semen freezing and distribution services
>>semen freezing
it can be difficult to balance a stallions competition and stud duties during the breeding season. Breeding can often get in the way of successful training and competition, and vice versa. Frozen semen provides the option of breeding from a stallion at any time without taking him out of training/competition, and without making him more "hormonal" by using him to cover. It's also a great insurance policy - providing you with stored genetic material for breeding even if your stallion is injured or after he has died. We've produced an information sheet which can be downloaded by clicking here.
>>winter semen freezing (august - february)
Imagine being able to breed from your stallion, without having to collect any semen from him during the breeding season; allowing him to stay focussed on his competition career. Well, it's possible with frozen semen. Your stallion can come to stay at our AI centre, which is just a few minutes from J15 of the M4. During his stay with us, we can freeze as much semen as you like, and you can rest safe in the knowledge that your stallion will be looked after to the highest standards. We recommend that you have at least three doses of frozen semen for each mare that the stallion is likely to cover the following season. The semen can then be stored at the centre, or can be sent to another storage centre of your choice.
The great thing about having frozen semen stored at our AI centre, is that mares can come to the centre for insemination, with great value vet packages and extremely competitive boarding fees. We can also promote the fact that your stallion is available at our centre.
If you wish to use the semen in the United Kingdom ONLY: We will come to you to collect semen from your stallion. The semen is then examined, frozen and assessed for post thaw motility - an indicator of possible fertility. We use a method that allows the harvest of 30% more viable sperm than traditional methods, so you can be assured that you're getting the most viable breeding doses each time we freeze. The straws will then be stored ready for use when you need them. We generally recommend that the first time your stallions semen is frozen, that you have a "test freeze" done, which will ensure we can find out which method of freezing gives the best results for your stallion.
If you wish to export the frozen semen to the UK and/or the EU, USA, Australia etc: We have partnered with Quainton Stud. Quainton Stud is a DEFRA approved semen collection and freezing centre near Aylesbury, Bucks. Working together, we allow you to freeze your stallions semen, following guidelines which make it possible to export the frozen semen overseas. Working together we can offer walk in freezing or livery packages from several days to several weeks or more. Please call Quainton Stud on 01296 658259 for more information or to make a booking.
We work with a number of studs across to the UK to offer semen freezing packages, as well as many other breeding services. Please get in touch to see if we have a centre near you!
>>frozen semen storage & distribution
we can store frozen semen for you, and distribute it as necessary to you or your customers. Please call or e-mail us for more details. Our prices for storage are:
£18.00 per month for each canister
£180.00 per year paid in advance for each canister
Bespoke pricing available for those storing a small number of straws/doses. Please contact us.
UK Distribution charges: £80 which covers processing, handling and shipper hire, plus carriage (approximately £35-£85 dependant on destination), for up to 100 straws.
about frozen semen
- Download our frozen semen fact sheet by clicking this link.
- semen is collected normally using an artificial vagina. It is carefully assessed and then processed using a standard protocol we use for freezing stallion semen.
Frozen semen is often believed to be very difficult to use, giving poor conception rates , however an experienced vet will help you acheive good pregnancy rates, equivalent with those you might acheive using chilled or fresh semen.
70% of stallions are said to have semen that freezes and is still able to produce pregnancies when thawed. The remaining 30% have semen that is not viable after thawing, and is unlikely to produce a pregnancy after inemination. If after an initial tests, your stallion appears to be in this 30% then we can perform further tests to try and produced frozen-thawed semen capable of producing a pregnancy.