Stallion Breeding Services

The Equine Reproduction Laboratory at Colorado State University offers a full range of commercial stallion breeding services including fertility evaluations, semen collection, evaluation and processing. The objectives of these services are to provide horse owners with the most current technology available for the reproductive management of their stallions. For more complete details and a fee schedule, please contact the Equine Reproduction Laboratory at (970) 491-8626 (tel) or (970) 491-7005 (fax).

Stallion breeding services are designed to allow owners the use of their stallion's semen in a fresh, cooled-shipped or frozen semen breeding program. Stallion breeding services are provided on an outpatient (trailer-in) or inpatient basis (stallions housed at the Equine Reproduction Laboratory). All breeding services are charged on a per-procedure basis. The stallion owner is responsible for paying applicable fees at the time services are rendered.

Semen collection is performed at the laboratory using routine techniques. After semen is collected, it is immediately evaluated and processed for fresh or cooled-shipped use. The initial semen evaluation includes determination of: 1) gel-free volume, 2) percent sperm motility (total and progressive) and 3) sperm concentration. If the semen is to be used for fresh insemination, the appropriate volume of raw semen is mixed with semen extender so that each insemination dose contains at least 500 million progressively motile sperm cells. If the semen is to be used for shipped-cooled insemination, the appropriate volume of raw semen is mixed with semen extender so that each insemination dose contains at least one billion progressively motile sperm cells.

After processing, the semen is packaged into an appropriate shipping/cooling container and sent to the mare owner. The stallion owner may provide their own shipping container or rent an Equitainer from the Equine Reproduction Laboratory. Cooled-transported semen is generally shipped to the mare owner via Federal Express and the stallion owner is responsible for paying shipping charges. If semen is shipped for same-day delivery using commercial airlines (i.e. counter-to-counter), the stallion owner is responsible for transporting the semen from the Equine Reproduction Laboratory to the airport and paying appropriate fees at the airport.