Good morning! My apologies for replying late. I just saw this. You had asked me about my experience with ICSI. We have done it a few times through University of Northern Colorado at Greeley. They are really great. And also at Kansas State University. The last one I did was done through a private breeding facility. They have a full equine reproductive team on staff. The first thing to consider (in my opinion) is the experience level of the professional doing the procedure. There are many veterinarian clinics out there who advertise doing this, but then send it out to a lab. Then it ends up going to someone who mostly does work on cattle. So ask lots of questions. Also, find out what is and is not included. The next important issue is your donor mare. Are her eggs viable? Has she produced a live, quality foal in the past? I have always allowed a mare to foal either via natural breeding or ai before I go through the expense of ICSI. Her age will be a factor. The older she is, the less likely you will have a positive result. Forgive me if you already know this, but mares are born with all her eggs she will have throughout her life. So those eggs “age” just like she does. I had an older mare who I desperately wanted to continue producing. We tried ICSI, we tried natural breeding & flushing (she couldn’t carry to term any longer) And we tried conception in the cup. ICSI didn’t work at all. When they went to inject the sperm, that old egg just disintegrated. We had the same problem with the flushing from the natural breeding. The embryo was so fragile, that it just disintegrated during the process. Healthy, younger eggs & embryos have a spongy, springy, protective membrane. This just doesn’t appear to exist as the eggs get older. Shop around. Ask lots of questions. You’ll find the right place.
