There are different ways that the breeding process in the equine industry can be carried out. One of the methods that are preferred by a lot of breeders is artificial insemination.
AI
This is where the sperm of the male is introduced to the reproductive tract of the chosen female. It eliminates the need for traditional mating. This is not a new process, as some may think. It has been done for many years. There is even evidence of this form of breeding taking place in historical texts.
Frozen Semen
It was during the 18th century that experimentations started to take place with frozen or chilled semen. An Italian scientist did some studies on taking semen from stallions and putting it in the snow. What he discovered was that the cold did not necessarily destroy the sperm but just made them dormant. Once it was warmed up, it became active again.
The Beginning of AI Programs
The frequent use of AI once again became prominent at the start of the 20th century. Russian stud farms started running the AI programs, and since then they have grown in popularity and are used in many different parts of the world. However, there are some restrictions for using AI in certain breeds that have been set by their respective industries.
Success
The success of the program is going to depend on a lot of factors. It has to begin with the viability of the stallion for the purposes of AI. The stud has to be sound and possess excellent quality semen that can withstand the cooling of it and to be able to face storage after collection.
The semen has to be of good quality, and it has to be appropriately processed and be able to retain its fertilization qualities.
There is a lot of care and work that goes into the artificial insemination breeding program and using frozen semen.