Is frozen semen less fertile than fresh or cooled semen?
Fertility of frozen semen is highly dependent upon the stallion. In one of the few published trials in which the fertility of fresh, cooled and frozen semen was evaluated from the same stallion, the fertility of cooled semen was less than fresh and the fertility of frozen semen was slightly less than cooled semen. However, in other studies based on a large number of inseminations, the fertility of cooled and frozen semen was found to be similar and both were slightly less than fresh. In 2010, for three breeding farms in MD managing a combined total of 36 stallions shipping either cooled or frozen semen to a total of 648 mares, the first cycle pregnancy rate was 63% for cooled semen and 60% for frozen semen. The end of season pregnancy rate was 79% for cooled semen and 76% for frozen semen. Demonstrating that in the general population of horse breeders comparable results can be achieved with cooled and frozen semen.
Related Questions
- If I froze eggs, embryos and ovaries prior to treatment, but am still fertile after treatment should I use the frozen or fresh eggs to conceive?
- What are the advantages of using quarantined frozen semen samples from a semen bank as opposed to fresh samples?
- How much does it cost for collection and shipping of fresh cooled semen?
