that refuses to take? You have to get the mare pregnant before you have an embryo to transfer, although there are some mares who have trouble maintaining a pregnancy who are good ET candidates.

The vet I work for is not solely repro -- he also does a lot of medicine and lameness, which means that we also get the cute fuzzy babies -- but he is one of the few vets in the area that are willing to do frozen semen breeding.

I imagine that being a fancy therio vet with interns/associates/students is nice, but being a "mixed" vet means that repro is a pain in the ass. For frozen semen, the mares have to be checked every 4-6 hours as they approach ovulation, and it's very labor intensive if you're the only one getting up in the middle of the night to palp mares.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually replying to an equine topic!

For the last month or so, I've been shadowing an equine vet. This is my first and only equine experience, and it has been great. Equine medicine is not where I see myself in the future, but I have learned so much and am truly grateful for the opportunity.

The vet I shadow specializes in osteopathy and repro. On the repro side of things, I have been able to help with ultrasounds, insemination, embryo transfers, and stallion collection. The facility is pretty amazing, she has several barns and an exam room with stocks etc. We do mare checks frequently, in between osteopath patients. The mares are kept on premises, so it's pretty easy to make sure the checks are on time. As a newcomer to the field, I can say my eyes have been opened to the amount of work and money that goes into breeding these animals! I have also been able to witness some of the ethics that go into breeding.

So that's my take as a newbie to the equine repro field.

 

[dmg116]

Hi guys,
I am new but was turned to this posting by Nexx. I have over 20 years of equine experience and 8 years as a broodmare manager for a couple different breeding programs and after vet school I will specialize in Equine Theriogenology. Eventualeventer is absolutley right, if the mare will not take at all then ET will not be an option. However if she will take but just cannot hold the pregnancy to term due to fluid in her uterus/cysts or other complications then ET is a perfect option but it is very expensive. It can run over $5000 just to implant the embryo and rent the recipient mare for the year and they will often make you keep the mare on your own property having to cover farrier, food and all vet bills. I hope that helps a bit.🙂

 

[silverelf]

there are some mares who have trouble maintaining a pregnancy who are good ET candidates.

ding ding ding....*hands out prize*

she keeps aborting foals early in the pregnancy...first few months. Thus, if we could get the little foaly embryo out of her before that time comes, we'd be set.

 

[Emio]

it's also a good choice for competition horses, no? maybe someone has a really nice mare that they'd like to breed, but don't want to wait until retirement to get a foal out of her, and certainly aren't going to lay the mare up for a year to get a foal.

 

[dmg116]

Yes it's perfect for show horses as long as your breed allows it (TB's are not allowed to do AI or ET). That's great news that the mare would be a candidate for ET but as I said it is pricey. Does your friend have any other mares that could be surrogates? That may save her quite a bit of money.

 

[silverelf]

she does have another mare, and she's now seriously considering doing this...we just have to get over the current barn problems before we move further with it (i.e. the latest hoof problem, allergies, the "summer usual" it seems...gah new england)

 

[eventualeventer]

Oooh, what's my prize, a free box of monogrammed rectal sleeves?

Has anyone else found this year to be really bizarre regarding mares' cycles? It seems there are a lot of mares who just aren't popping out follicles like they're supposed to -- we've sent several home from the clinic to short-cycle them because they just weren't progressing. Of course, there was also a guy who gave PGF2 to the wrong mare and aborted a 30-day pregnancy. Ouch, what an expensive mistake (close to $1000/attempt to get a mare bred by frozen semen at our clinic).

You are quite welcome to do ET on a TB if you want a sporthorse baby, not a racing baby.

On the baby side of things, my boss has dubbed this the "year of the turd", since we've had 9 or 10 babies in the clinic for diarrhea and only a couple dummy foals. One OLWS foal with a real genius for an owner. 🙁

 

[Emio]

Oooh, what's my prize, a free box of monogrammed rectal sleeves?

Has anyone else found this year to be really bizarre regarding mares' cycles? It seems there are a lot of mares who just aren't popping out follicles like they're supposed to -- we've sent several home from the clinic to short-cycle them because they just weren't progressing.

really? i've been very discouraged with the woman who has my mare to breed, as she took last fall and was confirmed at 45 days, only to abort later. can't seem to get her to cycle well enough this year to breed again. 🙁

i'd be interested to hear any other info?