Fresh vs Frozen semen (costs discussion)

[JumperFyre]

Hello board. On average for breeders that don’t do their own AI work, what do you pay to get a mare in foal fresh vs frozen?

In the general area where I board, there is a local vet that handles fresh but he wasn’t very optimistic about AI, claiming that one client spent almost $2k trying to get her mare in foal. At a repo service center about 60 miles from me they handle frozen (or fresh of course) and include everything to get mare in foal for $650 flat rate. I’m wondering what everyone pays. I keep hearing that fresh is so much better & less expensive.

[bugsynskeeter]

A good reproduction vet is the most important part of the equation.

[Laurierace]

What the heck is the local vet doing with the fresh semen if he isn’t optimistic about AI???

[cheektwocheek]

I have no experience with fresh, only frozen. Dry shipper rental fee with shipping & recharge was around $350. Mare staying at the Clinic for a week $900. Result…we have a baby on the way.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

If you are just talking in averages, then fresh semen is usually more fertile than frozen semen (again, speaking in averages). Fresh causes less of an inflammatory reaction. The breeding window isn’t as narrow with fresh. More vets are proficient with fresh than with frozen. This is generally what people mean when they say “easier”. How much it is going to cost to get a mare pregnant with one vs. the other is going to vary hugely. In our practice we charge per cycle, with fresh being $300/cycle and frozen being $400/cycle. The additional cost is mostly to cover the additional ultrasounds required for frozen semen inseminations. Mare care is charged separately, on a per day basis. What a breeder pays to get a mare in foal could be WAY beyong those charges; depends upon how many tries you need, and if greater intervention is required (treating an infection costs extra, etc).

Do not use a vet that is “not optimistic” about A.I.

[rodawn]

When you have a proficient vet who has a good track record with both frozen and fresh AI in general, then you have the best chance of success. You also need a much more fertile mare to use frozen. A mare who is reactive to semen or who is more average with fertility will be much more expensive to inseminate with frozen semen, even if you have a brilliant vet doing the job, and thus she is more appropriate for fresh-chilled shipped semen.

[siegi_b]

I’ve been using frozen semen successfully (and almost exclusively) for the past 15 or so years and have found that once the mares get older (15 + years) they may have bigger reactions to the extenders used with frozen semen, and that’s when I start looking for good fresh semen stallions. Other than that, try to find a vet who is very experienced with equine reproduction and will give you flat fees per breeding cycles. It’s not as tough as it seems… :yes:

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My frozen breeding last summer was close to $500 for one cycle at the vet’s. We were timing for 1 breeding post ovulation insemination and did do a flush after breeding. By the time you add in the follow up ultrasound and hauling, I figure it costs me over $600/cycle to breed a mare with frozen. If the person the OP mentions did a few cycles and was paying to ship frozen a couple times, I can see $2,000 quite easily. Especially if you did antibiotics or anything else at some point.