Select Breeders Services Inc.
About
Select Breeders Service provides stallion collection, semen freezing, storage and distribution, mare management and embryo transfer services to horse owners in Cecil County, Maryland and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic Region (MD, DE, NJ, and PA). In January 2011, Select Breeders Services relocated to a new 13,000 sq ft, custom built facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland. This state-of-the-art facility includes research and clinical laboratories, a breeding shed, administrative offices and our frozen semen storage and distribution center. It also includes an eight-stall barn, round pen and numerous turnout paddocks within the gated perimeter fencing which secures the entire property.
Prior to our move in 2011, Select Breeders Services spent many successful years located on the property of Hilltop Farm in Colora, Maryland. "I am very excited to have had the opportunity to put nearly 30 years of experience towards the design of our new facility", Paul Loomis, Founder and CEO of Select Breeders Services. "While we have very much enjoyed our relationship with Hilltop Farm over the past 18 years, and will be forever grateful to them for providing such a wonderful place to develop SBS, we simply outgrew that facility. Our new location provides much needed additional laboratory space for the development of new techniques and services as well as enabling us to serve our clients more effectively." SBS continues to provide Hilltop Farm with collection services for their resident and guest stallions.
Our Maryland facility also serves as the headquarters to the Global SBS Affiliate Laboratory Network and administers the SBS Quality Control Program for the entire SBS Affiliate Network. This network consists of several laboratories throughout North and Central America, Europe and Australia. We invite you to click on these links to learn more about our Quality Control Program or how you can become a member of the SBS Affiliate Network.
All SBS proprietary media and extenders for the North American SBS Affiliate Laboratories are produced at this facility. A separate media preparation laboratory provides a controlled environment for the production of these extenders under ideal conditions.
Services
Stallion Management
At our facility in Chesapeake City, MD, we offer the following stallion services; breeding soundness examination, phantom training, semen collection and evaluation, processing for cooled semen shipment and semen freezing, storage and distribution. With more than 30 years experience working with hundreds of stallions of all breeds, SBS can also provide consultation for the problem stallion and investigate semen quality concerns. Our new hydraulically controlled breeding phantom is slowly lowered after the stallion ejaculates to ease the stress of dismounting and minimize injuries and fatigue to the stallion’s back and hocks.
Our laboratory is equipped to perform advanced semen processing techniques and customized freezing protocols for individual stallions to maximize semen quality in a cooled or frozen semen breeding program. We can also perform quality control analysis of shipped in cooled or frozen semen. Our frozen semen storage and distribution program is professional, cost effective and efficient. We ship nearly 700 containers of frozen semen each breeding season. Approximately 30,000 breeding doses are stored in liquid nitrogen in nearly 90 specially designed cryogenic containers that are maintained from a 1500 gallon bulk nitrogen tank located at the facility. SBS is always available to our clients to offer guidance on stallion management, maintenance of breeding records and management of breeding contracts.
Veterinary Services
SBS-VS offers complete equine ambulatory veterinary services in the areas surrounding our Chesapeake City, MD office. We strive to provide the highest standards of care for your equine companion and to form lasting relationships with our horse owning clientele. Our partnership with Unionville Equine Associates in Oxford, PA allows access to advanced diagnostic and laboratory services. It also allows SBS-VS to consult with a board certified veterinarian in internal medicine and experienced practitioners in lameness and other performance issues. Appointments for general horse health, dental prophylaxis, vaccinations, medical colic therapy, ophthalmic examinations, foal care, lacerations, respiratory problems, minor surgery, and other related issues can be scheduled by calling SBS-VS at (410) 885-3202.
Mare Management
SBS-VS offers mare management services at a newly renovated facility in Chesapeake City, MD. We provide complete breeding management, artificial inseminations with fresh, cooled, and frozen semen, low-dose and deep-horn insemination techniques, reproductive evaluations, diagnostic, and therapeutic treatments for the mares in your broodmare herd. A dedicated staff veterinarian, boarded by the American College of Theriogenologists, ensures the knowledge and experience to provide optimal reproductive care for your mares and foals. Dr. Scofield can provide detailed information to mare owners regarding other advanced reproductive technologies and help them determine the most appropriate therapy for sub-fertile horses.
While a normal mare's gestation averages 340 days, some mares can have normal foals at 320 days until over 360 days. During this foaling window, veterinary staff should monitor a high-risk mare closely. Some owners elect to monitor calcium carbonate values of mammary secretions to help approximate the time of foaling.
