All too often we hear tragic stories about the sudden death of a stallion whether it be due to an illness or an accident no one anticipated. He may have been a mature stallion who was already proving himself as a sire or a young stallion but now the world will never know his genetic capabilities. These conversations usually end with the stallion owner saying, “I wish I had frozen semen from him.” Or a mare owner saying, “I wish they had frozen semen on him because he would have been a wonderful cross with my mare.” It doesn’t have to be this way.

The test freeze is the first freeze performed on a stallion when he comes to a Select Breeders Services (SBS) Affiliate Lab to have semen frozen. We primarily have four different semen freezing protocols that we test on each stallion. The differences between each protocol being in either the extender formulation or the rate of cooling. For subsequent freezes we choose the protocol which gives the best results as determined by post-thaw motility. Regardless of the protocol, once the straws of semen reach -120 degrees Celsius in the programmable cell freezer they are then plunged into a bath of liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius.

Congratulations to Charlotte Hodgson who has won a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate for her photo of Ellen Downey’s foal, Peppy’s Texan Jewel (Boon Too Suen x Pokies Princess Lee).

From breeding and horse management to laboratory work, Select Breeders Services (SBS) and its affiliate labs in the United States offer various internship opportunities for college undergraduates looking to further their knowledge and skill within the equine industry. SBS is the largest and most professionally managed provider of frozen semen services in the world. In addition, many SBS locations offer a full range of equine reproduction services, and most of the affiliate labs are state of the art veterinary hospitals as well. SBS labs provide excellent teaching and training opportunities at some of the best equine reproduction facilities in the country. There is plenty of exposure to hands on experience and on the job training.