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Featured News: SBS Annual Meeting 2011

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December 28, 2011

Once a year affiliate members from SBS labs around the world get together for a mini symposium. This year the 12th Annual Meeting was hosted at our new headquarters and state of the art facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland, December 7th to 9th. The Annual Meeting offers an excellent opportunity to review SBS protocols and policies, share ideas and plans for the upcoming year and socialize with our good friends and colleagues. The business section of the meeting was held in the well appointed conference facilities of the neighboring Riveredge Training Center, home of our good clients, Hassler Dressage. During our coffee and lunch breaks we took advantage of the fabulous viewing room and watched the horses in training being ridden in the indoor arena.

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Featured Blog: The Pros and Cons of 1 or 2 Dose Insemination Protocols

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November 30, 2011

It is a common belief of many veterinarians and breeders that the lifespan of frozen semen within the mare’s reproductive tract is reduced compared to fresh semen. While no experimental fertility trials have been conducted to directly address this question the type of damage that can occur to sperm membranes during the freezing and thawing process theoretically could reduce the longevity of semen. Sperm binding to the lining of the oviduct can extend fertilizing capacity in the mare and there is in vitro evidence that frozen-thawed sperm do not bind as well to the oviductal epithelium. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the optimum time for insemination of frozen semen is in the period from 12 hours prior and up to 6 hours after ovulation. The timing of insemination is a good topic for debate and many mare owners and veterinarians have their preferred method of choice. Generally opinion is split between a one dose post-ovulatory insemination or a two dose timed insemination protocol. We review the pros and cons of both options here.

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Featured Question

What is the Recommended Minimum Post-Thaw Motility?

SBS recommends that frozen semen used for commercial distribution contain > 200 million progressively motile sperm (PMS) after thawing with a minimum of 30% progressive motility. We measure post-thaw motility using an objective and accurate computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA) after the sample is thawed and incubated at 37°C for 30 minutes.

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