We offer foaling services to limit the anxiety and risk of your mare foaling unpredictably and unattended. Foaling services are offered on a first-come-first-serve basis, so please call SBS-VS to enroll your mare today.
Embryo Transfer
Embryo transfer is an advanced technique that places a donor mare’s fertilized embryo into the uterus of a recipient mare that has been correctly synched with the donor mare’s cycle. With Paul Loomis’ 20 plus years of experience in equine ET and with Dr. Scofield’s training and experience, SBS-VS provides the necessary attention to detail that produces embryo transfer success.
At SBS-VS, we can manage and flush your donor mare for an embryo, package and ship the embryo to a recipient herd, utilize your own recipient mare, or place the embryo into one of SBS-VS’s recipient mares. SBS and Unionville Equine Associates (UEA) in Oxford, PA have been collaborating since 2009 to bring ET services to UEA clients. We will continue to provide ancillary support to UEA veterinarians for their clients requiring embryo transfer services.
Embryo transfer is a proven reproductive technique that can be used for older mares that can donate fertilized embryos yet cannot carry a foal to term, performance or show mares in the height of competition, or mares where multiple pregnancies are desired. SBS-VS looks forward to expanding the availability of equine ET in and around Chesapeake City.
Mobile Service
Select Breeders Services in Maryland has two mobile laboratories and offers mobile service to farms and veterinary clinics in the Mid-Atlantic region and East Coast. The mobile lab is fully outfitted with all the equipment to process and evaluate semen including a controlled rate cell freezer and Hamilton-Thorne computer assisted semen analysis system. Our primary travel area extends from our facility in Northeastern Maryland to Southern New York State, New Jersey, Delaware, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA region, and Maryland. Regular trips up to New England and down to Virginia are also available by special arrangement. Please call for more information or email info@selectbreeders.com.
Frozen Semen Import and Export
SBS-MD is a USDA approved center for the collection of semen intended for export out of the United States. We regularly process and ship semen with export qualification for the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, UAE and South America. Depending upon the countries involved, export freezing requires additional health testing and possibly quarantine of your stallion during the freezing session. Please call or visit our FAQ page for more information on what is involved with export freezing.
Interested in breeding to a top European stallion? Select Breeders can also assist you with semen import and we can perform a quality control analysis to determine sperm concentration and motility. This will enable you to adjust the breeding dose if necessary to provide the recommended minimum number of progressively motile sperm/dose.
Staff
Paul Loomis MS, Founder and CEO of Select Breeders Services Inc.
Paul established Select Breeders Services in 1987 and developed the company to become the largest provider of equine semen preservation services in the world. As president of the company, Paul directs the international network of affiliated laboratories. During 1987-1992, Paul was also Director of Biological Research at Hamilton Thorn Research Associates. Hamilton Thorn is best known in the horse industry as developers of the Equitainer system for cooled transported semen and instrumentation for computerized sperm motility analysis. Prior to SBS and Hamilton Thorn, Paul was VP/General
Manager of Green Hills Farm, Inc in Aiken,
SC a large sport horse
breeding facility. Here Paul developed (what was then)
the
largest commercial frozen semen breeding program for horses in the U.S.
Paul is a recognized expert in the field of semen preservation. He is a graduate of Colorado State University with a M.S. in Physiology (Equine Reproduction). He is the author of numerous scientific journal articles and regularly lectures worldwide in the areas of equine reproduction and semen preservation.
Dr. David B. Scofield DVM, MS, DACT, President and Medical Director
Dr. Scofield grew up in Delaware and on the eastern shore of Maryland. After college in North Carolina, he received his DVM from Oklahoma State University in 2009. Following graduation, Dr. Scofield completed an internship at Weatherford Equine Medical Center in Weatherford, Texas and later joined Colorado State University’s Equine Reproduction Laboratory for a residency in Equine Reproduction. His research focused on anti-microbial agents for bacterial and fungal infections in mares. His day-to-day activities included managing reproductively challenged mares and stallions, embryo transfer, foaling mares, high-risk pregnancies, and neonatal foals.
