Leestensch Hof

Haflinger Hengstenhouderij & SWS/KI Station

SCS/Artificial insemination

Our station has been an EU-approved Semen Collection Centre since 2022. We are allowed to export semen, throughout Europe and most countries beyond.

Artificial insemination:

In artificial insemination, the fertilization of the mare is separated from the stallion’s ejaculation. The stallion covers on a so-called phantom and the semen is collected in an artificial sheath.

When the semen has to be shipped (shipping AI), it is processed so that the shelf life is extended.

Advantages of artificial insemination:

Each mare receives an insemination dose with a set, minimum number of sperm cells that are suitable for fertilization, i.e. motile and normally shaped.

Because there is no direct contact between mare and stallion, the risk of transmitting diseases is minimal.

In addition, as an EU-approved station, we are obliged to have our stallions tested for three diseases that can be transmitted by reproduction at least once a year.

Artificial insemination forces the stallion owner to follow the mare’s cycle closely. This ensures insemination at the right time.

Inseminators must be able to demonstrate sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge to practice insemination legally..

How Does IT Work?

Insemination at our centre:

When the mare is at our farm, she is inspected almost daily. As soon as she is in heat, she is inseminated.

If the heat lasts longer, she can be inseminated more often (every other day). After 18 days (cycle time for most mares 18 – 21 days), she can be checked for heat and for the presence of an embryo.

Shipping semen

In Europe, there is an efficient logistics system that makes it possible to inseminate mares remotely. After the stallion has covered, the semen is processed in such a way that it can be kept for a long time (at least 24 hours, often longer). The shipping dose is then picked up by a courier.

Mares can be inseminated by fellow stallion owners. Insemination by the veterinarian is also possible. The advantage artificial insemination / shipping semen, that the mare can be inseminated either at home or “close by”. However, the fellow stallion owner or the veterinarian must check the mare for heat.

Ordering: Please one day before the shipping date! For shipments outside the Netherlands, the receiving address must be in the EU-Traces system in order to be able to apply for an export health certificate from the NvWA. This registration can be easily applied for by the veterinary authority in all EU countries. Take possibly. contact us for information.