AI in the thoroughbred industry

1. AI in the thoroughbred industry Advantages and Disadvantages Alezhia, Nicole and Samii

2. Advantages • Permits disease control • Reduces the possibility of injury to the mare and/or stallion • Permits use of stallions which have developed poor breeding habits or have been injured. • Permits evaluation of semen at each collection and immediate recognition of minor changes in seminal quality • Aid in identification of reproductive problems • Prevents overuse of a stallion, particularly early in the breeding season, and enables mares to be bred at the most opportune time for maximum chance of reproduction • Permits breeding of abnormal mares which could not be used in natural service • Permits more effective use of older, more valuable stallions

3. Disadvantages • Technology involved in quite expensive • Room for human error • When receiving semen from another state or country, the timing becomes even more imperative, as it needs to arrive within the correct time frame to thaw out and place in the mare • The Thoroughbred stud book strongly opposes AI, for fear that the breed may be harmed by over use of certain bloodlines