Getting Your Mare Pregnant

There are two different ways you can get your mare pregnant, one being live cover (natural breeding by the stallion) and the other being artificial insemination. There are pros and cons to both practices.

Live cover is the natural way to breed your mare. Through natural breeding there is more sperm deposited into the mare so a higher pregnancy rate can be seen over chilled or frozen semen. There is simply less room for human error when you allow nature to take it's course. There are risks though for this higher pregnancy rate so you much weigh your options carefully. Live cover is more dangerous for the stallion, mare and handlers. It can be traumatic for the mare as the stallion can get mouthy as well as the weight of the stallion on the mare. Getting the 2 horses together can be hard to schedule and having them get along can be another story. The stallion will breed the mare multiple times in a day and allowing access to each other all day is difficult but can be done if managed properly. Lastly, some stallions don’t perform well under live cover (they will ejaculate when dismounting, some need guidance while some refuse manipulation, and the mare can move away from the stallion)

Artificial Insemination is the use of chilled semen that has recently been collected from a stallion or the use of frozen semen. Through the use of artificial insemination you can can obtain different bloodlines from all over the world and you don't have to take your mare to the stallion of your choice. Artificial insemination also allows you to extend the breeding season and decrease the chance of injury to your mare.There is also freedom in not having to schedule live cover breeding sessions, this allows for stallions and mares to stay active in their sport. The downfall to artificial insemination is that it has a lower pregnancy rate compared to natural service. The main reasons AI has a lower success rate is that there are many ways you can mishandle chilled or frozen semen which will decrease semen quality not to mention, frozen sperm is constantly under duress. With shipping the semen there is a chance of bringing in diseases from different parts of the world so it is important to make sure the stallion is clear of any diseases. Lastly, artificial insemination does require intensive management of the mare so that you know when she is ovulating (AI needs to be at the end of her cycle when she is about to ovulate).   

Whether you are going to use AI or live cover there has been some research done to help you be successful. It is important to understand how the collection of the semen directly impacts the pregnancy rate. Research by Elizabeth S. Metcalf, has been done showing that stallions that are collected every day as compared to every other day show higher pregnancy rates on mares both in live cover scenarios as well as chilled semen. This is due to the fact that fertility is mainly determined by the mare and the timing of her ovulation. When a stallion is collected every day and semen is readily available, so the stallion’s collection schedule is based on the mare’s readiness rather than to accommodate the schedule of the stallion farm. Another factor that increases pregnancy rate whether you are using live cover or artificial insemination is the number of insemination per cycle .

If you don't know which method is best for you contact your vet or local extension agent and they can help you work through the pros and cons and hopefully help you decide what is best for your particular operation.