We are happy to welcome Dr. Kristin Klohonatz to the team at Select Breeders Services, Inc as the Director of the SBS Affiliate Laboratory Program and Co-Director of Research and Development. She arrived in February 2019 and has been using her time to familiarize herself with SBS protocols and introducing herself to the SBS Affiliate Members.

In 2012, Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) had the honor of welcoming Radical Rodder, the 1998 AQHA World Champion in Senior Western Pleasure, into their stallion barn in Aubrey, Texas. SBSW had previously been freezing semen from him for several years but now they had the opportunity to include him and his owners, Diane Chilton and Dr. Howard Harper, as part of the SBSW family. Many SBSW team members were privileged to be able to be with Radical Rodder for his last trip to Diane’s ranch where he and his stablemate, Tumbleweed, were laid to rest on April 11, 2019. Paul Loomis said,“It was our great honor to have provided a home for this legend on the final leg of his incredible journey. He has been a fixture at SBSW for many years and will surely be missed but not forgotten.”

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.

Send Us Your SBS Frozen Semen Foal Photos. Pull out your cameras and start snapping! We'd like to see photos of your foals born in 2019 (2018 if born August – December in the Southern Hemisphere) from semen frozen by an SBS affiliate lab or resulting from embryo transfer performed at one of our SBS affiliate labs. The winner of the best foal photo will win a $75 Dover Saddlery gift certificate (or for Amazon.com for submissions from EU/AUS). Photos will be posted to our website and will be judged on composition by our SBS affiliate members. Click here to see the submission of foals from 2019.