It is amazing what science and technology can create these days–including developing embryos in a laboratory that result in a foal eleven months later. NSBA Hall of Fame mare, Dont Skip Ms Hotrod (Oprah) and Number One Leading Sire, Invitation Only, recently had a baby colt developed through a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
ICSI is offered, according to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science website, “as a means of establishing pregnancies from oocytes (eggs) recovered from donor mares. Using ICSI, oocytes are injected with individual sperm from a donor stallion, and the resulting embryos are allowed to develop in the laboratory for approximately one week. Developed embryos are then shipped to a private embryo transfer facility for transfer to a recipient mare, as for standard embryo transfer.”
According to Oprah’s owner, Jay McLennan of JS Quarter Horses in Aubrey, Texas, he decided to try ICSI after multiple
failed attempts to flush her embryos. “After flushing on Oprah the first
year and part of the second year after owning her, it became evident
that she could not conceive any longer, but that did not mean she did
not have viable eggs– she just couldn’t conceive. Texas A&M has an incredible
process and we began our journey last year,” states McLennan.
Pine View Farm Breeding Manager, Debbi Trubee, who stands Invitation Only and Lazy Loper, is impressed by the ease and success of this revolutionary process.
“Our part is easy, we keep a small amount of frozen semen at Texas A&M for customers choosing this process for their mares who cannot otherwise conceive a baby,” Trubee explains. “We have also worked with Equine Medical Services in Columbia, Missouri and Colorado State University. The Invitation Only weanling was the first attempt using Invitation Only frozen semen and was successful the first aspiration. It has given new life to mares and even stallions. For us, it is a blessing that we know even after Invitation Only is gone, we will still be able to have foals born sired by him.”
While the process is quite expensive, it may be the last resort for valuable mares who are no longer able to conceive. “As far as Oprah goes, they just don’t make them like her anymore. At 18 years old, this is the only way to get a baby from her,” states McLennan. “All in all, I would easily guess that you can add five thousand dollars to the cost of a foal through this process when it’s all said and done, on top of the cost of the recipient mare as with a normal flush. Not to mention the additional cost of the breeding fees, but they can be used again until you have a live foal. We have learned a lot in the process including how to reduce the cost a bit, and we look forward to our 2014 foals.”
To find out more about this process, please visit the Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical website by clicking here.
