Hello. I’m in the very early stages of investigating transferring an embryo into a leased surrogate and would love to hear from people who have gone through the process. My hope is to use semen from a stallion in the EU or UK. The reason for the embryo transfer is that my jumper mare is still in work and not ready for a motherhood break.
Has anyone gone through the leased surrogate process? Can you shed some light on the costs, effort, and risks involved? I would be fine with leaving the mare at someone else’s property if that’s how they handle leases.
Also, what’s involved with with importing semen from Europe? I’m assuming it has to be frozen?
I did ET last year. The surrogate was leased from a vet clinic. It was about $2500. When mare was confirmed in foal at 30 days I had to pick her up. Then returned after foal was weaned.
Thank you! I have contacted a reproductive facility and am investigating leasing one of their mares. The lease cost offered is the same as what Licketysplit paid and I’d be leaving their mare with them through weaning.
It must be my own naiveté, but I was a little surprised to find the extent of my responsibilities toward a leased mare in their herd. I understand it’s a lease and I’d have to pay monthly board, but was surprised that despite leaving the mare in their full-time care, I’d be responsible for emergency or accident costs (another of their mares in their field kicks this one and leaves a nasty gash or the mare requires colic surgery, etc.) as well as routine care like spring / fall shots, farrier, and dental. Again, it’s probably my lack of exposure to the industry, but these seem like cost of business expenses for a vet facility, not something billed to a person who probably won’t see the mare until after a foal is born and won’t have anything to do with it after said foal is weaned.
When you lease a riding horse you are going to have costs as above as you have the benefits of use of the horse. Same is true of the leased mare, even if she is not at your farm. Not surprising to me.
I suppose and in a typical lease it makes sense. In this situation it strikes me as odd since the prices and choice of service providers are out of my control on a horse that I won’t get to pre-screen or choose and will remain unseen by me while it sits in their mare field, on their farm, with their other mares. Does it have a history of field accidents or is it the one every other mare picks on? I won’t ever know or have any input on prevention but am 100% responsible if anything goes wrong. That’s the disconnect in my mind.
Hopefully their farrier won’t charge $1000 for a trim. As an aside, I would have thought a vet clinic would provide shots as part of their own herd health and the well-being of their own investment. My lack of knowledge is part of why I’m posting here. It’s a learning curve.
What you have described is normal, but in most instances you don’t HAVE to leave the recip mare at the veterinary facility for her whole gestation. After the heartbeat check at ~30 days, you could board her at a less expensive facility of your choice (or bring her home if you have a farm).
You don’t transfer an egg, you transfer an embryo. The donor mare has to get pregnant and maintain the pregnancy for 7-9 days before the flush.
Yes, semen coming from Europe is frozen. There’s no logistical way to collect fresh, get it through the health protocols, and fly it here, even to the east coast of the USA, before it’s no longer viable. There are multiple frozen semen brokers who import frozen semen to the USA. Superior Equine Sires, Yancey Farms, A1/Global, and Majestic Gaits are the largest ones. Sometimes you have to order earlier in the year in order to get the stallion of your choice into a bulk shipment.
I don’t see why you wouldn’t be responsible for a mare whose sole economic utility at the time would be housing your foal.
horses do stupid things in pastures. I’m not sure you’re ready for a baby (who will try to kill itself at EVERY opportunity) if you 're that concerned about paying for trims on a horse whose sole job is to do this so you don’t have to give up your competition mare?
The whole complaint just seems weird to me. You are renting a horse from them for a period of time. Why wouldn’t you be responsible for costs just because they are a clinic?
This is absolutely standard practice. A lease is a lease. It doesn’t matter whether you are leasing to ride or leasing a healthy uterus.
The place I researched in Idaho offers an option of taking possession of the mare after she’s confirmed in foal, then either returning her after weaning, or keeping her as your own surrogate…at which time the lease is transformed into a purchase. Pretty cool. And they were less expensive than the other large farms in Texas I checked out.
As an aside, the tone of your posts do seem somewhat…unconcerned about the mare. Probably not true, but just an observation.
I appreciate the strong opinion and advice. Having owned many horses over decades, I’m familiar with their “stupid things” which is why the terms caught my attention. I do appreciate your opinion on my readiness for a baby (would not be my first experience, BTW. First with this process, yes).
Please re-read what I wrote - the responsibility structure struck me as odd because I would have no control over the situation or interaction with the horse. In a performance lease I could choose where to put the horse, who was housed with it (if anyone), and to a degree, it’s daily routine. I’d be able to put my hands on it and check in on its life. My concern was that in this situation I’d have zero input or interaction, even to the point of making a decision on which mare was used, but 100% responsibility in addition to the lease price and monthly boarding care.
As I said above, this struck me as odd, but there are many odd things in the horse world that are considered standard practice. I’m a business person and thinking in terms of the mare’s long-term health and protection of my investment as her owner, it would seem logical that an insurance policy and set health care program would be wrapped up in the lease price. That would best protect her against disputes or should anything happen. For instance, what if the leasee decides not to go through with the proper medical care such as footing the bill on colic surgery? My mare would suffer.
Like I said, I’ve learned that it’s standard practice. It was a question and initial “huh,” which is why I asked for more information.
Actually the opposite is true. I do care quite a bit, which is why I was thinking through what could happen and the costs of what I would do for one of mine. This is why the zero control terms jumped out at me. Things happen with horses. I prefer to try and prevent as many as possible before they happen which in turn saves the horse pain and suffering and me vet fees.
I picked mine up and then boarded her because I didn’t want another horse to take care of. I did eventually bring her to my farm after the baby was born. I did ICSI and ET so it was an expensive process but well worth it for the foal that I now have. I thought the lease fee was nominal since it allowed me to continue to ride and show my doner mare. Yes you are responsible for all care and fees for that care with the mare like she is yours.
