For many years, Select Breeders Services (SBS) has collaborated with horse and donkey owners to preserve breeds classified by The Livestock Conservancy as critical, threatened, recovering, or on the watch list for extinction. Saving these breeds is crucial, as The Livestock Conservancy notes they “represent an irreplaceable piece of earth’s biodiversity and offer incredible variety that may be needed for future farms." What do these classifications by The Livestock Conservancy mean?

Congratulations to Emily Allen who has won a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate for the photo Ed Amber took of her foal, Ulberto SMF (Kjento x Quinnessential).  We had many wonderful entries this year, the most ever in the SBS Foal Photo Contest!  Notable mentions for this year’s contest include the runners up of FS Frosted Rodeo Gal by MM Frosted Ta Fame and Ubette by Louisville HTF.

The Livestock Conservancy classifies the Poitou Donkey, a native breed of France, as a critical species that is in danger of becoming extinct.  Their large ears, long heads, heavy boned muscular bodies, and dreadlock like coat are unmistakable.  According to the conservancy, in the late 1800s the Poitou jacks were bred to a specific breed of draft mare (the Mulassier) to produce working mules.  The French mule breeding industry was expansive, being promoted throughout Europe while keeping the breeding stock within the Poitou region of France. By 1980, partly due to its limited geographic region, the breed had fewer than 80 registered animals.  A group of organizations came together in the late 20^th century to help protect the breed from extinction and by 2012 there were approximately 2,500 pure Poitous registered in the studbook.  Since then, a few American breeders have joined the effort to breathe new life into this dying breed.

Throughout his career Dr. Ed Squires has been given many accolades and received several awards for his numerous contributions to the field of equine reproduction.  Most recently, he was awarded the 2024 Pioneer Award by the International Embryo Technology Society (IETS).  This award is given to recognize individuals who have made seminal contributions to the development of embryo-based technologies. 

Congratulations to Charlotte Hodgson who has won a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate for her photo of Ellen Downey’s foal, Peppy’s Texan Jewel (Boon Too Suen x Pokies Princess Lee).

Leah Lively’s story with horses began as many others do.  She rode horses as a child but as she grew older, moved away from horses when it was time for college, then marriage and kids.  But her love for horses never dimmed.  Leah took up riding again when her daughter began to ride ponies at the age of six.  She couldn’t have imagined the journey she’d travel over the next eleven years on a quest for a foal.  It’s a heartbreaking story but once it came full circle, Leah found her joy again.

Dr. Ed Squires and Paul Loomis, MS will be heading to Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil for the International Symposium on Equine Reproduction (ISER) meeting to be held on July 10^th – 14^th, 2023.  The ISER organization was formed to provide a format for equine scientists, veterinarians and educators to present the latest research findings on both mare and stallion reproduction.

After more than 40 years of practice, Dr. Phil Matthews of PetersonSmith Equine Hospital & Complete Care has put away his ultrasound and microscope.  He retired at the end of 2022 so he can do more traveling as well as focus on his own Thoroughbreds and the Angus cattle he raises on his ranch. 

On November 20^th, 2022 our SBS family was shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Glenn Blodgett.  He began working as the resident veterinarian and manager of the Four Sixes Ranch horse division in 1982.  Our relationship with Dr. Blodgett and the 6666 Ranch began 20 years later when Doc asked us to provide semen freezing services for 6666 Ranch managed stallions. In 2008, the 6666’s Ranch became an Affiliate Laboratory of SBS.  Dr. Blodgett would have turned 74 years old on December 21^st.  Therefore, we wish to pay honor to him on this special day by sharing our thoughts about this very special man. 

Like most people, Marne Martin-Tucker began her love of horses when she was a little girl.  She grew up in a family that bred horses as well as other types of animals.  But it wasn’t until she moved to Europe that she began to ride dressage horses more exclusively.  She said, “It was fantastic to have such deep mare families in Europe to purchase mares from in order to begin my own breeding program.  Lots of nice stallions are always available for frozen or cooled semen breeding but the quality of the mare is the key.”

The 20^th gathering of the SBS Affiliated Laboratories returned to Chesapeake City, Maryland on November 7^th & 8^th.  Each year we meet to review procedures and policies, share information and experiences, discuss recent developments in the industry and set plans for the future.  Our affiliate network is ever expanding as we add more affiliate members to our group.  In the past few years we have welcomed two new affiliates in the state of Oregon.  They are Dr. Ryan Ferris of Summit Equine and Dr. Thomas Timmons of Rogue Equine Hospital.

Congratulations to Heather DeGarmo of Florida who has won a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate for her photo of Karizma by the stallion Kjento out of the mare Romantica II.

Kanoe Godby has a vision to breed Gelders horses with a purpose.  One that is a willing partner, possessing a kind and calm temperament, and able to compete in many disciplines, with talent for a professional.  Gelders horses are the foundation breed of the modern Dutch warmblood sport horse and officially considered a rare equine breed.  Kanoe said, “I feel very strongly that preserving the old, foundation blood of the Dutch Gelders horses is an important endeavor, to compensate for the everlasting aim at more modern. Gelders horses will bring traits like width, strength, bone, and substance. As well as a good, calm, amateur friendly temperament.”

In 2013 we published an article about Frank and Mary Chapot of Chado Farms in which we included information about their then 5-year-old stallion, Gemini (photo left, 2021).  He is the clone of the famous show jumper gelding, Gem Twist, who was also owned by the Chapots.  When Gem Twist was born it would have been difficult to predict how accomplished he would become in his lifetime therefore, he was gelded as most young colts were back then.  Throughout his life, Gem Twist won Best Horse at the World Championships, was three-time AGA Horse of the year with three different riders, and won many Grand Prix throughout the world.  His most notable accomplishment was when he won both Team and Individual Silver Medals at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea with Greg Best aboard.  With the idea they may decide to pursue the process of cloning him in the future, the Chapots made the decision to preserve tissue from Gem Twist prior to his death in 2006 at the age of 27 years old.

Meet “B” (photo left)! This 2021 colt is the result of breeding with frozen processed by Paul Loomis of Select Breeders Services in April 1990 from the Hanoverian stallion, Banter (by Bolero). 

Congratulations to Becca R Wolf of Boise, ID who has won a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate for her photo of Irish Goodbye by the stallion I Am The Party out of the mare When Girls Are Good. 

Nestled along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in Shelbyville, KY is Cerulean Farm owned by Jeanette Aumon.  She has been breeding horses for 21 years with a mission to restore the best quality of original breed standard, type, conformation, athleticism and temperament of select national foundation horses.  She also strives to be the source of world-class horses specialized to excel in all disciplines suitable for both the professional and amateur rider.   

Congratulations to Hilltop Farm! They have won a $75.00 Amazon.com gift certificate for their photo of Radnor HTF by the stallion Rubinero out of the mare Allegra Q.

Paul Loomis’ vision of creating a company dedicated to the responsible development of the equine frozen semen industry has taken several creative turns.  Most notably are his first partnership in a facility in Texas and the implementation of the SBS Affiliate Laboratory Network which is celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this year.  Formerly incorporated in 1987, Select Breeders Services, LLC (SBS) has grown into an internationally recognized leader in the industry of processing, storing and distributing equine frozen semen. 

Quick Tip videos about equine frozen were produced as a follow up to the “Frozen Semen for Mare Owners” four-part video series created by Select Breeders Services (SBS) and the Dutch Warmblood Studbook in North America (KWPN-NA).  Click below for links to the six “Quick Tip” videos which explain the types of extenders used to process frozen semen, motility, questions to ask frozen semen distributors and more.  Each informational video is less than five minutes long.

The 2024 SBS Foal Photo Contest is now open for entries! Don't miss your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. The following foal photos are eligible for entry.

In 2020, Select Breeders Services (SBS) and the Dutch Warmblood Studbook in North America (KWPN-NA) collaborated on a project to produce a video series, “Frozen Semen for Mare Owners”. The KWPN-NA recognized many of their breeders use frozen semen in their breeding programs while other members are considering the use of frozen semen but may not know the right questions to ask or what they should expect. Natalie DiBerardinis, Managing Director of Hilltop Farm, Inc. and member of the KWPN-NA Stallion Committee said, “A lot of the frozen semen information is written towards the stallion owner perspective, so we want to take the approach of what mare owners need to know.”

Select Breeders Services (SBS) hosted its 19^th Annual Meeting of SBS Affiliated Laboratories in Lexington, KY on November 11^th and 12^th, 2019. As the largest provider of frozen semen services in the world, SBS has been a leader in the frozen semen industry for more than 30 years. Currently, we have 26 affiliate laboratories throughout the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe and Australia. Each year, we gather together as a group to review our policies and procedures, discuss research results and recent developments in the industry, share information, learn from each other’s experiences and set plans for the future.

During the 16th World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) Congress held in Verona, Italy this month, Dr. Sandro Barbacini was named the WEVA President. The WEVA has been promoting equine education since 1985. According to their website, the goal of WEVA “is to advance the health and welfare of horses worldwide by promoting and offering quality continuing education for equine practitioners, specifically in countries with limited access to high quality, broad-based professional education.” Prior to his current position, Dr. Barbacini served as their Jr. Vice President.

Prairie Hen Farm, LLC in Gladwyne, PA has won a $75.00 Dover Saddlery gift certificate for the photo they submitted of Our Promise by the stallion The Proposal out of the mare Tsarin.

We are excited to welcome Dr. Elena Martinez de Andino, VMD, DACT, to the veterinary specialist team of SBS Veterinary Services. She will be an asset to our team as she assists our clients with their equine and canine reproduction needs as well as basic veterinary care. Dr. Martinez de Andino has hit the ground running as she begins to familiarize herself with SBS, its protocols, and clientele.

Select Breeders Services (SBS) hosted its 18^th Annual Meeting of SBS Affiliated Laboratories in Chesapeake City, Maryland on December 10^th and 11^th, 2018. As the largest provider of frozen semen services in the world, SBS has been a leader in the frozen semen industry for more than 30 years. Currently, we have 26 affiliate laboratories throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Australia. We are pleased to announce our newest affiliate member, Dr. Claire Plante of Therion Science, Inc. in Ontario, Canada.

Adam Bowden, the owner of Diamond Creek Farm, is no stranger to the racetrack. His love for horses and harness racing began as a little boy when he grew up going to the racetrack in Maine with his father. His passion for racehorses continued through his college years when he spent time as an intern at Hanover Shoe Farms. It was during his time as an intern that his vision of becoming a major stallion operation, not only in the state of Pennsylvania but throughout the world, began to take shape. Diamond Creek Farm is well on its way to reaching this objective. Although they have only been breeding horses since 2006, they have already branched out into Ohio and hope to expand into New York, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada in the near future.

We wish to congratulate Dr. Angus McKinnon of Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital in Australia on his receiving the Order of Australia medal last month. The Order of Australia was established by Her Majesty The Queen in 1975 as an "Australian society of honor for the purpose of recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for their achievement or for meritorious service." Dr. McKinnon received this as recognition for his more than 40 years of service in the veterinary science industry but particularly for his work in the area of equine reproduction.

Congratulations to our 2018 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Laura Engles-Horton of Blairstown, NJ has won a $75.00 Dover Saddlery gift certificate for the photo she submitted of Bringing Me Sunshine by the stallion Peace and War out of the mare Sheza Puddins Gal.

Congratulations to Dr. Ed Squires! In July, he was a recipient of one of the first Life Time Achievement Awards presented by the International Equine Reproduction Symposium. This award was established in 2017 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the discipline of Equine Reproduction, either through research or clinical practice. These contributions, whether they have been in research, leadership or mentorship, have had a lasting impact on the discipline of equine reproduction, and candidates have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to progress in the discipline.

Some foals are just arriving while others are almost old enough to be weaned. Do you know the nutritional needs of your foal whether you are anxiously awaiting her arrival, enjoying watching him frolic in the paddock or preparing for the next big step of weaning? It's best to gather all the information you need and be prepared for whatever stage of life your foal is experiencing.

Karl Ludwig-Hollen began his career in the horse breeding business back in 1990 breeding Appaloosa horses and German sport ponies. His interest in western riding dated back to his first introduction to the American Quarter Horse while visiting a cattle ranch near Elko, Nevada in 1985. As a result, he began taking western riding lessons in the early 90’s. After he spent time visiting western horse shows he made the decision to focus on the sport of reining. He knew that in order to compete at the level he desired he would need to switch his interest solely to the American Quarter Horse.

Dawn Chamorro of Cypress, TX bred a few of her own mares over the years but didn’t start breeding seriously until 2015 when she purchased her stallion, Supremat OLD (Sandro Hit x Granada). Though it’s been three years, she still considers herself a “newbie” to the breeding industry. Dawn said, “Nobody tells you how much goes into the breeding world. It has definitely been a learning experience. I truly admire everyone that is involved in this industry. There is so much more to it than one can imagine.”

