I decided to do ICSI with my well- bred (Ogano Sitte x Clinton) 1.45 jumper mare (stallion is Vagabond de la Pomme) and ended up with 6 embryos after one aspiration. Is there a market in the US for frozen embryos?
A friend of mine did some “market research” on this question because she was interested and it seemed the market was pretty limited here for now for embryos unless they are implanted. That said, I think the US market is becoming more and more open to embryos and that is a really interesting cross, so you might find some people interested. Ogano Sitte x Clinton is such a successful “nick” and Vagabond de la Pomme is a very nice stallion. If your mare is from a good female line, I would imagine you might be able to find some people interested, but I would still unfortunately guess you wouldn’t have a huge market. Is it expensive to store them? You might think about hanging on to them for a bit and let the market develop if it isn’t cost prohibitive, especially if you’ll then have a full sibling on the ground for people to see. Or you could potentially look into a recip mare lease at some stage, which might give you a better ROI for the current market.
Please share updates on your mare and forthcoming foal though! How exciting!
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I’m a vet, and I have some concerns about the ICSI process removing the “survival of the fittest” aspect of sperm selection for fertilization. I have heard too many horror stories of people who’ve had dystocias, congenital problems, poor doer foals, etc. to buy a frozen ICSI embryo. Not for me til it’s on the ground and healthy.
As a Vet, what would need to be done to ensure a healthy foal?
I am considering if my mare might be a candidate. She is an ASB by Ra Hot Every Night, and her dam is by CH King of Highpoint. I have a straw from Sultan’s great day that I would use as the sire for the embryos. I don’t know if there would be a market.
But Hot has sons in stud that are doing okay. One son is with Scripps and has been in the Rose Parade multiple times. Another son was exported to stand in Australia and another was used as a breed ambassador and there is a sister who was a WGC Pinto, etc. Sultan’s Great Day can stand on his own without further explanation.
I have been thinking that this might be a path to try. Any thoughts?
Yes, in my discipline, there is a good market for frozen embryos with a proven mare (think top 50 producing mares in the country) and a great stud.
Very few want to take the risk with an average stud and unproven mare.
Or you have a full sibling they can’t afford but they can afford to buy an embryo and cross their fingers it’s as nice as yours is.
