In 1983, Hamilton Farm instituted a shipped semen program for its stallions, the first of its kind in the world. The introduction of cooled semen transport allowed mare owners to choose from a variety of stallions instead of being limited by geographic location. Additionally, it helped the mare owner save money by eliminating the need for boarding and shipping of mares. It also greatly reduced stress on the mare, especially mares with foals by their side.

Now, 17 years later, the technology has advanced even further. While the original Equitainer maintained sperm viability for 24 hours, the new Equitainer will maintain a controlled temperature environment for 70 hours. Though it is still recommended that breeding occurs within 24 hours, the advanced technology of the Equitainer allows more flexibility in scheduling and reducing the negative impact of unforeseen delays.

Breeding with cooled semen is easy. However, it does require some preparation on part of the mare owner. It also requires close communication between the mare and stallion farms so that your semen arrives at the optimal time for breeding.

If you are new to using transported semen for breeding your mare, we highly recommend The Transported Semen Handbook for the Mare Owner. This easy-to-read handbook takes you step-by-step through the cooled semen breeding process, helping you achieve success.

On these pages, we offer a brief overview of important considerations for mare preparation. We also give a summary of the procedure for arranging and shipping of the semen. Lastly, we offer some statistics on the conception results that we have achieved in the past.