Frozen experiences - your view
On our breeding forum, I asked for some feedback from out there, how you had fared using the frozen product. These are the first three responses we received, but they provide a reasonable spread from the one mare to the larger stud situation…

Dear Chris,
I have only used frozen semen once which was last season. I purchased a thoroughbred mare from a local vet where I live and as part of the deal he put her in foal for me. We used Weltmeyer semen which we purchased from IHB (They were excellent to deal with). He let her cycle naturally for one cycle and then inseminated her in the second cycle. She conceived first attempt.
The vet believes that if the mare is young, in good health and if she was a good breeder before you tried her with frozen semen than there should be no problem at all.
So overall my first experience with frozen semen was great and I plan to put her back in foal this season to the frozen semen sire Don Frederico which I will again purchase from IHB.
- Nicole Williams
Dear Chris,
Mixed results. I have 30 mares, young and old, and only bother to breed with frozen AI to enhance my genetic pool, only try with young proven fertile mares. First year, 3 inseminations of Weltmeyer, 3 of Graf Grannus, one pregnancy each stallion, one live foal - Graf Grannus, a gorgeous two year old now, out of a Skyhigh mare, can jump. I love him.
Year 2, three inseminations Don Gregory. I saw young horses by him in Germany and loved them, most were out of Rubinstein mares. No pregnancies, vet said semen was very poor.
Year 4. Lucky me, won Don Schufro semen as breeders prize at Werribee DWTS, inseminated my imported mare, Gloria (Glorieux-Grunstein), 1st insemination successful. I await result. Would like to say Ms Hogg of Catago, very easy to deal with. I estimate that my frozen AI foals have cost me $6000 each to get on ground, semen and vet. My natural service, we sell for this much less. To me, not cheap, but 16 inseminations for 5 live foals, remember, all young fertile mares, proven breeders. Pregnancies are not live foals. I am sure some breeders have more statistics but these are mine. I think my frozen AI has been very worthwhile but with my oldest progeny 2 yo, I will need two more years to evaluate, but none of them are as yet for sale. Until dealing with Ms Hogg of Catago, I had made my mind up not to buy semen from private breeders, but have had a very positive result with Don Schufro.
- Bev Edwards
Here are the figures from Saguna Warmblood Stud
1999: Attempted frozen semen conceptions with five mares, four of who were three year olds. I tried the following stallions:
Rubinstein with two different mares - three attempts, no conception
Lauries Crusador with one 3 year old mare x 2 - no conception
Wolkenstein II with two mares, and 3 year old and a 12 year old TB - both conceived and had colt foals in 2000
Rotspon with two mares - a 3 year old and a 4 year old - the 4 year old conceived and delivered a colt foal in 2000. The 3 year old missed.
2000: Attempted frozen semen conceptions with 7 mares:
The 12 year old TB mare missed to Rubinstein but subsequently conceived to Rotspon
A 7 year old mare conceived to Longchamp on the first strike
A 4 year old mare conceived to Weltruhm on the first strike (she had missed as a 3 yo)
A 4 year old mare conceived to Weltmeyer on the first strike (she had missed as a 3 yo)
A 4 year old mare (with foal at foot by Wolkenstein II) conceived to Werther first strike
A 3 year old missed to Weltmeyer, and a 5 year old, with the Rotspon foal at foot, missed to Rotspon, but it was late in the season.
I have found that the mares conceive most easily in the warm/hot settled weather and when on a rising plane of nutrition. Personally I have not had much success with three year old mares but there are other breeders who have been more successful than myself. Although this whole frozen semen exercise is very expensive it is not as expensive as importing directly from Germany. All the mares had follicles ranging from 4.5 mm to 5.2 mm before insemination. The stallion statistics as assessed by Silver Pines Veterinary Clinic, are as follows:
Progressive motility Non-progressive motility Dead Conception rate
Lauries Crusader 30% 10% 60% missed x 2
Longchamp 35% 45% 20% first strike
Rubinstein 25% 45% 30% missed x 3
Rotspon 40% 20% 40% 2 x first strikes, 1 miss
Weltmeyer 50% 25% 25% 1 x first strike/1 miss
Weltruhm 25% 25% 50% 1 x first strike
Werther 40% 30% 40% 1 x first strike
Wolkenstein 40% 20% 40% 2 x first strikes
Next season we will try to get all seven mares in foal to frozen semen stallions. In order to maximise the chances it is obviously better to select stallions who have high progressive motility such as Weltmeyer, Wolkenstein or Rotspon especially when trying a mare for the first time. It is generally easier to get them back in foal again when they already have a foal at foot using the frozen semen method.
- Robyn Holden

Editorial
For the last couple of seasons our personal frozen semen story has been a tale of woe. One frozen baby a season, and hideous veterinary and semen expenses. But still one nice baby a season - even if the latest little charmer, Felicity has caused us a few, well documented, sleepless nights.
This year, we decided to try sending two of our mares away to the Avenel Veterinary Clinic. They were there for a long long time (they kept throwing up follicles that burst before they were bred), but in the end, both of them came home, both in foal to Weltmeyer - one on the first insemination 14 year old TB mare) and one on the second (3 year old maiden mare, herself a product of frozen semen). Our third mare, 19 year old Frauenberg, has only been breeding every other year and we had decided not to try with her this time, but she looked so great (a result of the course of Bresagen we put her on to get the milk happening perhaps?) that we persuaded Kirsty Wardell of Station Street Veterinary Clinic, to give it one try. And that was enough. Three mares in foal with four inseminations. Of course, using Weltmeyer semen is a bit like cheating because it works so well - but really looking at all the top horses at the big mare show we attended at Verden last Spring, Weltmeyer was the one consistently producing wonderful stock.
Once again, I wish you all good luck in your breeding program. May your mares going into foal on the first pop, and may all your foals have straight legs and pretty heads.
- Chris Hector