Select Breeders Services wishes to welcome our newest Affiliate Laboratory, Bella Vista Equine Reproductive Services (BVERS) in Ohio. The clinic was founded in 2005 by Dr. Elizabeth Martinsen, a Board Certified Theriogenologist with 20 plus years of clinical experience. Their specialty is equine reproduction. They are located approximately one-hour northeast of Columbus, Ohio. The facility is nestled on approximately 40 acres where they also maintain an embryo transfer recipient herd for their embryo transfer program. They also offer services to Ohio and the Midwest region through their in-house and ambulatory practice. BVERS provides breeding and management of problem mares, complete embryo transfer services, on site foaling, frozen semen services and comprehensive stallion work-up.

This year the 17th Annual Meeting of SBS Affiliated Laboratories returned to Chesapeake City, Maryland on December 4th and 5th. Each year our team members from around the world gather to review procedures and policies, share information and experiences, discuss recent developments in the industry and set plans for the future. Our network is ever expanding as we include more affiliate laboratories. This year we welcomed Jadem Arabians in Belgium and we will welcome our newest affiliate member, Dr. Elizabeth Martinsen of Bella Vista Equine in St. Louisville, OH, to our team in 2018.

Greengate Farm, established nearly 30 years ago by Warren and Rachel Ehrlich, is nestled in the peaceful farming community of New Braintree, Massachusetts. The farm consists of two facilities, a 15-acre main farm and an additional 45-acre facility used for grazing and layup. Their breeding program began after Rachel was in a car accident that ended her ability to compete in the sport of combined driving. It was during this time that she became interested in researching the bloodlines of warmbloods. Now, Greengate Farm is focused exclusively on the breeding and sales of premium quality warmblood sport horses.

Marta Agrò (photo left) works alongside Dr. Sandro Barbacini at Studio Veterinario Associato Luretta, an SBS Affiliate Laboratory located in Piacenza, Italy. She has always had a passion for horses and was thrilled when one of the founders of the Luretta veterinary clinic asked her to join his team which she has now been a part of for several years.  She grew up in Italy with her parents and two older sisters. After graduating high school she studied at the University of Parma where she completed courses to become an equine breeding technician. She also began working for a well-known fast food restaurant at this time. She began to save the money she earned to achieve her long time dream of owning a horse. In September 2008 that dream came true when she had saved enough money to purchase an 8 year old gelding named Kevin. She said, “He’s been so good and patient with me ever since we met.”

Giacomo Capacci Arabians (GCA) is situated on 70 acres of beautiful rolling hills in Tuscany, Italy. The Arabian horse has always been a part of Giacomo’s life for as long as he can remember. The passion he and his team have for this breed is evident in all that they do each and every day whether they are caring for the stallions, preparing horses for the show ring or tending to the needs of the broodmares and foals that call GCA home.

We would like to say a big “THANK YOU” to all who came to our World Headquarters in Chesapeake City, MD on September 9th to help us celebrate the first 30 years of Select Breeders Services. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon with partly sunny skies and warm yet cool temperatures. We celebrated with more than 200 of our wonderful clients, past and present employees and friends from 3pm - 7pm in the evening.

Lesley Feakins, owner of Trevelyan Farm, grew up in the United Kingdom before moving with her husband and family to the United States in 1989. Then, in 1996, they moved to a beautiful farm among the rolling hills of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. The farm began with an active riding lesson program, summer riding camps for children and some breeding with a few Thoroughbreds and warmbloods. It wasn’t long before they began to focus entirely on breeding and phased out the lesson program in early 2000.

SBS is the largest provider of frozen semen services in the world, with unrivalled expertise accumulated over its 30 years leading the frozen semen industry. Two SBS labs - Select Breeders Services, Inc. (SBS-HQ) in Chesapeake City, Maryland and Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) in Aubrey, TX - are owned and operated by Paul Loomis, CEO and founder of Select Breeders Services, Inc. The SBS Affiliate Program is a network comprised of some of the top equine reproduction laboratories from around the globe. Currently there are 25 affiliate laboratory locations (15 in North America, 7 in Europe, 2 in Australia and 1 in Central America). These are veterinary clinics or large breeding farms that have joined the SBS Affiliate Network so they can market their frozen semen services under the SBS brand and take advantage of the many benefits SBS Affiliate Laboratory Program has to offer.

It was 15 years ago when Richard and Wendy Keddell noticed that most of the jumping horses in New Zealand were either Thoroughbreds, Stationbreds and Clydesdale crosses. They took this as an opportunity to begin breeding quality European warmbloods within New Zealand and thus their journey with Mount View Sport Horses began. Their facility sits in the foothills overlooking Tauranga harbor and Mount Maunganui and is an ideal setting for breeding, raising and training warmbloods for showjumping, dressage and eventing competition.

Teresa Russo of Australia started her career in the horse breeding business about 14 years ago. It all began in 2003 when she bred her first mare JTO Juanita (Kings Legend x Lena San) to the stallion Seligman Spin (Docs Spinifex x Lady In Red). From that point forward she continued to breed her mares to have one or two foals a year mainly for her own use to keep her busy and have young ones to work with. It wasn’t until many years later that she ventured into the realm of owning her own stallion.

We wish to congratulate Dr. Glenn Blodgett, resident veterinarian and manager of the 6666 Ranch horse division, for being awarded the 2017 Golden Spur Award. The six livestock and ranching associations which sponsor the Golden Spur Award are the American Quarter Horse Association, National Cattleman’s Foundation, Ranching Heritage Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the Texas Farm Bureau. In order to receive this award Dr. Blodgett was recognized due to the respect he has earned from his peers and contributions he has made to the ranching and livestock industries.

Lucy Tidd’s interest in equine reproduction began when she attended veterinary school at Cornell University. It was there that she spent several summers doing equine reproductive research for the university’s Theriogenology Department. She enjoyed collecting stallions, evaluating semen and breeding mares but upon graduation she decided to pursue a career in small animal medicine instead of working with horses full time. Once she made that decision she felt she wouldn’t have much use for all of the equine experience she had gained. However, in 2008 she purchased a 15.2 hand homozygous black Morgan dressage stallion named GKB Coal Magic (photo left and below) Ragtime Voodoo Magic x Metis Koffee) which began her endeavor as a stallion owner.

Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center, a SBS Affiliate Laboratory in Ocala, FL, has launched EQUIGEA, a company founded by three prominent individuals in the field of assisted equine reproduction. Dr. Phil Matthews, Dr. Cesare Galli and Dr. Ed Squires each have over 30 years of experience in not only developing techniques in the reproductive industry but also making them applicable within a commercial setting. EQUIGEA offers a complete and all-inclusive Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) program consisting of aspirations, maturation, sperm injections, embryo development and transfers. All of these services are provided “in-house” at Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center to ensure the highest probability of success.

Patrick Rollins has been a part of Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) since January 2010 after receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas Tech University.  As Senior Freeze Technician, he is responsible for many aspects of the operations at SBSW. They include processing frozen semen in both the main lab and the mobile lab and overseeing the collection and processing of cooled semen as well as the processing of semen using EquiPure. During the breeding season, he enjoys spending time with the horses while overseeing the mare management services provided by SBSW. The storage and distribution of the frozen semen at SBSW is also under his watchful care.

One concern some mare owners and veterinarians have with using equine frozen semen is the MYTH that it is difficult to thaw and breed a mare with it...this is not true. The process of thawing frozen semen is fairly simple if you have the right tools. Also, inseminating a mare with frozen semen isn’t any different than inseminating her with cooled or fresh semen, unless you are using a deep horn insemination technique. The only concern is that one must follow the specific thawing instructions precisely in order to obtain maximum post-thaw survival. This requires careful attention to detail and a temperature controlled water bath.

Steve Joyce’s farm, Cabin White Farm, in Guilford County North Carolina gets its name from a poem written about the rich history of the revolutionary war in that area. Steve’s love of horses began as a teenager when he would muck stalls at a local stable after school that hosted hunter shows, horse trials and local hunt club events. He fell in love with the sport horse and began to take an interest in foxhunting. He said, “I love many things about the sport including a handsome field hunter. I took a particular interest in the cross-bred hunter, the crossing of thoroughbred and draught horses, to produce a horse with plenty of blood and constitution.” This love is evident in the athletic offspring produced as a result of the breeding program at Cabin White Farm.

Breeding, raising, training and competing show jumpers is what business is all about at Pomponio Ranch in San Gregorio, California. Owner, Signe Ostby, has a beautiful facility nestled in a peaceful valley between San Gregorio and Pescadero. It all began about 10 years ago, when Signe’s son had a great stallion named Uno de Laubry (Galoubet A X Laudanum). At the time, she had some wonderful performance mares and decided they would be a good cross with him. She started slowly and is now standing six stallions and breeding up to six of her own mares a year. Many of these mares have achieved “Elite” status with the Belgium Warmblood Society.

What will you do in the event you are left to manage an orphaned foal? No one wants to think about such a scenario but it's best to consider all possible outcomes so you are prepared if the unthinkable happens.  This includes knowing how to provide the orphaned foal with colostrum, locate a nurse mare, etc. 

Pioneer Equine Hospital (SBS Affiliate Laboratory) hosted their 6th annual client appreciation and education seminar on February 11th, 2017 at their facility in Oakdale, California. There were 110 clients who were eager to learn that joined us on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The event was graciously catered and sponsored by Janice Egan of Merial, Stuart Nelson of Patterson Veterinary Supply, Brent Brown of Boehringer Ingelheim, Joycalyn Wininger of Luitpold Animal Health, Jessica Morris of Dechra, Gerri Brown of Aurora Pharmaceutical, Patrick and Amie Grohl of Premier Equine Center and Platinum Performance.

Connie Arthur, of Lone Tree Farm in Waterford, CA, began breeding horses over 40 years ago. Her first horses were Thoroughbreds (TB). Over the years, she has owned three TB stallions as well as a Dutch Warmblood stallion. After the death of her last TB, she had decided not to remain in the breeding business but one of her students approached her with the idea of purchasing an Irish Draught stallion.

Many stallion owners have the foresight to have frozen semen processed from their stallions while they are young, during their prime reproductive years. It may be too late if one waits until after his show career is complete, he is older or for any other reason because there is no guarantee of tomorrow. Waiting may turn into a situation of “I wish I would have…”. When semen is frozen earlier in a stallion’s life, it becomes a tool for the stallion owner to not only perpetuate the genetic line of their stallion but also allows for continued income after the stallion has passed away. Also, some owners have looked at frozen semen as an insurance policy for their valuable stallions. Regardless of why or when the semen is frozen, the management of it will likely change once he passes away.

In 1997, Millard Morris purchased the historic 89,000-acre Tongue River Ranch in Texas. Mr. Morris enjoys maintaining the Cowboy Heritage of the ranch as it was when it was founded in 1898. One of the main components is the horses it takes to accomplish the daily tasks on the ranch. Therefore, they began their own breeding program at Tongue River Ranch in 1997 which caters to everyone from the cowboy to the highest level of competitors.

Each year many mare owners choose to breed their mares and flush the embryos rather than allow them to carry their own foal.  They may do this because she is still in training, has trouble carrying her own foal to term or due to her age. Regardless of the reason, there are many things to consider before making the final decision. Our library of articles can be a great resource for the new or experienced breeder, whether you have one mare or stallion, or manage the operations of a large breeding farm. Here we will review our articles which encompass the basics of embryo transfer, the freezing of embryos and considerations when choosing the right embryo recipient herd.

Schengrund Stables, LLC (SSLLC) is located west of Hershey, Pennsylvania in Campbelltown. The founder and owner of Schengrund Stables, Dr. Kevin Schengrund, fell in love with the Morgan horse as a child and wished to create his own breeding program in order to help better the breed. In 2003 this dream became a reality and their first foal crop arrived the following Spring. At SSLLC their goal is to produce top quality Morgan show horses for all divisions including English pleasure, park, park harness, hunters and western pleasure. Their success is evident with success of their stallions, HVK Man About Town and ECP Anchor Man, and their offspring.

In 1991, the Ca’ San Giorgio Breeding Farm in Italy was founded by the Chittolini-Dubowy family. It began when they started breeding their own show jumping mares after they retired from the show ring. Their founding broodmare band began with selecting the best European bloodlines from the best performing German and French maternal lines. As Stefania Chittolini (photo left with Ladro di Cuori CSG) said, “Only quality produces quality.” In 2007, they moved their entire operation to the Netherlands. However, after four short years they decided to return the breeding operation to Italy but continue to have the foals grow up in Holland. Currently, their horses are performing all over the world in countries such as the United States, France, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Italy and more.

Since its inception, SBS has been at the forefront of research within the Equine Breeding Industry.  Each year SBS and its affiliate members participate in research studies to help advance the science of equine reproduction so that breeders can realize the full benefits of technology. To present research at these meetings our team members must submit their research projects and findings to specific committees in the hope they will be invited to present their data. Before 2016 comes to an end several SBS Affiliate Members spoke at meetings throughout the world.

