Semen Collection

Something to consider when breeding your paint or quarter horse:

I look at the eyes for attitude more than anything. I want to see that quite kind eye looking back at me. I also look at the head to see just where they want to carry it on their own. A game horse will have eyes wide open and carry the head high and proud. Really saying get out of my way. Whereas, A trail, pleasure, or cow horse will have that sleepy eye look with head carried much lower. Saying its ok by me.

This really stands out as you study the breeds and what makes them excel. The American Quarter Horse, (aka Paint Horse) is the result of trying to breed the best traits of basically three breeds, The thoroughbred, Spanish Mustang, and the Arab. Each bringing respectively Speed, durability, and stamina. Then in the early 50's the breed had been identified well enough that the breeders have worked to improve those packaged qualities with out loosing any. Unfortunately it became so specialized that they went backwards for the last 10 years and are just now getting back on track. In all my years I have been striving to keep my breeding program headed in the same direction keeping what the breed was intended to be at the forefront of my program. You will also see that almost every one of my babies can be traced back the Sonny Dee Bar, as I believe he was the closest thing to the Ideal American Quarter Horse I have ever seen.

Written by: Darrel Honnold

Collection:

We will collect semen from your stallion using a “phantom mare”. This will maximise the safety of your stallion and our personnel. Most stallions will learn to mount this phantom after several training sessions. The higher his libido, the easier it will be to train him. We will collect the semen using an “artificial vagina (AV)” and then evaluate every sample for motility and sperm concentration.

Costs for Collections and shipping is really difficult to determine and depends on a lot of factors... The biggest determination is the Stallion!!!

1. Has your boy been trained to collect?

2. How strong is his Labido?

3. Is your stallion mean and aggressive or polite and pays attention?

4. Are you a repeat customer or how much training does he need?

Here are a couple examples:

We have some boys that people normally do not collect but we have trained and they have an occasional shipment they need to do.

Then we have the problem boys who have no manners, those are the ones that are the most challenging and it takes a lot of time to get the job done and subsequently this will cost more... And we have everything in between...

Here are some general prices we charge:

If he is a repeat easy collector we collect process and ship for $300.00.

If no shipping and if we use your container it is $200.00.

If it is a problem stallion or a first time stallion that needs training the price varies from $350 to $500. It depends on how cooperative he is...

If we are starting from scratch on a new young boy and you want to collect yourself we have a 2 day training and collection charge this year will be $1,000.00. This includes the training of both the stallion and the handler, collection, and a new AV, with start up supplies.

It is best to call us (715) 569-4693 or e-mail us at poetrypaints@yahoo.com and get your specific questions answered and we will work with you so collecting your stallion is a positive experience... It does the owner, the stallion or us no good what-so-ever if the job is not done right, if you are not charged fairly or if the stallion is not treated and trained properly...

We want everyone to be a repeat customer and happy with the service we provide...

Semen evaluation:

For every ejaculate we assess the motility (total / progressive) and the concentration of sperm before shipping. If you have any concerns about the fertility of your stallion we can also evaluate the sperm morphology (shape) and perform viability tests. Please let us know if you have any questions about your stallion’s fertility.

Fresh / cooled semen:

To maximise the fertility of shipped semen we will send a minimum of ONE BILLION sperm for each mare that needs to be inseminated. This will come in 2 -20ml packets. Upon delivery of the semen to the mare it is strongly recommended that she be inseminated with the first packet and then the second packet approximately 36 hours later. Please use all of the semen provided. Most (85%) of mares should ovulate within 24h of each insemination. It is important that a vet scans the mare to confirm the size of her folicle prior to shipping.

Fertility rates:

Natural mating: In most horse breeds, 50 - 60% of mares conceive in each oestrous cycle, by the end of the breeding season 89% of mares are pregnant and only 79% of mares go on to produce a live foal. In Central Wisconsin the average mares best and most breedable time is the third week in April.

Fresh / chilled semen: When fresh or good quality chilled semen is used for artificial insemination (AI) we can expect slightly higher (5 – 10%) more per cycle pregnancy rates compared with natural mating. It normally takes 1 – 2 cycles for a fertile mare to conceive.