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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(7); doi: 10.3390/ani13071203

Predicting the Outcome of Equine Artificial Inseminations Using Chilled Semen.

Abstract: This study aimed to determine whether an analysis of stallion ejaculate could accurately predict the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from artificial insemination in mares. This study involved 46 inseminations of 41 mares, using 7 standardbred stallions over a 5-week period at an Australian pacing stud. Semen quality was assessed immediately after collection and again after chilling at ~5 °C for 24 h. The assessment involved evaluating ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, and motility parameters using an iSperm® Equine portable device. After the initial evaluation, a subpopulation of cells was subjected to a migration assay through a 5 µm polycarbonate filter within a Samson™ isolation chamber over a 15 min period. The cells were assessed for their concentration, motility parameters, and ability to reduce the membrane impermeant tetrazolium salt WST-1. The data, combined with the stallion and mare's ages, were used to predict the likelihood of pregnancy, as confirmed by rectal ultrasound sonography performed 14 days post ovulation. The criteria used to predict pregnancy were optimized for each individual stallion, resulting in an overall accuracy of 87.9% if analyzed pre-chilling and 95% if analyzed post-chilling. This study suggests that an analysis of stallion ejaculate can be used to predict the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from artificial insemination in mares with a high level of accuracy.
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Publication Date: 2023-03-30 PubMed ID: 37048459PubMed Central: PMC10093274DOI: 10.3390/ani13071203Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The study seeks to determine if the analysis of stallion ejaculate can predict the possibility of a mare’s successful conception through artificial insemination. This was performed by looking at the quality of semen before and after chilling, then matching this data with the ages of the stallion and mare. The results showed high accuracy levels in predicting successful conception based on the quality of the semen used for insemination.

Methodology

  • The research involved 46 inseminations of 41 mares using semen from 7 standardbred stallions over five weeks at an Australian pacing stud.
  • The quality of the semen was assessed immediately after collection and again after cooling it for 24 hours at approximately 5 degrees Celsius.
  • This quality assessment included the examination of ejaculate volume, sperm count, and motility characteristics using a portable device known as an iSperm Equine.
  • Following the initial assessment, a smaller selection of the cells was subjected to a migration test through a 5 micrometer polycarbonate filter in a Samson™ isolation chamber over a period of 15 minutes.
  • The cells were then evaluated in terms of concentration, motility parameters, and their capacity to reduce the membrane impermeant tetrazolium salt WST-1.

Results & Conclusions

  • The collected data, alongside the ages of the stallions and mares used in the experiment, were used in predicting the success rate of pregnancy which was confirmed via rectal ultrasound sonography performed two weeks after ovulation.
  • The researchers adjusted the prediction criteria for each individual stallion, achieving an overall accuracy rate of 87.9% with pre-chilled analysis and 95% when analyzed post-chilling.
  • The study concludes that the analysis of stallion ejaculate can reliably predict the likelihood of successful pregnancy from artificial insemination in mares.

This research provides a helpful tool for equine breeders by offering a method to assess the probability of successful conception, which may lead to improvements in breeding programs.

Cite This Article

APA
Medica AJ, Lambourne S, Aitken RJ. (2023). Predicting the Outcome of Equine Artificial Inseminations Using Chilled Semen. Animals (Basel), 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071203

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 7

Researcher Affiliations

Medica, Ashlee Jade
  • Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, Discipline of Biological Sciences, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, College of Engineering Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Lambourne, Sarah
  • Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, Discipline of Biological Sciences, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, College of Engineering Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Aitken, Robert John
  • Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, Discipline of Biological Sciences, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, College of Engineering Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
  • Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW 2305, Australia.

Conflict of Interest Statement

A.J.M., S.L. and R.J.A. receive financial support from Memphasys Ltd.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Lin SS, Chen CY, Lin CM, Chiang TC, Tang YS, Yeh CC, Hsu WF, Wo AM. A Mobile Sperm Analyzer with User-Friendly Microfluidic Chips for Rapid On-Farm Semen Evaluation. Biosensors (Basel) 2025 Jun 18;15(6).
    doi: 10.3390/bios15060394pubmed: 40558476google scholar: lookup
  2. Zhu L, Tillquist N, Scatolin G, Gately R, Kawaida M, Reiter A, Reed S, Zinn S, Govoni K, Jiang Z. Maternal restricted- and over- feeding during gestation perturb offspring sperm epigenome in sheep. Reproduction 2023 Nov 1;166(5):311-322.
    doi: 10.1530/REP-23-0074pubmed: 37647207google scholar: lookup
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