Melissa Froesch has spent her whole life around horses whether it be breeding or riding them. She and her parents, Bert and Margaret, make up Team Froesch who operate Glenara Park. They are in the business of training and breeding World Cup showjumpers in Bradford of Victoria, Australia. When training their horses, they take into consideration the ‘whole’ animal which is referred to as a holistic approach to training. This means they take into consideration the physical, biological, chemical, social and psychological components of each and every horse. This philosophy has allowed them to become leaders within their industry and produce champion after champion whether breeding with fresh/cooled/frozen semen or through their embryo transfer program.

Congratulations to our 2017 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Echo Hill Farm of Tryon, NC has won a $75.00 Dover Saddlery gift certificate for the photo they submitted of their Filly by the stallion Dressage Royal out of the mare Benidetta III. She is kicking up her heels to celebrate!

Christina Potter and her husband, David, began Northeast Trakehners, LLC in 1999. Their mission is “To import, breed, raise and sell Trakehner horses sound in mind, body and soul, true to the breed in conformation and athleticism for the purpose of pleasure riding or driving on through national and international competition of any equine discipline.”  Today, Northeast Trakehners, LLC. is proud to have bred and own several successful Trakehner horses which include their three stallions: Inamorato, Isamu and Marseille.

Select Breeders Services (SBS) and its affiliate labs require current negative test results for specific diseases for stallions presented to our facilities for freezing which can include Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) and Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) as well as a negative Coggins. Depending on the facility, the tests may be required prior to the stallion’s arrival or performed at the time of collection. What does all that mean and why are these negative tests necessary? In this article we will discuss the way these diseases are transmitted, how they can be prevented, why we require they be performed and provide examples of what can happen if an outbreak of these diseases occur.

Some people are born and raised around horses while others, like Rebeca Martin of Rancho de Suenos, are privileged to begin working with them a little later in life.  Like many, she was drawn to horses when she was a little girl.  Rebeca said, "We were never raised around horses.  I saved my 25 cents an hour babysitting to go to Arts riding stables every 6 months or so, to ride (walk) nose to tail with others.  But I loved it!  The squeak of the saddle was exhilarating!"   When she reached her forties she was fortunate enough to begin working with and showing horses.

In August, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will commence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This year’s equestrian events will take place from August 6th – 19th. Horse and rider events were first introduced in the Olympics in 1900. The events 116 years ago (polo, grand prix jumping, the high jump and the long jump) were not the same events we are familiar with today. After their initial appearance, horses took a hiatus from Olympic competition until 1912 when they were reintroduced to compete in dressage, show jumping and eventing. These three events have taken place at every Olympic Games since 1912 and are the ones we are familiar with today.

Future Farms in Australia, located on 70 acres within a thirty-minute drive to the airport in Melbourne, is the creation of Doyle and Kate Dertell (photo left). The love they have for the Arabian horse is the reason Future Farms was formed and why it has become one of the leaders in Australia. They have not limited themselves to one particular discipline but their horses perform in many disciplines from the show ring, flat racing and endurance. Though training is an integral part of Future Farms, they also have a very successful breeding program which includes a small broodmare band of both imported and domestic mares. However, as we will discuss in this article, the stallions of Future Farms are considered the cornerstone of their program.

In 2014, Martha Reeves was in search of a new horse for her to compete with in barrel racing competitions. Her good friend, barrel horse trainer Ryann Pedone, called to say she had found a horse she thought would be a good match for Martha. However, when Ryann mentioned it was a stallion Martha’s immediate response was, “I don’t want a stud!” Ryann explained to Martha that he was a sweet horse, had never been in the breeding shed and acted more like a gelding than a stallion. Though she was hesitant, Martha decided to give him a chance. Martha said, “I’m so glad I tried him as he is a great barrel racing horse. He was gentle, quiet and easy to ride.”

In our last newsletter we featured an article entitled Introducing a Nurse Mare to an Orphaned Foal. We discussed where you may look to find a nurse mare should you find yourself with an orphaned foal and how to go about introducing them to one another. However, there is an alternative option to a nurse mare which was not covered in this article, grafting a foal onto a recipient mare which has been induced into lactating. It just so happened that a week after our last newsletter was sent out we were faced with finding a nurse mare for two orphaned foals (pictured left with their new moms) which were admitted to our mare services division. We wish to highlight our recent success stories and share this alternative option with you.

Horses have been a part of Vicky Castegren’s life since she was 9 years old. In 1999, she moved onto her first farm but after several years of riding and showing she decided to take some time off to start a family. After the birth of her first child she had four mares due to foal and realized her current setup would no longer meet her needs. So, in 2009 she purchased a new farm in Barboursville, VA which had facilities for breeding mares and stallions. She jumped right in with both feet and it didn’t take long for her business to evolve into what is now known as Hyperion Stud. Today, Hyperion Stud consists of three facilities in which to breed, train and sell sport horses as well as offering superior stallion services. The facilities are the main farm in Barboursville, a turnout facility in Madison, VA and a training facility in Wellington, Florida.

The movie “The Man from Snowy River” was released nearly 35 years ago and set in Australia. Those who have seen the film probably recall the infamous scene where Jim Craig rode his horse down the side of a cliff at a full gallop while chasing a herd of Brumbies (Australian Wild Horses). The movie gave birth to The Man from Snowy River Challenge which has taken place for over 20 years in the small country town of Corryong in Australia. The town is located in the far north-eastern corner of Victoria and is famed for its picturesque scenery. It’s unspoiled natural attractions include rivers, snowy mountains and forests which are perfect backdrops for the annual Man From Snowy River Bush Festival.

Hacienda del Sol Andalusians is located on the east coast of Florida in Vero Beach and is owned by Dr. Leonardo and Maria Mandina. They were both born in Cuba but spent several years living in Spain which is where they fell in love with the Pura Raza Española (PRE), aka the Andalusian Horse. So, in 1995 they began their breeding program with one goal in mind: To produce world class PREs with outstanding genetics, conformation, movement, temperament and dressage athleticism.

The arrival of a foal is always an exciting time regardless of whether you have a large breeding farm or just one mare to foal out. What happens when an emergency arises and you find yourself with a very young orphan foal that needs milk? Problems that may arise include: the mare dies during or soon after foaling, the mare colics or has other health issues which require emergency intervention, the mare rejects the foal, and/or the mare does not produce enough milk or “dries up.” There is always the option of bottle feeding these foals but this is a very time consuming process and the foal could tend to be more socialized towards humans than horses. These unfortunate circumstances are the perfect time to consider a nurse mare who can be brought in to adopt and raise the orphaned foal.

Blanny Hagenah of Avalon Appaloosas has been breeding all-around Appaloosas for nearly 30 years. Horses have always been in her life but while she was living in the Pacific Northwest she became interested in the “Nez Perce” horses. The Nez Perce horse is a spotted horse breed of the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho whose conformation is longer and leaner than the typical Quarter Horse or other stock horses. They were a popular, colorful breed which was well known for their kind disposition, soundness and versatility. Over the years her breeding program has transformed into producing good-looking colored Appaloosas and colored Sporthorses with correct conformation which can succeed in a variety of disciplines.

It's best to prepare for breeding season before it arrives. Our library of news and blog articles can be a great resource for the new or experienced breeder, whether you have one mare or stallion, or manage the operations of a larger breeding farm. Here we will review our articles which encompass the subjects of breeding mares and stallions as well as their nutritional considerations.  For additional information on the topics of pregnant and foaling mares as well as foaling and foal care visit Preparing for Foaling Season.

It comes around the same time every year…Foaling Season! Nearly one year ago you bred your mare. Ever since the 14-day pregnancy check you have anxiously awaited the arrival of your new foal. Our library of news and blog articles can be a great resource for the new or experienced breeder, whether you have one mare or stallion, or manage the operations of a larger breeding farm. Here we will review our articles which encompass pregnant and foaling mares as well as foaling and foal care. We cover the topics of breeding mares and stallions as well as their nutritional considerations in Are You Ready for Breeding Season.

Rocker b Ranch in Barnhart, TX has been breeding horses since it was founded in 1871. The 173,000 acre ranch was originally named the Bar S Ranch but after Senator William Blakley purchased it in 1954 he changed the name to Rocker b Ranch. Then in 1964 he deeded the ranch to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. In the beginning, horses bred by the Rocker b Ranch had more of a Thoroughbred influence. That is until 1957 when the focus changed to raising quality American Quarter Horses and has remained as such ever since.

The use of the two-dose timed insemination protocol allows veterinarians the flexibility to examine mares once daily during normal hours without compromising fertility but while reducing management costs for the mare owner. This is the main reason why this protocol was developed by Dr. Sandro Barbacini of SBS Italia. Prior to developing this protocol most veterinarians would ultrasound mares every three to four hours in order to inseminate them with frozen semen as close to ovulation as possible. However, such a protocol is not only exhausting for the veterinarian but can also be a financial burden for the mare owner. In this article we will review the history of the two-dose timed insemination protocol, why it was developed, and discuss how it’s use can help with your breeding program.

In 1995, Kerry Bradac was married and living in Marmarth, North Dakota. She was showing horses but because she lived in such a rural area she thought the idea of raising a few show prospects each year would be a lot of fun. There were three foals in her first foal crop. Of those first three foals one was a Congress Champion, the second was a Congress Finalist and the third was a Futurity Champion. Thus, what began as a hobby to keep her busy in her spare time has become a life’s passion.

Select Breeders in Maryland welcomed affiliate members from around the world on November 17th and 18th, 2015 for the 15th Annual Meeting of SBS Affiliated Laboratories. The purpose of the SBS Annual Meeting is to review procedures and policies, share information and experiences, discuss recent developments in the industry and set plans for the future. This year we welcomed two new affiliate labs. One is Reid and Associates Equine Hospital in Wellington, FL and the other is our first affiliate in Central America, I.A. Servicios de Costa Rica S.A.

Hilltop Farm, Inc. is one of the largest sport horse stallion stations in the United States. Shortly after Jane MacElree entered the horse industry she purchased two stallions, Cabaret and Nureyev. Her primary reason for acquiring these stallions was for their development as competition horses but it didn’t take long for the breeding industry to take hold of Mrs. MacElree. In 1989, she purchased 400 acres in Colora, Maryland. It is laden with lush rolling hills, a world renowned training barn, beautiful pastures, and riding trails. Today, many stallions, broodmares, and young horses call Hilltop Farm home. This summer they will celebrate 25 years of business.

Knowing when to stop riding your pregnant broodmare can be a debatable topic. This article will review recommended time points yet, like an individual person, each broodmare has independent feelings and each pregnancy can be different for a particular broodmare. There are noticeable signs your broodmare may be showing you she is uncomfortable or physically unable to do certain movements you ask of her when riding. It is always recommended that you consult your veterinarian when deciding the best plan of action regarding riding your broodmare and how strenuous the activity should be.

Stallion owners in the United States have the potential to increase their income and the number of foals born from their stallions each year by exploring the breeding industries in Europe and the Middle East. The equine breeding season for these destinations, as well as other Northern Hemisphere countries, takes place at the same time as the breeding season for the United States. For some stallions, the demand for their offspring in one of these countries may be equal to or greater than their popularity within their home country. This is where the exploration of a foreign market could prove to be beneficial. European countries send approximately 25% of the visitors to the SBS website. 

Jock and Brooke Hislop of JB Quarter Horse Stud in Naracoorte, South Australia began breeding Quarter Horses after Jock spent ten years on the pro rodeo circuit as a bareback rider and occasional bulldogger. They chose to breed horses as a way to stay involved in the sport of rodeo which they hold dear to their hearts. They believe there is a growing market for high quality rodeo performance horses and when crossed on cow savvy mares, a strong crossover into the campdrafting arena as well. Their breeding program is based around their two Quarter Horse stallions, Only Foolin Around and PC Peppys Jack Frost.

Select Breeders Services (SBS) can assist stallion owners with their equine frozen semen needs whether the semen required is for domestic use, to be qualified for export, needed to breed a handful of mares or hundreds of doses for storage. As the world’s largest provider of equine frozen semen services, we are continuously adding new stallions to the list of more than 3,500 stallions already frozen within the SBS Affiliate Network. Discussed in this article will be questions we ask about stallions prior to their arrival, disease testing required prior to entry, what happens after he arrives, our storage and distribution program as well as how our customer service extends well beyond the stallion’s departure from our facility.

Dana Galliano is the proud owner of Circle C Farm in Covington, Louisiana. She has been in the equine breeding business for nearly 20 years but horses have been a part of her life since she was a little girl. As a youth she was consistently ranked in the top ten competing in AQHA running classes. Her love for the American Quarter Horse, as well as other breeds, has remained a part of her life and led her to owning the 2008 cremello stallion, Elvis White Diamond.

