AndyPandy
old hand
Reged: 06/02/2006
Posts: 900
Loc: Oxfordshire, UK
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Re: Cornet Obolynsky
12/10/2008 11:02
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Historically, Clinton's semen was often of questionable quality, and fertility does appear to be a highly heritable trait.
However, having chatted to a number of agents for CO, there are varying reports. I've heard everything from "his semen is notoriously bad", to "80%+ in foal on the first cycle". Now, that statistic was only based on a VERY small sample of mares in Australia, and isn't statistically significant. However, unless the agent is lying, then it's a good sign of potential fertility.
I think, what happens far to often over here, is that frozen semen is used by a vet or stud that is inexperienced in frozen-thawed inseminations. The semen may "look bad" (have motility of 30-35% post thaw), and the immediate response of the vet/stud when the mare is not pregnant is "oh well, I didn't think she would take, the semen quality looked awful". This is not a fair observation. Post-thaw motility is only a very vague indicator of possible fertility. It is more likely to be the vet/stud's handling/insemination techniques, or the mare, that caused the problem.
There are a good number of frozen foals by CO on the ground, and if people are getting first cycle pregnancies, then the semen is fertile. I think you just need to make sure it's coming from a reputable source, and that you use a specialist stud/vet to do the breeding work.
Hope that helps.
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