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Insemination Results with Slow-Cooled Stallion Semen Stored for approximately 40 Hours
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 35, pages 257–262 (1994)
Abstract
Semen from 3 stallions was extended using 2 methods (Kenney extender and a modified Kenney extender), slowly cooled, and stored for 41 ± 6 (s.d.) h before insemination. An insemination dose (40 ml) contained 1.5-2 billion spermatozoa. In the experiment, 26 mares were inseminated in 30 cycles. The pregnancy rate per cycle obtained with sperm stored in the Kenney extender was 87% (n=15). When the semen was extended with the modified extender, centrifuged and stored, the pregnancy rate was 60% (n=15). Inseminations were done every other day until ovulation was detected. If a mare ovulated more than 24 h after the last insemination, she was inseminated also after ovulation. The single-cycle pregnancy rate was 58% when the mares were inseminated only before ovulation (n=19) but the rate was 100% when the inseminations were done both before and after ovulation (n=9) or only after ovulation (n=2). The difference in pregnancy rates was significant (p<0.05), indicating that postovula-tory inseminations probably serve to ensure the pregnancies. The extending and handling methods used in this study resulted in a combined pregnancy rate of 73%, and appear thus to be useful for storing stallion semen for approximately 2 days.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Marja Miskala, Niilo Lyytikäinen, Arja Mansala, Helena Mäkelä, Liisa Taskinen, and Eija Hakamäki for their excellent technical assistance and Dr. Erkki Koskinen and Dr. Kalevi Karanko for their help in the inseminations, as well as Dr. R. M. Kenney for a critical review of the preliminary manuscript.
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Heiskanen, ML., Huhtinen, M., Pirhonen, A. et al. Insemination Results with Slow-Cooled Stallion Semen Stored for approximately 40 Hours. Acta Vet Scand 35, 257–262 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548330
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548330