Congratulations to our 2015 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Dawn Spencer of Kalamazoo, MI has won a $75.00 Dover Saddlery gift certificate for the photo she submitted of her colt (Sternlicht GGF x Fireworks). Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

As the breeding season at Pioneer Equine Hospital (PEH) comes to an end, we can look back and feel like we accomplished a lot this year, as we have been able to see significant growth in our reproductive program. As the economy in California continues to improve little by little, so does the demand to breed mares. Our embryo recipient herd has grown from just a few mares a year ago to a substantial herd, in order to serve the increased interest in the area to transfer embryos. We have been very fortunate this year to have had an exceptional embryo recovery rate and equally fortunate to have acquired high-quality recipient mares that have helped us maintain excellent pregnancy rates post transfer. We have also seen a renewed interest in breeding with frozen semen in the area and our barns were often full with mares waiting to be bred. Now that there are fewer mares in the barns, we are ramping up to start freezing semen again and hope to welcome a number of new stallions.

Paul and Michelle Brent own and operate Cavalli Park Performance Horses in Australia where they breed and train show jumping horses. They began their career in breeding more than 15 years ago when they found it was increasingly more difficult to purchase high quality show jumping horses in Australia. Also, the thought of breeding for the enjoyment of creating top horses from the beginning was appealing to them.

A mobile semen freezing laboratory is the perfect solution for stallion owners, managers, and/or trainers who wish to have their stallions remain at “home” rather than sending them to a facility for semen freezing. Select Breeders Service (SBS) pioneered the equine mobile semen freezing industry and to this day remains the leader in the industry. The SBS Affiliate Network has four mobile laboratories within the United States and one in Sweden. In this article we will discuss why you may choose to use a mobile lab, where our mobile labs travel, and whether semen can be qualified for export when processed in a mobile lab.

Ricky Glen (photo left), of Ricky Glen Cutting Horses in Western Australia, has been breeding horses for more than 20 years but his commitment to the equine breeding industry really began when he became the manager of Morning Sun Ranch.  Ricky and the owners of Morning Sun Ranch, Barry and Leah Ryan, made the commitment to purchase stallions and mares from the United States. Therefore, they all attended the NCHA Futurity sales in Fort Worth. They purchased a total of three colts, one yearling and two weanlings. Ricky said, “When Peptos Stylish Oak, a weanling son of Peptoboonsmal, came into the ring we had not even inspected him prior to the sale. However, when the bidding pulled up, we had one bid and he was ours. The rest is history.”

Stallion owners in the United States and Europe have the potential to broaden their market by exploring the Australian breeding industry. The breeding season in the Northern Hemisphere winds down in August but the breeding season in the Southern Hemisphere is just about to heat up. That is when mare owners in Australia and New Zealand begin to think about the perfect stallion for their mare. Stallion owners in the US and Europe may wish to explore the Australian market not only to expand their stallion's genetic pool but also as a way to provide additional income during their “off” breeding season. 

When you think of full siblings in the equine world you typically think of two foals produced by a mare in a different breeding season yet that may not always be the case. Allowing a mare to carry twins is not ideal due to the low survival rate of the foals and the potential risk to the mare. Embryo transfer (ET) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have become popular procedures in recent years which allow a mare to produce multiple foals from a single breeding season. In this article we have three fascinating stories from breeders in which two embryos from the same cycle became a driving pair, unexpected twin foals were welcomed into the world, and an injured mare produced four embryos via ICSI.

Equine Services was founded in 2001 by Nicole Germann-Oberstein. She grew up in a small town in the Black Forest area of Germany. She has loved horses since she was a little girl which is an interest she shares with her dad. Throughout her childhood she owned her own horses and competed in Warmblood jumping competitions. It was her dream to make a career of working with horses.

Haras de L’Hermet was founded by David Maisonette (photo left with the his mare, Charms My Name) in 1993. It is a picturesque Quarter Horse breeding farm situated on approximately 160 acres in the heart of the Loire gorges in Haute Loire, France. They offer many services such as breeding Quarter Horses and Paint Horses, equestrian tourism, boarding, import of frozen semen from the United States, brokering of frozen semen from American stallions as well as sales preparation of foals for futurities.

When one thinks of a broodmare they may think she is retired from the show ring and living out her days, pregnant in a pasture. However, with the implementation of embryo transfer (ET) in the horse breeding industry it is possible for a mare to produce several offspring in a given breeding season while continuing in competition. We recently published an article about Balancing a Stallion’s Life in the Breeding Shed with Competing in the Show Ring. Now it’s time to consider what goes into balancing the show and breeding career of an ET donor mare. In this article we will discuss reasons an owner may choose to breed their show mare and what to consider when determining if this is a path you wish to travel.

Becky Bailey of Batavia, OH began breeding Quarter Horses more than 15 years ago. Her dream then was to buy a few broodmares in order to build a small business so that one day in the future she could run the breeding farm after retirement. Little did she know that this dream would lead to her owning, One Hot Krymsun (photo left), one of the top Western Pleasure Quarter Horses in the world.

Caitlyn (Caity) Hood serves as a technician for the SBS Affiliate Laboratory, Oklahoma City Equine Center (OCEC). She grew up in Southwestern Oklahoma in the town of Mountain Park. Her family owns a cattle ranch/wheat farm which is mostly a cow-calf operation. Growing up there were always several horses used for ranch work and she would watch her father team rope. However, at the age of thirteen, Caity’s mom gave her English riding lessons as a Christmas present. It took only one lesson and she was hooked!

More than 35 years ago Iron Spring Farm (ISF) began with the goal of helping North American breeders gain access to the best sporthorse bloodlines available without having to travel to Europe. Located in Coatesville, PA, the farm is home to outstanding warmblood stallions, mares and their offspring. Following the belief that producing quality horses requires great bloodlines they choose the best stallions and mares for their program. They focus on finding horses with great temperaments, quality movement and correct conformation.

In 1988, cousins Mike and Richard Giacopuzzi opened Humphrey, Giacopuzzi and Associates Equine Hospital (HGAEH) to provide high quality medicine and surgery to the horses of Ventura County, California. It soon became apparent that there existed a void in reproductive services, especially with respect to assisted reproductive techniques. In response, Dr. Richard transformed the then seldom used HGAEH farrier shop into what is now the clinic’s Equine Reproductive Center.

Modern fencing goes far beyond the old wood rail fence or barbed wire varieties. A wide range of fencing products and systems, built to enhance the safety of the horses behind them as well as the aesthetic appeal of the properties on which they are installed, are now available. With all of these options, however, choosing a fence type that appeals to you can be overwhelming. Researching safety features, pricing, materials, and durability of each different product can leave even the most discerning consumer feeling confused. It may be useful to learn about some basic types of safe horse fencing and research further based on what you feel is a better fit for your property and budget.

In 1999, Almut Cooper of Germany, took a vacation to the United States. It was while visiting a working ranch in Montana that she became hooked on the Quarter Horse and Paint Horse breeds. After returning home, she became the proud owner of a paint horse before the end of the year. Her venture in breeding horses began with the dream of purchasing an offspring of the NRHA Hall of Fame stallion, Hollywood Dun It. However, the reality was that such an offspring wasn’t in her budget. She put Plan B into action by searching for a good Quarter Horse mare she could purchase and breed to Hollywood Dun It using frozen semen.

We wish to congratulate our SBS Affiliate member, Dr. Glenn Blodgett (left), on his new position as the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) President. He obtained his bachelors of science degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University before attending Texas A&M University where he received his degree in veterinary medicine. It was in 1982 that Dr. Blodgett became the resident veterinarian and manager of the horse division of the historic 6666 Ranch. For the past 33 years he has been a key factor in the success of the 6666 Ranch horse division and their reputation as an all-time leading breeder of both racing and performance Quarter Horses.

Halfway between Parma and Piacenza, Italy there is a small town named Alseno. Within this region of Emilia Romagna sits an Arabian breeding farm, Shazin Stud, owned by Mr. Khaled Al Enzan and his son Rashid. During a trip to Italy in 2013 Mr. Al Enzan was looking for a place where he could buy Arabian horses. He randomly stumbled upon a beautiful property that housed a vacation retreat, a landing strip and stables with Spanish and Arabian horses. On that day there were 400 ultralight aircraft on the property for a special event. Struck by the beauty of the structure (photo left) and driven by his passion for horses he decided to buy the property and turn it into an elite Arabian horse breeding farm for halter show horses.

In April 2015, Dr. Scofield and the staff at SBS Veterinary Services are pleased to announce the addition of Trans-Vaginal Oocyte Aspiration (TVA) as a service offered at their clinic in Chesapeake City, Maryland. TVA, also known as Oocyte Pickup, shows promise in producing foals from the most reproductively challenging mares and stallions with limited frozen semen reserves. As Dr. Young explained in last months Blog article, Ovum Pickup in the Mare, TVA and Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) offer the latest in assisted reproductive technology to help produce foals.

Nestled on almost 700 acres in Wallkill, NY sits Blue Chip Farms, the leading commercial Standardbred Breeding and Boarding Farm in the state of New York. This beautiful farm with its rolling hills was founded in 1969 by the Kimelman Family then purchased in 2001 by Tom Grossman. Mr. Grossman became interested in Standardbred racing when he was a teenager and bought his first horse in 1989.

In 2003, Rachel Spencer was looking to purchase a “fancy, young hunter prospect”. She was not a horse breeder and was not looking to purchase a stallion. However, in the process of her search she came across a young stallion which trainer Tommy Serio had in for training. After watching him go for the first time she asked if they would sell him. After some negotiations she purchased the 1997 Bay Dutch warmblood stallion, Popeye K (photo left; Voltaire x Eloretta). Now she was in the breeding industry. Rachel said, “We had never intended to purchase a stallion. So I have had a very steep learning curve!”

The weeks and days leading up to foaling can be exciting and stressful, filled with sleepless nights and middle of the night trips to the barn. Several technologies exist to assist in predicting when parturition is eminent. These devices, which include foaling monitors and milk test kits, may help take some of the anxiety out of the situation.

On November 6th and 7th Select Breeders in Maryland welcomed affiliate members from around the world for the 14th Annual Meeting of Affiliated Laboratories. The turnout this year was excellent with the addition of representatives from the five new affiliate labs. They took advantage of the opportunity to meet their peers from partnering clinics who have been affiliated with SBS for anywhere from one to thirteen years. The purpose of the SBS Annual Meeting is to review procedures and policies, share information and experiences, discuss recent developments in the industry and set plans for the future.

Most women who own horses can say they were born with the “horse lover gene” and that it’s been with them their entire life. Ann Myers, owner of the AQHA World Champion stallion, Zips Chocolate Chip (photo left), is no exception. Though she was born a city girl in Dallas, TX she always dreamed of having her own horse. She took riding lessons as a little girl and then at the age of 10 her father’s friend gave her the first, but definitely not the last, horse she would own. Since she was a little girl she had always dreamed of living on a farm and having her own breeding program but it wasn’t until 8 years after she married her husband, Phil, that this dream came true.

In January we will celebrate 4 years at our new facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland - how time flies! If you have not been here to visit us, you must come for the tour – we’d welcome you at any time! Right now we are preparing for our Select Breeders Services Annual Meeting which we will host Nov 6-7th. We look forward to catching up with our affiliate members from around the world and sharing our educational program. Before the Annual Meeting we have a training session for new affiliate members Nov 3rd-5th, so it will be a busy week! We have 5 new affiliate labs joining the SBS International Network this year, stay tuned for an announcement of our new partnerships in the December issue of the SBS Newsletter.

In 1978, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Skolnick decided to partner in the purchase of three Standardbred yearlings. More than 35 years later their Southwind Farms is a household name in the Standardbred racing industry. After the success of their first yearlings they decided to purchase property to expand their broodmare band and breeding program. In 1980, the first property they purchased was 390 acres in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Six short years later they decided to move their facility to a more strategic location near four major race tracks and other prominent Standardbred breeding farms in New Jersey. The 235 acres, which was originally a dairy farm, is home to Southwind Farms broodmare band and nursery for their foals from the time they are born until they are sold as yearlings.

When thinking of a “Sport Horse” one might think of large Warmblood horses flying over oxers, dancing across an arena or jumping into a water jump. The mere size of some of these horses (some over 17 hands high) can be daunting to smaller adults and younger riders. Smaller than their larger counterparts, the Sport Pony is bred to excel in all of the same events yet they are more suited for younger and smaller competitive riders. Typical sport pony breeds include the German Riding Pony, Connemara Pony, New Forest Pony, Welsh Pony and Fell Pony. Standing between 13.2 and 14.2 hands tall Sport Ponies are known for their tremendous ability, big movement, great temperament, and high level of ride ability. Although ponies were once considered mounts for children, many adults are experiencing the benefits of riding a Sport Pony and they are holding their own against the big boys in open competition. Below we further explore reasons to freeze pony semen and highlight a few Sport Pony breeds along with a few of our clients who are experiencing great success with their pony stallions.