Jonathan Clark, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Jonathan graduated
from the University of Delaware in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Animal Sciences. While obtaining his degree, he started
working for SBS in 1994 by assisting Paul with routine lab cleaning. He
began gaining more responsibility in the company by becoming a freeze
technician, helping to pioneer the mobile lab use throughout the East
Coast, and becoming the leader of the import/export department in
Maryland. Now, 25 years later, he dutifully holds the role of Director
of Operations for Select Breeders Services. Though he still enjoys
occasionally spending time in the mobile lab, Jonathan oversees and
assists the managers of SBS Veterinary Services, Select Breeders
Services Headquarters in Maryland and Select Breeders Southwest in Texas
with their daily operations. When not in the office, he spends his
time focusing on the warmblood breeding operation he and his partner
created.
Dr. Elena Martinez de Andino VMD, Diplomate ACT, SBS Veterinarian
Dr. Martinez de Andino is a board certified Theriogenologist offering a wealth of knowledge to our equine and canine clients with her experience in assisted reproductive techniques including transvaginal oocyte aspiration and embryo transfer as well as breeding management for "problem" mares and subfertile stallions. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hispanic Studies and went on to receive her degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. During her studies in veterinary school, she was a summer research fellow through the Havemeyer Behavior Lab in which she evaluated operant learning performance in foals using target training. After graduating from veterinary school, she completed her rotating equine internship at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center from 2016-2017. She then completed her residency in equine theriogenology at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine where she conducted research on intrafollicular oocyte transfer in conjunction with the Equine Embryo Laboratory.
Kristin Klohonatz, PhD, Director of the SBS Affiliate Laboratory Program / Co-Director of Research and Development
As the director of the SBS Affiliate Laboratory Program, Dr. Klohonatz provides technical support and quality control assessment to SBS affiliate laboratories. In her role as Co-Director of Research and Development she is responsible for ongoing research projects within the company which may include testing new extenders, determining new assays to better measure the quality of semen samples, etc. She received her Bachelor of Science degree, with a minor in Equine Science, from Penn State University. She then attended Colorado State University where she completed her Masters and PhD in Animal Science (Equine Reproductive Physiology) under the guidance of Dr. Jason Bruemmer. Her research focused primarily on maternal recognition of pregnancy in mares and the early communication between the embryo and maternal uterine environment. When Kristin isn't in the lab or assisting affiliate members, she likes to spend time outdoors and work with her young horse. She also has a passion for traveling and exploring new places.
Caitlin Walsh, Storage and Distribution Manager
Caitlin received her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and Equine Science from Penn State University. As our Storage and Distribution Manager, she is in charge of preparing frozen semen shipments for domestic and international distribution, receiving and transferring incoming shipments and maintaining our inventory records as well as maintaining proper liquid nitrogen levels in our many frozen semen tanks. She also assists our clients with their shipping and inventory questions. When not in the lab, she enjoys painting and competing with her terriers in field trials.
Kayla Williams, Laboratory Technician
Kayla received her Bachelor of Science degree in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, with a minor in Animal Sciences, from The Pennsylvania State University. She joined the SBS team as a laboratory technician to collect semen and process it for cooled/frozen shipments, assist with extender production and ensure the lab is clean and properly set up for each new day. Prior to coming to Maryland, she worked as a research assistant on projects with dairy cattle and ruminant nutrition and was an assistant barn manager at a farm in Pennsylvania. When not in the lab, Kayla likes to snowboard, paint and enjoy time outdoors with her dog.
Ashley Steffan, Laboratory Technician / Veterinary Technician
Ashley received her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, with a minor in Equine Science, from Penn State University. She fills dual roles at SBS. During the fall and winter months she serves as a laboratory technician at our stallion facility performing stallion collections for the processing of frozen semen, produces and ships extenders, etc. Then, during the spring and summer, months she has the opportunity to be outside with the horses while performing various tasks as a veterinary technician for the vets at SBS Veterinary Services.
Pat Blailock, Office Manager
Pat joined the SBS team in February of 2012 as Office /Sales and Marketing Manager. She has over 18 years of experience in business operations, office management and customer service. Her focus is to ensure that every customer, current or prospective, is informed of the services we provide at SBS and that they receive the highest quality of customer service.
Larissa Davidson, CPA, Controller/Bookkeeper
Larissa received her Bachelor or Science Degree in Accounting from Towson University in the Fall of 2012. She then went on to pass the Certified Public Account exam in 2015. As the Controller/Bookkeeper of SBS and SBS Veterinary Services, she assists our management teams with the planning, directing and coordinating of all accounting functions. Prior to Larissa joining our team, she worked at a public accounting firm where she was a senior auditor. When she's not in the office, she enjoys spending time outdoors, reading, quilting and keeping up with her daughter.
