 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Artificial Insemination versus Live Cover By Sarah Gee So what are the advantages and disadvantages of breeding with artificial insemination (AI) versus live cover? This is a question many stallion and mare owners will ponder as breeding season gets underway. Artificial Insemination • No travel required. Artificially inseminating your mare with transported semen eliminates the need to travel long distances to take advantage of the best stallions. This reduces stress on the mare and, in many cases, on the foal at her side. Additionally, the mare owner avoids mare care fees that can rack up at stud farms, especially if the mare doesn’t take immediately. • Reduced risk of disease. When using AI there is a reduced risk of the spread of both venereal diseases and non-venereal diseases such as equine influenza, strangles, and equine infectious anemia. Anytime you reduce the number of horses your horse comes into contact with, you reduce the chance for disease to spread. • Less risk of injury. With AI the risk of injury that can occur with violent mares or stallions is completely removed. • Increased profits. Stallion owners benefit because one ejaculation from their stallion can breed multiple mares through AI. Artificial Insemination • Shipping costs. The amount of money spent on same day or next day couriers by mare owners can escalate rather quickly, especially if it is necessary to have semen shipped multiple times. • Semen mix-up. Inherent in the use of AI is an increased risk of accidentally breeding to the wrong stud. It is a lot easier to mistake (intentionally or unintentionally) one tube of semen for another than it is to mistake one stallion for another. • Potential to devalue semen and offspring. Although the stallion owner is able to sell more breedings they must be careful not to reduce the value of the semen (and the value of the stallion’s bloodline) by making it too easily available. Live Cover • Access to breeding experts. For those not well versed in a mare’s reproductive cycle or in calculating when she will ovulate, it is a relief to have her under the care of breeding experts at a stud farm. This is especially true for the owners of mares that have had reproductive difficulties in the past. • Ready access to the stallion. Whereas a container of shipped semen will contain only enough to cover a mare maybe twice, a stallion can live cover a mare up to 10 times in a 24 hour period. Of course this is only the case if the mare and stallion have access to each other for this amount of time. • No shipping costs. With the mare at the stud farm, if she doesn’t take immediately, she can be re-covered without waiting for and paying shipping fees on another shipment. • Less chance of a mix-up. It’s relatively easy to tell one stallion from another. Live Cover • Travel. Transporting can stress the mare and, in many cases, the foal by her side. • Disease and infection. Taking a mare to a stud farm exposes her to any diseases or infections present in that barn. In turn, it also exposes the residents of that barn to any diseases or infections she may be carrying. • Injury. During live cover there is the potential that the stallion or mare may become injured. References: FAQ: Breeding at www.horseinfo.com |