Three hundred rolling acres in Guthrie, OK have been home to the breeding division of the Lazy E Ranch since 1984. In 1989, following the acquisition of the Quarter Horse racing stallion, Special Effort (Raise Your Glass x Go Effortlessly), who is the only Triple Crown Winner in Quarter Horse racing, the Lazy E Ranch began to earn recognition as one of the top Quarter horse breeding operations in the country. The Lazy E Ranch was also later home to Easy Jet (Jet Deck x Lenas Bar) who was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1993. Easy Jet was considered the “sire of sires” in the racing world and sired more than 2500 offspring in his lifetime.

For over 50 years the Lansdowne family has been raising beef cattle in Australia. For the majority of those years their operation was located near Katherine in Northern Territory. Then 13 years ago they decided to move their operation to a 45,000 acre plot of land in central Queensland. Horses play a big part in their lives as all gathering of their Brahman cattle is done on horseback. 

Terry Waechter founded WATCHMAN PRE Horses, Inc. in 2007. “WATCHMAN” is the English translation of her German name, Waechter. Terry (photo left) felt this translation was appropriate because it embodies the idea of guardianship. The Pure Spanish Horse (aka Spanish Andalusian or PRE) was formerly established as a breed in the sixteenth century and originated in Spain. WATCHMAN PRE Horses, Inc. has taken the guardianship of this special breed seriously as they focus on preserving the breed as it was all those centuries ago.

What happens when you breed a 22 year old maiden mare with frozen semen processed in 1989? It is no secret the first commercial client stallion whose semen was frozen by SBS was the 1984 Olympic medalist, Abdullah (Donauwind x Abiza). He was a beautiful grey Trakehner stallion owned by Terry and Sue Williams of New York. He passed away in January 2000 at the age of 29 years old. Recently, Sue contacted Paul Loomis to tell him a story about an Abdullah colt (photo left) born this year…fourteen years after the stallions death. Yet, that wasn’t the only interesting part of the story she had to tell.

You may know what Select Breeders Services (SBS) is but do you know how it all began? Select Breeders Service was the vision of Paul Loomis (SBS CEO and founder) in 1981 while he was in graduate school at Colorado State University. As he conducted experiments for developing methods to successfully freeze equine semen he believed then, as he does now, that frozen semen would one day be the preferred method for breeding quality horses. So in 1987, Paul incorporated SBS as a company dedicated to the responsible development of the equine industry.

Courtney Cantrell lives in Goliad, TX and is a professional barrel racer who has racked up big wins on the rodeo circuit. She grew up in a rodeo family and says, “My dad, Marvin Cantrell, is a National Finals Rodeo qualifier and my mom, Cindy Gayle, was an intercollegiate champion and has owned several nice barrel horses. I have been riding my entire life. I continue to season a lot of young horses and plan to rodeo pretty hard in the future when the time is right.” She rides to win but for her it’s the people involved in the sport that mean the most. She said, “Winning a big competition is great but my proudest accomplishment has been meeting so many different people throughout the horse world and establishing all of these wonderful life time friendships.” 

On June 26, 2014, Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) in Aubrey, TX opened their doors and welcomed a group of 30 plus USDA Veterinarians from across the United States as part of a 3 day Equine Semen and Bovine Embryo Export Facilities Inspection Training.  Official veterinarians from the USDA are responsible for conducting facility inspections in order to certify centers are in compliance with all of the rules and regulations required by the European Union (EU) for semen to qualify for importation into any EU member country. SBSW is an EU approved equine semen collection, processing and storage facility. Other countries require similar certification: Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. SBSW is certified to collect and export equine semen to all of these countries.

Rancho de Los Arboles is a 32 acre farm dedicated to breeding, raising and training hunters and jumpers in Oak Point, Texas. The farm is owned by Ellen and John Eakin (photo left with Thanks For The Gold). Ellen says she is chiefly responsible for the horses and John manages the land and facilities. Together they experience all the fun and excitement of breeding, training and showing their outstanding warmbloods.

Select Breeders Service, Inc (SBS) and Minitube International AG of Tiefenbach, Germany have signed a strategic collaboration agreement that will align the world’s largest provider of equine frozen semen services with the global innovation leader and provider of products and technologies for animal reproduction.

In 1992, Paul Loomis moved the headquarters of SBS from Massachusetts to the grounds of Hilltop Farm in Maryland. During this time, Jonathan Clark had been working for Hilltop Farm doing odd jobs, mowing grass, painting, cleaning stalls and cooking. Growing up near Rising Sun, MD Jonathan had no clue he would one day have a career with horses. He did not grow up showing or breeding horses like most who work in the horse industry and actually has never owned one of his own. Even so, he has now been working as a valuable member of the SBS team for the past 20 years.

If you own a stallion or gelding, one of your tasks as a responsible horse owner is cleaning of the “sheath”. The sheath being the fold or pocket of skin that encompasses the penis, it is also called the prepuce. The sheath is formed by a double layer of sliding skin, with the internal layer containing sebaceous glands that secrete lubricating oils. A waxy substance, called smegma, comprised of dirt and dead skin cells can accumulate in this area, and may also form a “bean”, a hardened ball of smegma located in the urethral diverticulum of the penis, a grove around the urethral opening. Smegma should be periodically removed as it may become a source of infection. Also the bean can grow to a significant size, potentially restricting the flow of urine. Sheath cleaning is messy, but essential job and it can also be a risky business if your stallion or gelding is not accustomed to it, so it is important to be appropriately prepared and have a full understanding of what’s involved.

Manja Troeger began her horse breeding career 24 years ago when her first foal, a pony, was born. Shortly thereafter she bought her first Appaloosa mare and then the first Appaloosa foal was born at Vogtland Farm in 1998. Little did she know that less than 10 years in the future her breeding program of Appaloosa horses and her dairy farm would be destroyed.

Michelle Morgan remembers being a child growing up in the city of Lubbock, Texas and spending most of her time dreaming of horses and wishing with all her heart for a horse of her own. Her parents could never afford to give her a horse. The desire was so strong for Michelle that somewhere along the line she decided if she couldn’t have a horse she would just have to pretend to be one and that bit of whimsy went on for years. Michelle freely admits it was a little crazy even for a kid and she says her family teases her about it still to this day. Her prospects for horse ownership didn’t improve much even as she entered young adulthood. Michelle met Mickey, fell in love, they married, Mickey took on medical school and soon there were children. Michelle recalls “those were lean years”.

There are many things to look forward to during the spring and summer months. The warm temperatures, longer hours of sunlight, and flourishing plant life. However, with these seasons comes a horrifying predator to both equine and humans; FLIES. Fly control may be something overlooked as well as overdone. It is important to consider several factors when deciding the correct form of fly control for your environment, circumstance, or herd.  This article discusses the lines of defense against flies and the types of flies which typically affect horses.  By understanding each of these factors, one will be able to better identify which product of fly control protects you and your horses the best.

From the age of four Erin Bishop knew horses would be a part of her life. What she didn’t know is that decades later she would be a part of the largest international equine reproduction company in the world. She was the first in her family to pursue riding horses so her mom signed her up for English riding lessons at the farm a mile down the road. In return for free riding lessons she would spend hours at the stable taking care of the horses, cleaning tack, and traveling with trainers as a groom. The only horse she ever owned was when she was 6 years old, her Shetland pony named Star. She would ride the horses owned by the farm or other clients at the stable. “Due to financial constraints I wasn’t able to own my own horse. However, I never felt deprived because of the kindness and generosity of others allowing me to ride theirs.”

Mike Goebig (photo left riding Stand and Deliver) and Dwayne Knowles opened Broadmoor in Kutztown, Pennsylvania in 1986. This beautiful facility is a full-service Morgan horse training and breeding facility. Both men have success in the show ring but also choose to share their craft with others. Along with their own training and breeding programs they open their barn to the area 4-H groups as well as other youth groups who wish to learn more about the Morgan horse. They also donate their time to various fund raising auctions to support the Morgan horse world.

It is generally known that the quality of semen after freezing is dependent upon how good the semen is immediately after collection and prior to freezing. In some cases there is nothing one can do to improve the quality of the semen collected and one has to deal with the cards he has been given. However, there have been several management factors identified that adversely affect the quality of semen collected. The goal of every collector should be to carefully prepare the AV and collect the stallion on one mount. Each time a stallion mounts and enters the AV and does not ejaculate the pre-sperm is accumulated in the bottle. After each unsuccessful collection attempt the bottle should be replaced with a warm fresh bottle. If this does not occur we know that the quality of the semen will be decreased.

You have made the decision to breed your mare using frozen semen, now what? The choice of breeding your mare with frozen semen over cooled or fresh semen has a few notable benefits. Aside from the expanded availability of stallions available to you with frozen semen, e.g. those that are located in another country, are limited by their competition schedule or are deceased, another big advantage of frozen semen is that the shipment can be sent out ahead of time so it is ready and waiting on your mare to ovulate; as opposed to your mare waiting on the semen to be collected from the stallion, processed and cooled, and finally shipped out to you. Nonetheless, despite this added convenience, it is important to be prepared and plan ahead for your frozen semen shipment.  That way you are fully prepared when the time comes to request and receive your shipment in order to optimize your chance of a successful breeding.

Since the age of 5, Marie Emrey has owned, worked and shown horses or ponies. Her original dream was to become a veterinarian but she ended up a biologist doing research. Though her areas of interest were equine lameness/ biomechanics and genetics she wasn’t working in either of these fields and therefore opted to become a certified farrier. She was mainly doing corrective shoeing on weekends and evenings. As a result of these efforts she was able to retire early from her research position to focus on what she loved most…breeding horses. In 2001, Marie and her husband, Jay, purchased undeveloped land in Cecil County Maryland and subsequently began building Lazy J Sporthorses and Ponies from the ground up.

Peterson & Smith Equine Reproduction Center (PSERC) had another successful year in 2013. Our embryo transfer program enjoyed the high standard of success we have been able to maintain for almost 15 years. We continued to share in our client’s success through our mare and stallion management services. The promising Arabian stallion, Trussardi, was added to our resident stallion roster and had a very successful cooled semen campaign. We were also able to freeze and export Trussardi’s semen to Australia and are anticipating the arrival of his first foals “downunder” later in 2014. We thank Tamworth Veterinary Center for their assistance in opening this new market for Trussardi, as well as their continued support in the management of the Australian distribution program for Smart Sugar Badger, another resident stallion.

Bob Loomis (Left with wife, Pam) is a recognized master in the world of training and showing reining horses.  His amazing career began in 1967 and after winning six championships he has more NRHA Open Futurity victories to his name than any other rider in the industry.  He quite literally wrote the book on reining (Reining, The Art of Performance in Horses by Bob Loomis).  Not only is Bob in the NRHA Hall of Fame, so is his phenomenal stallion, Topsail Whiz (Topsail Cody x Jeanie Whiz Bar).  In 1972, Bob began his breeding program.  His goal from the start was to raise NRHA Champions because he wanted to raise horses he could “win on.”  And win he did!  He is the only breeder to show, train and stand 3 generations of NRHA million dollar sires; NRHA #1 All Time Leading sire, Topsail Whiz (photo bottom left) followed by West Coast Whiz (Topsail Whiz x My Moon Stone Chex) and Topsail Cody (Joe Cody x Doc Bar Linda). 

When hurricane Rita roared through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 and then slammed into southwest Lousiana it was disasterous for Delta Equine Center (DEC).  Dr. Larry Findley, Sr., founder and primary owner of DEC, took this catastrophe as an opportunity to build a better, state of the art facility.  Through faith and hope the new DEC was constructed as it is today. It is a full service veterinary hospital located just south of exit 7 on I-10 in Vinton, Louisiana. Staffed with five veterinarians and a 24 hour crew of knowledgeable technicians the services provided by DEC include equine reproduction, equine sports medicine, surgery, treatment, and small animal care.  They also have the ability to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy and MRI.

Owning a sporthorse breeding farm in Maryland was not what Wendy and Marty Costello envisioned when they began taking their teenage daughter to riding lessons almost 25 years ago. Wendy had always loved horses and purchasing one for their youngster was the perfect opportunity to finally own one. Then Wendy’s childhood passion for horses was reawakened. At first she only wanted to have her own horse but then she had a dream of breeding one of her own.  Her first mare was a dressage trained thoroughbred (TB) approved for breeding by the Hanoverian Society. The initial thought when breeding her was that the foal would be her “last/best/forever” horse. But in the same instance she became the owner of the stallion she was to breed her mare to, Donavan (photo left by Karen Leitz: Elite Stallion, Derwisch x Akelei).

Nestled in the Rio Verde Foothills section of the “West’s Most Western Town”, Scottsdale, AZ, is Scottsdale Equine Reproduction Center (SERC). They are proud to be one of the newest additions to the SBS Affiliate Laboratory network. The Sonoran Desert offers great weather and a diverse population of breeds and disciplines. SERC is able to take advantage of a very long breeding season and a climate that enables them to deliver foals very early in the year without the complications of a harsh winter environment. There are large Quarter Horse and Arabian Horse populations in the area but they also assist clients with other breeds including Warmbloods, Gypsy Vanners, American Saddlebreds, Andalusians, Friesians, Lusitanos, and many more.

In the Show Jumping world the name Chapot requires no further explanation. Frank Chapot (photo left with young Gemini) has been training and breeding show jumpers since the early 1960’s. Back then his training barn consisted of slow thoroughbreds (TB) which he bought off the track. One such horse was a stallion named Salonga Carrier. Although he cannot be considered the foundation sire of Frank and Mary Chapot’s breeding program at Chado Farms he is the stallion which introduced them to the world of breeding.

Oklahoma City Equine Clinic P.C. is a full service equine veterinary practice situated on 24 acres just minutes from Remington Park and the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, one of the most popular horse show facilities in the nation. Although staffed by five veterinarians and twelve dedicated support personnel and equipped as a state of the art medical and surgical hospital, reproductive services comprise a significant share of the case load. Consequently, OCEC is pleased to be one of the most recent additions to the prestigious Select Breeders Services affiliate lab network.

Congratulations to Our 2013 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Darla d'Agay wins a Dover Saddlery Gift Certificate for $50 for her foal "Ilana" (Negro x Solana VS). This photo certainly has the cuteness factor – look at those whiskers!

Where in the world can you find a nine time AQHA World Champion stallion (most of any stallion in history), a two time APHA Super Horse, the 2011 Barrel Horse of the Year for 4 Year Old Stallions and a Galapagos Tortoise? The answer isn’t on a coast or an exotic island somewhere but in Pilot Point, Texas at High Point Performance Horses. Owners Jason Martin and Charlie Cole have trained over 100 AQHA World Champions and 200 AQHA Congress Champions. However, they don’t limit themselves to just one discipline; horses in their show string have won championships in Western Riding, Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Pleasure Driving and Halter. At any one time they have 70-80 horses in training at their facility.

From breeding and horse management to laboratory work, Select Breeders Services (SBS) and its affiliate labs in the United States offer various internship opportunities for college undergraduates looking to further their knowledge and skill within the equine industry. SBS is the largest and most professionally managed provider of frozen semen services in the world. In addition, many SBS locations offer a full range of equine reproduction services, and most of the affiliate labs are state of the art veterinary hospitals as well. SBS labs provide excellent teaching and training opportunities at some of the best equine reproduction facilities in the country. There is plenty of exposure to hands on experience and on the job training.

Tina Martucci and Gianni Daga founded Nejd Arabians in 2009. Though they have yet to have their own facility they are currently working out of the Arabian Show Training Center located in Dalmine, Italy which is owned by Luca Oberti. They began their breeding operation with the purchase of the Arabian mare, Aisha (SDP Taylor/Mata Hari) and a colt, Safeer (Ajman Moniscione/MO-Saifa). They then purchased a second mare Hayda Al Mali (Royal Colours/MM Eleelene) and a foal by Psyrasic and Aisha born in 2013. The latter mare is currently in foal by their 2009 colt, Safeer.

When Ilona English wanted to replace her very first horse she felt it was a good time to consider breeding horses. For the past 26 years she has been building the breeding program she started with the purchase of her first Thoroughbred mare, Party Doll, in 1987. When she purchased Party Doll she knew she was in foal but was unaware the mare was carrying twins. Although it was a challenging experience for a first time breeder both of the foals survived and became great riding horses. From that point forward she was hooked on breeding sporthorses.

We are excited to share with you the addition of three new laboratories to the SBS Affiliate Laboratory Network in North America. The new SBS affiliated labs for semen freezing are Delta Equine Center in Louisiana, Oklahoma City Equine in OK and Scottsdale Equine Reproduction Center in AZ. We shall be highlighting each one of these equine clinics in future issues of the newsletter. We are glad to welcome them to the SBS Network and look forward to developing new friendships and extending our SBS services to clients in more states throughout the US.

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.

In the 1990’s the reining horse industry in Italy was on the rise. This boom gave birth to Le Colombare Quarter Horses located in Asola in the province of Mantova, Italy. The facility focuses on both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. Giovanni Nodari and Massimiliano Ruggeri decided they would invest in reining horses by visiting the United States and purchasing high caliber foals. Unfortunately, they determined the caliber of foals they wished to purchase were not within their budget. Thus, they decided to invest in good mares which they could breed in Italy to top stallions in the industry.

When Maryanna Haymon was told many years ago she could no longer ride horses she knew she had to figure out a way to remain in the horse business. She found her answer in the sport horse breeding industry. She would be able to continue her love of horses, remain a part of the sport horse world and leave her imprint in the industry. Maryanna and her husband, Wendell, own Marydell Farm in Columbus, North Carolina. The region boasts a temperate climate which allows grass to grow in the pastures 10 months of the year which is the ideal setting for breeding and raising young horses. Allowing their “horses to be horses” with lots of outdoor exercise helps them reach their optimum growth potential.

Centro di Riproduzione Equina Centauro (CREC) is located at Bagni di Tivoli near Rome on a historical Standardbred farm. The facility, situated on an almost 100 acre property, is a state of the art veterinary practice, built according to the latest guidelines for animal welfare. The care of the horse is of utmost importance at CREC; horses are housed in stalls at night with turn-out in large paddocks during the day. Every day the CREC team provides the most advanced reproductive techniques to the equine breeding industry by bringing together specialized experience and the best in patient care.

Nestled on 250 acres in Lake Panasoffkee, FL sits S.E. Montgomery’s Flying M Ranch. Montgomery has been active in the cutting horse industry since the mid 1980’s after he attended his first cutting horse show. The rest as they say is history. Growing up in Cookeville, TN Montgomery’s family had working horses but his heart for horses had to be shared by his passion for golf. At the age of 20 his trucking industry moved him to Florida where he has resided ever since. For over 30 years he has owned and showed cutting horses, taking only a brief hiatus from the cutting industry in order to follow his other love…golf. Upon his return to the cutting world he decided it was time to take things seriously and knew in order to succeed he needed to begin breeding the top cutting horses in the world.

When your mare has made it to 320 days of pregnancy you are in the home stretch and will soon be the proud owner of a newborn foal. Are you ready? While labor and delivery are certainly a significant event, generally all will go off without a hitch and more likely than not, you will need only to be a quiet spectator. It is usually best to allow the mare’s natural instinct and abilities handle the delivery. However, your presence is important in the event of trouble or an emergency so you can call your veterinarian for assistance if it appears your mare is in distress during her foaling. Being knowledgeable of normal labor and delivery will allow for quick action and recognition if abnormal events should occur. There are also a few things to keep in mind in the weeks leading up to her due date that will aid in making for a safe and memorable foaling for you and your equine companions. In this article, we review pre-foaling plans and provide a supply list for your foaling kit.

Four years ago Barbara Roux, owner of St. Bride’s Farm in Upperville, Virginia, purchased a beautiful, athletic, Holsteiner stallion named Coronett 2 (Corrado I/Hanka VI/Cassini I). All three stallions in his stallion line have produced top international and Olympic jumping horses. Born in Germany in 1999 Coronett 2 competed successfully throughout his show jumping career and at the age of nine was part of the Irish Nation’s Cup team in Wellington, Florida.

Select Breeders Southwest, Inc. is pleased to announce Radical Rodder (HotRodders Jet Set x Flashy Bar Flower), owned by Diane Chilton, will remain at their facility for the 2013 breeding season. Diane purchased Radical Rodder in March of 1992 when he was a yearling. Shortly thereafter his sire, Hotrodders Jet Set (Docs Hotrodder x Miss Clique), passed away as a result of a tragic injury. Diane received pressure from many breeders to stand Radical Rodder at stud due to the popularity of his sire. With Radical Rodder being the first stallion Diane would own it was not a decision she made lightly. She had been a mare owner since 1979 which allowed her to understand the mare owner’s side of the breeding industry. She knew that if she did keep Radical Rodder a stallion she could help others achieve the ultimate goal…a beautiful, athletic foal.

With 2013 officially here, preparations for breeding season are in full swing at the Four Sixes Ranch. You don’t have to look far to see new faces around the ranch as interns from various parts of the United States have arrived at the ranch. And speaking of new arrivals, we are also welcoming our first foals of 2013! The breeding season will officially begin the first week of February, and is always a busy, yet exciting time for us. The Four Sixes Ranch currently stands 21 resident stallions as well as manages the frozen semen of several off-site or deceased stallions. Throughout the season we will breed more than 1,500 mares and welcome more than 150 foals into the world.

Cuoghi Quarter Horses is one of the top Quarter Horse breeding facilities in Europe. The beautiful facility where his horses are bred and trained is located in the Northern Italy town of Castelvetro, near Modena. Roberto Cuoghi’s passion has brought him incredible results in the international arenas for both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. In the late 1980’s Mr. Cuoghi purchased the stallion Snapper Cal Bar (Cal Bar x Cee Miss Snapper). This stallion not only is the founding stallion for Cuoghi Quarter Horses but also transformed the European Reining Horse Industry.

In recent issues of the SBS monthly newsletter we presented a couple of blog articles about reproductive efficiency, titled Measuring Reproductive Efficiency and A Review of Reports of Reproductive Efficiency. At SBS we ship out 1000s of frozen semen shipments a year, however, it is very difficult for us to get the pregnancy data back from the mare owners we send semen to. In the future we hope to simplify this process by enabling our clients to respond to an automatically generated email through our website. This would be great information to have available for review by mare owners considering frozen semen. We do track fertility data for the mares and stallions we manage at our SBS affiliate locations and we try to combine this data as a group for analysis. We summarize this information for you here.

In 1971, with the help students from across America, Ms. Velma Johnson’s efforts of protecting America’s horse became reality with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Ms. Johnson saw the American Mustang as an icon of the West and fought to protect them and land they roamed, creating a legacy that lives on today. This act declared the wild horses and burros to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West”. Carrying out this task has led to the establishment of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, through which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages and protects these animals both on and off the range as well as working to maintain the rangeland that they call home.

Now that your mare is safely checked in foal, the next step in the journey begins. It is time to plan ahead for the care and management of your pregnant mare and for welcoming the arrival of your foal. A major first step is, where will your mare foal out? If she is to foal out at home it is assumed you have a suitable foaling stall, a pasture with shelter and safe fencing to house the mare and her foal. Research and start to compile your foaling kit, emergency plans and contacts, secure a source of colostrum and research options for nurse mares. Of course, we all hope for a normal, successful delivery, but we have to be prepared for worst case scenarios. If the unexpected happens at such an emotional time, having a plan in place will alleviate stress and save time when tough decisions must be made. If your mare will foal out at another facility, plan on moving her 20-30 days prior to foaling so she can build up immunity to her new local environment.

Here we take an interesting look at the predominant sires of the 2012 Olympic horses for all three equestrian disciplines. To collect this data we compiled an Excel spreadsheet of the horses that placed at the Olympics either Top 10 in the team competition or Top 20 in the Individual final. The sire, dam and damsire information was obtained from the Olympic Preview issue of The Chronicle of the Horse or the FEI database. The sires whose names appeared the most formed the basis of this article. The notable sires of jumping horses were Nabab de Reve, Quick Star and Baloubet du Rouet, for dressage horses it was Donnerhall, Sandro Hit and Ferro and for eventing horses Master Imp, Cruising and Heraldik xx.

The Allevamento Frisoni PGP comes mainly from the passion and love for horses that unites two generations, and that certainly will be passed on to the third. After several work and holiday trips in Holland, we literally fell in love with the Friesian horse and its ancient history. Our excursions took the form of real cultural missions, exploring all the nuances of the breed from its origins until today: in this regard we have to thank some of the most famous Dutch farmers who have transferred a wealth of knowledge and invaluable experience. Inevitably we started the first purchases, the first sales, the first foals were born, and now we own a breeding farm that counts about thirty horses of which some are still living in the beautiful Friesian area.

Congratulations to Our 2012 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Shera Rubin wins a Dover Saddlery Gift Certificate for $50 for her foal "Hailstorm" (Consul x Risky Pam). This photo certainly has the cuteness factor - Kisses!
Runners Up were Counting Cards and Splitting Memories

When Debbie and James Glover began in the horse industry it was raising race horses. Their focus soon changed to the world of Western Pleasure riding when they purchased the 2002 AQHA World Champion Western Pleasure mare, Vital Signs Are Good, for their daughter Kristen. Vitals Signs Are Good is a daughter of the famed Zippos Mr Good Bar and granddaughter of the infamous Zippo Pine Bar. The partnership between Kristen and Vital Signs Are Good dominated the AQHA World Show and the Congress. They amassed a total of 9 AQHA World Championships and 27 Congress Championships in Western Pleasure and Western Riding at both the Amateur and Open levels during their career together.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years on the throne earlier this month. As part of the many celebrations a spectacular Diamond Jubilee Pageant was presented May 10-13th at Windsor Castle. Over 550 horses and more than 1000 dancers, musicians, and performers from around the world came together to pay tribute to the Queen, who attended a special performance on May 13th. The theme of the pageant was a journey around the world, reflecting The Queen's State and Commonwealth visits during the course of Her Reign. Horses were key performers in the celebration and many of the Queen’s own horses joined the parade. Follow these links for photos and video of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Here is some additional information about the Queen’s favorite past-time and the strong connection she has to the horse.

The Fell Pony is a working breed of mountain and moorland pony originally bred on the fell farms of Cumbria, in the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland in Northwest England. The Fell pony is noted for hardiness, agility, strength and surefootedness that enables them to live and thrive in the tough conditions and climate of the Lakeland fells. The Fell Pony was originally used for light agriculture and as a packhorse for the transportation of farm goods. Being good, fast walkers, they would often travel up to 240 miles a week. Early in the registry it was noted that 50% of the ponies were brown but they are now predominantly black with some being brown, bay or grey. They stand an average of 13.2 hands, with an upper limit of 14hds. Though they may be relatively short they are powerfully-built and strong enough to carry both adults and children.

Possibly the most versatile breed of horse, the Australian Stock Horse (ASH) is a fine working and performance animal renowned for its toughness, resilience and strength. Add to this agility and speed and you have a horse with a cosmopolitan blend of attributes ideally suited for work or play. Hence the slogan - The Breed for Every Need. The ancestry of the ASH dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia; brought from Europe, Africa and Asia. Some of the original horse breeds in these early imports included the Thoroughbred, Cape of Good Hope Horse (largely descended from the Barb and Spanish horse), Arabian, Timor Pony and Welsh Mountain pony. In the 1830s, additional Thoroughbreds were imported into Australia to improve the local strains, and the mid-20th century saw infusions from the American Quarter Horse.

Stacia Purcell began riding as a young girl in Montana. When she went off to college she took her 3 year old with her as a project for her “horse breaking” class at Montana State. That is when she knew for sure that horses were going to be her life. Her dream of one day owning her own horse breeding farm came true in 2005 with the founding of Seafire Sporthorses, now based in Elkton, Florida, about an hour from Ocala. In 2004 Stacia purchased one of the top producing broodmares in the US Selle Francais registry, Bid Seven, and bred her with frozen semen from the stallion Quattro B. The resulting filly was named “Rhapsodie du Soleil” and not only was she the first Quattro B foal to be born in North America but she was also his first offspring to be registered Selle Francais in the world. In 2010 she purchased the imported KWPN stallion, Richard (Kroongraaf-Le Mexico).

Breeding your mare is a big decision and the prospect can seem quite overwhelming - there is so much to research, organize and plan for as well as many different people to coordinate with. To make this process as stress free as possible, for everyone involved, it pays to be organized. The planning process will be a lot more enjoyable and exciting when you have everything lined up and are not surprised or caught off guard by any unexpected fees, decisions or situations.  In this article, we have some suggestions for how you can be more organized for breeding season by considering what needs to be done before the season begins, when it's time to breed, before your mare foals, and once your new foal hits the ground.

One advantage of frozen semen is that the world is your market. Importing frozen semen opens up the opportunity to expand the bloodlines of your breeding program by incorporating stallions from other countries and is a cost effective alternative to purchasing and importing young stock. However, before you rush off to search the internet for your next world class stud, here are some points to consider.

At Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center in Summerfield, Florida, the breeding season got off to a great start and is now in full swing! Just like the other SBS affiliates, we provide a full line of stallion reproductive services. Although we are certainly freezing semen this time of the year, we are also busy providing cooled semen services on our outpatient and resident stallion clients. One of our resident stallions is Smart Sugar Badger (Smart Little Lena - Badger San Doc). This is our third season standing this wonderful cutting stallion for Flying M Ranch.

The 2012 Olympics in London is just around the corner. Athletes from countries all over the world will descend upon London to become a part of sporting history. The London 2012 Olympic Games will feature 26 sports, which break down into 39 different disciplines. Equestrianism has long been a part of the Olympics, ever since 1912, when it was held in Stockholm. Thus the London Olympics will celebrate 100 years of equestrian sports, a special event for the horse lover, since it is the only sport involving an animal and the only sport where men and women compete against each other on equal terms. A total of 41 nations have qualified for the equestrian events at the 2012 Olympics; 200 riders will be selected to compete for six gold medals. Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA will field full teams in all three disciplines. Get ready to watch tough and exciting Olympic competition starting July 27th 2012.

Some of us may work in the confines of four walls with the benefits of heating and air conditioning. But for others, the great outdoors with wide open pastures and prairies are their “office”. It would be very difficult for them to get their jobs done without a great partner in their horse. That is where breeders like Mike and Robin Stewart of Munday, TX with her parents and partners Robert and Jamie Weaver come in. They started breeding Quarter Horses approximately 40 years ago because their family enjoys working with horses and raising colts.

Jennifer Weske-Monroe of Melissa, Texas has spent the past 15 years breeding quality colorful Morgan horses for her Monroe Exotic Morgan Collection (MEMC). It all began with the purchase of her cremello Morgan stallion, MEMC Tequila Cuervo (photo below right), when he was just a yearling. At the age of three he was one of only three registered cremello Morgan stallions in the world. It was at that time when she took him to Select Breeders Southwest in Aubrey, Texas for an initial semen evaluation. She has been utilizing them for her stallion service needs ever since. Shortly thereafter she purchased the most complimentary rival to her stallion, the cremello Morgan stallion Nashboro Sir Galahad (photo below left).

Pioneer Equine Hospital is located in California's central valley near Oakdale, CA. We are nestled between the foothills of the Sierra Mountains and the valley's vast agricultural landscape. Pioneer Equine Hospital opened its doors in 1973. Since then has evolved into an eight veterinarian practice with a newly constructed 22,000 square foot full service equine hospital that offers the most advanced lameness, surgical, reproductive, and diagnostic imaging on the west coast and is regarded as one of the most recognized equine hospitals in the country. The doctors and staff have been successful in not only excelling in equine patient care but more importantly creating an atmosphere that welcomes a diverse population of equine disciplines to Pioneer Equine Hospital.

Once a year affiliate members from SBS labs around the world get together for a mini symposium. This year the 12th Annual Meeting was hosted at our new headquarters and state of the art facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland, December 7th to 9th. The Annual Meeting offers an excellent opportunity to review SBS protocols and policies, share ideas and plans for the upcoming year and socialize with our good friends and colleagues. The business section of the meeting was held in the well appointed conference facilities of the neighboring Riveredge Training Center, home of our good clients, Hassler Dressage. During our coffee and lunch breaks we took advantage of the fabulous viewing room and watched the horses in training being ridden in the indoor arena.

It’s a family affair at Watermark Farm in Oxford, PA. Bill and Anne Rawle, assisted by their daughter Ellie have been breeding good minded, talented and correctly built horses for dressage, eventing, hunters and jumpers since the 1960s. And what a talented family they are - Anne is USEF “S” dressage judge and trainer who competed successfully through Grand Prix dressage, Intermediate eventing and in the Amateur Owner hunter and jumper divisions. Bill has competed internationally in Nordic Combined skiing as well as dressage and show jumping. Ellie has had great success in the dressage arena as both a Young Rider and then in the open classes, earning her USDF Gold Medal and attaining international ranking at Grand Prix. Many of their competitive successes have been on horses they have bred and raised at Watermark Farm.

Dr. Blodgett received the 2011 Racing Council Special Recognition Award for Lifetime Achievement. Since 1982, Dr. Blodgett has been at the Burnett Ranches’ Four Sixes Ranch near Guthrie, Texas, where he is the resident veterinarian and manager of the ranch’s horse division. In his tenure at the Four Sixes, the ranch has become an all-time leading breeder of both racing and performance American Quarter Horses, and in 1993 won the AQHA Best Remuda Award.

Readily recognized by their chestnut color and platinum mane and tail, the Haflinger stands out in a crowd. Although Haflingers are more than just a pretty face, they are great all around horses competitive in many disciplines. Our Featured Breeder this month is Haflingerhof Karlsbad, a distinguished breeder of Haflinger ponies in Germany. The Haflinger was developed in the Southern Tyrolean Mountains of present day Austria and northern Italy. Surefooted in the mountainous terrain and known for their hardiness, Tyrolean ponies were used for transportation and packing between the villages and farms of the region. The first official documentation of the present day Haflinger (named for the Tyrolean village of Hafling) was in 1874 when the foundation stallion 249 Folie was born of the half-Arabian stallion 133 El' Bedavi XXII crossed with a refined native Tyrolean mare. All Haflingers can trace their lineage back to Folie through one of seven bloodlines (A, B, M, N, S, ST, and W).

Legendary Quarter Horses and superior Black Angus cattle are hallmarks of the Four Sixes Ranch, a historic Texas ranch established in 1870, located just west of Guthrie, Texas. We are dedicated to the production of the greatest American Quarter Horses and Black Angus cattle in the country, but also to our role in reproductive technology. A member of Select Breeders Services for more than four years the ranch has a state of the art full-service equine clinic where we breed more than 1,200 mares annually, maintaining a 95% conception rate. The facility offers on-site breeding, transported cooled semen, on-site semen freezing and storage, mare management, embryo transfer and foaling.

Dr. Sandro Barbacini from SBS Italia recently presented at the World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) conference in Hyderabad, India, November 2nd-5th 2011. The exciting news is that Sandro has been elected to join the WEVA board, replacing Dr. Fernando Canonici as the representative for SIVE. Dr. Canonici has admirably represented Italian equine veterinarians for the last four years, he commented. "This turnover is an example of cohesion and Italian elegance. I wish Sandro a good job and I am certain he will represent us with active participation and professionalism."

The Tommy Manion Ranch is located in “Horse Country USA” (Pilot Point, Texas). You can’t drive up Highway 377 without noticing the beautiful Spanish style home on the hill and the infamous stallion names listed at their front gate. Tommy Manion began his career showing American Quarter Horses in various events including halter, western pleasure, western riding and reining. When their son, Kyle, was born he and his wife, Chris, began to focus more on breeding horses rather than showing them which allowed them to spend more time at home as a family. Their vision of becoming a world class breeding operation came to light as they narrowed their focus to breeding the best and most prominent cutting horse stallions in the industry.

Winbak Farm is a long time client of Select Breeders and they are now next door neighbors to our new facility in Chesapeake City, MD. To and from work, our staff drives past Winbak's mares and foals out in beautiful green pastures, and we even get a glimpse of Standarbreds training on the track during their morning workouts. This month, we decided to feature Winbak and their annual yearling sale held in September. Elizabeth Lewis-House, marketing manager for Winbak Farm, gives us a glimpse of what goes on during the auction.

Congratulations to our clients who share the following success stories with us for October of 2011. Opposite is a photograph of Susanne Hassler and Baroncelli, they won the Grand Prix championship at the East Coast Regional BLM Championships, October 15-16. Baroncelli is managed by Hassler Dressage.

Our Featured Breeder this month comes to us from the beautiful Ozark highlands region of southwest Missouri, where Joseph and Gail Mailloux of Two Silos Farm breed classic Egyptian Arabian horses. They’ve had the good fortune to have bred some beautiful young horses who have gone on to successes in the show ring and in breeding programs all over the world. This year, the Pyramid Society awarded Two Silos Farm an Egyptian Event Breeding Excellence Award.

Not many stallions have quite the resume that Pik L has which is why we wanted to share his story. Often times a stallion is either successful in the show ring, not leaving much time for breeding, or finds success as a sire through his offspring’s accomplishments. It is rare to see a stallion do it all. For those of you who are not familiar with Pik L, he is a licensed Hanoverian stallion, owned by Ann Sparks of Horses Unlimited, who placed 4th in his 100 day test in Germany, receiving scores such as 8 on character, 9 on rideability, and an 8 for his canter. Since then he has trained and shown successfully through Grand Prix. In 2003, he placed 4th in the Pan American Games and in 2007 was the reserve horse. In 2004, at CHIO Aachen, placed 4th in the I-1 Freestyle with a 73.25%, then came home to the states and won the PSG and I-1 Freestyle at Dressage at Devon with scores in the 70’s. In 2005, he was on the gold medal team and placed 1st individually at the USDF Junior Team Championships and the following year won all the 3 junior classes with scores up to 73%... the list goes on.

It’s a busy and exciting time at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in our 135th year of existence! In the Fertility Unit (we are optimists, though the vast majority of our patients are subfertile), we are seeing a steady stream of mares barren from the 2011 breeding season, working with researchers to find solutions for barren mares, and still breeding non-racing sport horses and Southern hemisphere Thoroughbreds. The remaining time is currently being filled with freezing semen from Standardbreds and Warmbloods for both domestic and overseas use. We have recently updated our breeding shed including modifying our phantom with hydraulic lifts to improve fine adjustability as we see a disproportionate number of stallions with musculoskeletal deficits.

Congratulations to Pam Volpone of West Chester, PA for winning our foal photo contest this year with Godiva VF (Popeye K x Vanity). Pam will receive a $50 gift certificate to Dover Saddlery. 2nd place goes to Lila Lund, Belgrade, MT with Grace and 3rd Place to the Bowling family, Downington, PA with Gold Keeper. To view all entries, visit our Foals page.

This month’s featured breeder article takes us to the town of Moragnano, Italy, home of Rio Arabian Horses where the farm sits on top of the Parma hills and is surrounded by beautiful views of the valley. Francesca Bellingeri, of SBSItalia, had the pleasure of interviewing the owner, Maurizio Rio, who along with his daughter Carlotta, founded the farm in 1995. Even though the farm has been established for some time now, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Mr. Rio re-evaluated his breeding program with a clear mission to produce horses with impeccable pedigrees that must be “suitable performance horses and also able to compete in halter events”. He now believes he is on the right path to achieve these goals as a breeder.

Berragoon ASH Stud was established in 1974 on the Riverina Plains in southern New South Wales, Australia. In 1984 the stud relocated to Holbrook, in the South West Slopes area of NSW. Managed by Sara & Charlie Grills and Debbie Mills, the stud encompasses more than just their own breeding program of Australian Stock horses, they also have an on site reproduction facility for mare management and embryo transfer services and run a commercial herd of 300 Angus cattle.

Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala FL was established in 1981 by Dr John L. Peterson and Dr. Johnny Mac Smith. This state of the art, full service equine clinic has become one of the most highly recognized veterinary practices in the United States. The Equine Reproduction Center at Peterson and Smith (PSERC) joined the SBS Affiliate Network in 2000. Based out of their 92 acre facility in Summerfield, FL (20mins south of the main clinic), PSERC offers a full range of equine reproductive services under the guidance of Dr. Phil Matthews.

There is no expiration date on frozen semen. As long as the semen is properly maintained at the correct temperature in a liquid nitrogen storage tank, the working life of frozen semen is believed to be nearly unlimited. At SBS we have produced pregnancies with semen stored for more than 20 years. By utilizing the highest quality freezing extenders available, computer controlled rate cell freezers and maintaining rigidly controlled storage conditions, SBS maximizes the duration of sperm survival.

July 26 2011 - A 4 year old Arabian stallion in Maricopa County, Arizona tested positive for contagious equine metritis (CEM) today during routine health testing required when qualifying frozen semen for international export. Five horses at the facility have been placed in quarantine and the state is working with federal partners to locate mares that have been bred to this stallion during the current breeding season.

Sara D'Imperio riding Sail Win Tatoo (Sail Win Cody x Tatoos Tickle Twist) won the IRHA/NRHA Reining Maturity Level 1 and Level 2 and placed Reserve Champion in Level 3 and 4 at Pontedera-Pisa, Italy, July 13-16 (photo left).

Congratulations to Select Breeders Southwest client Bob Loomis on West Coast Whiz (Topsail Whiz x My Moon Stone Chex) being named as the latest National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Sire.

The racing and barrel racing industries lost a legend. Dash Ta Fame passed away on July 13, 2011 at the age of 22. He was owned by Bob Burt and stood the 2010-2011 breeding seasons at SMART Ranches in California under the supervision of Dr. Bill Swyers.

Owned and operated by the Harrison family, Double H Farm is a recognizable name to those involved in the sport of show jumping due to their success with horses such as Orlando, HH Radco, and HH Rebozo who finished 4th at the WEG last year. While many of Double H’s horses are dominating in the show ring, there is another side to this competitive farm with the development of their breeding program. In the beginning, the main focus was competing but recently Double H has added breeding to their list of services. And why wouldn’t they, when not only have the stallions proven to be successful competition horses but their broodmares Quick Star, Maybelline, and Cantate Z, have as well.

Congratulations to SBS client Nancy Reed of Land's End Farm, Centreville, MD! Her ponies, Land's End Balanchine and Land's End Lalique won the Hunter Pony Get of Sire class, at the prestigious Devon Horse Show. They represented Welsh Section B stallion, *Carolinas Red Fox. Both ponies were bred using SBS frozen semen.

Congratulations to Iron Spring Farm, Coatesville, PA! A Contango son, Don Tango, was high score dressage stallion at the 2011 KWPN stallion performance test. This is the 4th approved son for Contango, including Ravel, winner of the 2009 Dressage World Cup and bronze medal winner at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Although Contango is now deceased, he is still available with SBS frozen semen from Iron Spring Farm.

Night Deposit Chex was the horse of a lifetime for Jessicah Keller Torpey, daughter of Tammye Hutton of Hilldale Farm. He passed away on May 29th at 14 years old as a result of a brain aneurysm. He earned over $111,000.00 during his show career. In 2005, Night Deposit Chex and Torpey were crowned NRHA Non-Pro World Champions after earning $41,507.00 that year. Tammye and Jessicah continued to show him through 2010. It has been a pleasure for Select Breeders Southwest to work with Tammye and Night Deposit Chex. They will be able to enjoy his foals for years to come with the use of his frozen semen.

Dr. Kerstin Darenius of Caballa, our SBS affiliate lab in Sweden, has recently become involved in the preservation of Swedish horse breeds with the creation of a frozen semen gene bank. For endangered or rare breeds, where the number of animals available for breeding is small, collection, freezing and storage of semen is a valuable method for preserving genetic material for future use. Many countries within the European Union have been taking action to preserve a number of valuable livestock species. During the last several years semen from cattle, sheep, horses and goats has been collected for this purpose.

Here is some fun news! An SBS frozen semen foal becomes a Breyer model horse. The colt, Heartbreaker, was both bred and foaled at SBS affiliate lab, Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center in Ocala, FL. The dam is Champion Hunter GG Valentine and the sire is Grand Prix jumper Oh Star. Oh Star was collected and frozen at Peterson and Smith and the foal was bred with his frozen semen.

Select Breeders Services Inc., wishes to congratulate SBS affiliate member Angus McKinnon, our consultant Ed Squires, and co-editors Wendy Vaala and Dickson Varner on the publication of the 2nd edition of Equine Reproduction. This is a significant achievement indeed! The book can be purchased here:

In addition to several chapters authored by Ed and Angus, SBS Affiliate Members contributed to the new edition by writing the following chapters:

Exciting news from the 2011 NRHA/IRHA Derby in Reggio Emilia, Italy - 19 year old rider Manuel Cortesi won the €20,000-added level 4 and the €10,000-added level 3 non-pro divisions aboard PC Customblack Widow (Custom Crome x Jan Crocker x Topsail Cody).This talented mare was bred by Mr. Bonanni using frozen semen from Steve Simon’s stallion, Custom Crome. The semen was frozen by Select Breeders Southwest and imported by SBS Italia.

The Haverty Family lost their beloved stallion Who Whiz It on Sunday, May 22, 2011. With earnings exceeding over $80,000 he made a name for himself in the reining world. In 2001 he was the Denver Summer Slide Futurity Champion and a finalist in the NRHA Futurity. He was also the Triple Crown Winner and USET Champion in 2004.

Debbie McKay competed in Eventing and Showing for many years, but one day decided her heart was just no longer in it and instead she put her competition mares in foal, and so began Aspen Way Stud in 1998. The breeding goal is to produce horses and ponies of international quality for Australian buyers, so they don’t have to take on the risk and expense of importing stock from abroad. Deb laughs, “Since making this my business philosophy, quarantine fees have doubled … along with the European prices, so this has certainly worked in my favor”. However, the success of her breeding program is best represented by many major awards in the show ring and the growing success of her homebred stallion, Aspen Way Gala Night (left, photo credit Julie Wilson).

The investigations of recent Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) outbreaks in the United States are now closed. CEM is a venereally transmitted disease of horses caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis. It is commonly transmitted directly during sexual intercourse between CEM-positive mares and stallions but can also occur indirectly by artificial insemination or contact with other objects such as hands, instruments or breeding phantoms contaminated with the disease causing bacterium. 

In 2010 the Arabian horse industry witnessed history in the making with the first Ruminaja Ali foals born in 13yrs. David Cains of Stonewall Farm Arabians, Scottsdale, AZ was assisting the Dubai Arabian Stud director, Mohamed Al Tawidi, in selecting horses for their breeding program. Daughters from the legendary Arabian sire Ruminjara Ali were on their wish list, but these mares were rare and seldom available for purchase. Whilst researching the possibilities, David learned about Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and realized what a fantastic opportunity the technology offered. Al Tawidi and Cains carefully selected a group of elite mares to breed to Ruminjara Ali using this technique. Frozen-thawed sperm were injected directly into harvested oocytes, then the fertilized oocyte was transferred into a surrogate mare. The resulting foals (pictured below) demonstrate that dreams can come true and what was once considered a possibility, could be reality. Ruminaja Ali is owned by Bergren Family Arabians and was frozen by Select Breeders Southwest.

A tragic accident serves as a reminder of the benefits of frozen semen. Many of you may already know that in August 2010, a promising young stallion, Good as Gold, owned by Lauren Efford of Goldhope Farm in Coatesville, PA, was humanely euthanized after suffering from a tragic pasture accident. Good as Gold was a product of Goldhope Farm’s breeding program and they had great hopes and expectations for him as a breeding stallion and performance horse. As a 3 year old in 2009, Good as Gold received his provisional breeding license with the Oldenburg Registry of North America. Next stop would be the Advanced Stallion Test in October of 2010 held at Majestic Farm in Batavia, OH, during which he would be evaluated for basic gaits as well as participate in the discipline specific test for dressage stallions in hopes of receiving his lifetime breeding certificate. Sadly, he never made it.

It’s always exciting for us at SBS to hear about the success of breeding with frozen semen and the horses that have been produced via this method. We were particularly intrigued by an article published last summer at the beginning of the prestigious Aachen jumper show in Germany. On July 16, 2010 a then 12 year old Oldenburg gelding named Ferrari won the RWE Prize of North-Rhine Westphalia at the opening of Aachen. What makes this horse special, other than his ability, is that he was conceived via frozen semen. His influential sire, Furioso II, passed away 24 years ago, 11 years prior to the breeding of Ferrari and because of frozen semen these valuable genetics are still present today. To read the full article that caught our eye click here.

Road to the Horse, the World Championship of colt-starting is unlike any other event in the equine or entertainment industry. This event matches three of the country's best horse trainers and clinicians against one another as they train unbroken colts to ride in just a few short hours in front of a packed live audience and television cameras. Each year a notable Quarter Horse ranch is invited to provide the Road to the Horse remuda of ten three-year-old geldings for this electrifying competition.

Alain Seheut of Olde Country Farm gained an early education in breeding horses working alongside his grandfather, who was a successful breeder in France. Thus it was inevitable that when Alain moved to the US several years later he would develop his own breeding program. Olde Country Farm, in Glyndon MD, breeds Warmbloods predominantly for dressage, although many go on to careers in jumping and eventing. They stand the Premium German Oldenburg Stallion, Soprano (left). Alain’s goal is to breed the type of horse that can compete at the national and international levels. He believes that longevity in performance is key; so in addition to athletic ability, he breeds for soundness in both character and conformation.

Dr. Elizabeth Callahan of Cool Na Grena Sporthorses, Oxford, MD was the recipient of the 2009 USEF Leading Event Breeder of 2009. Didi, a practicing equine vet, has been breeding horses for the last 25yrs. Although she only produces 2-3 foals a year the matings are carefully selected with the goal of producing a well rounded athlete that has both the movement for dressage and talent for jumping.

  Mr. Claudio Risso (left) of Roberta’s Stable was recognized as the Best Breeder and Best Stallion Owner of 2009 by the IRHBA (Italian Reining Horse Breeders Association). It is his third consecutive year winning both awards! SBS Italia freezes semen for international distribution from his stallions Spat Olena and RS Great Jac Feona.

Many horse owners may be unfamiliar with the Arabian racing industry, but for Cre Run Farm in Doswell, VA, it is their passion. For the past 25 years, Cre Run has been breeding and developing some of the world's top Arabian race horses such as Da Adios (left), the US all time money earner, 2008 World Arabian Horse of the Year and 5 time Darley Champion and Sam Tiki (below right, photo credit: Leslie Gicewicz), a member of the Racing Hall of Fame as well as siring 4 Darley champions. Cre Run's goal has been to "breed for the ultimate Arabian. One that possesses Arabian type but also has correct confirmation, bone and substance," says Cre Run owner Deborah Milahoff. Countries such as Poland, Egypt and Russia developed their herds through racing and it made perfect sense for Cre Run to do the same.

Julie Skaife at SBS-MD recently responded to FAQ presented by the American Connemara Magazine in the article, The Frozen Option

Dianna Orona of Fox Creek Farm is utilizing the SBS international affiliate program to the full advantage. Located on a 160 acre farm 5 miles west of Manhattan, KS, Fox Creek Farm has a world class breeding program founded upon the German Riding Pony. Their goal is to produce an athletic sport pony, correct in both conformation and movement, with a quiet, friendly temperament suitable for smaller adults or children.