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Large Animal Hospital
Equine Field Services :   (540) 231-9042
Food Animal Field Services :   (540) 231-9041
Large Animal Hospital :   (540) 231-4621 option 5
Hospital FAX : (540) 231-9354
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Equine Reproductive Services

Our on-farm and in-clinic services are not limited to those listed.
For consultation, please call (540) 231-9042.

On-Farm

We are able to assist with farm reproductive cases with-in a 35 mile radius of Blacksburg, VA such as pregnancy loss, abortions, and infertility problems. Specifically we can assist with:

Mare

  • Ultrasound – to determine pregnancy or stage of cycle – pregnancy examination be done either rectally or trans-abdominally, depending on pregnancy length
  • Fetal well being assessment – mid to late term assessment of fetus and placenta to examine for problems that may relate to loss of pregnancy, primarily performed with ultrasonography
  • Breeding with fresh, fresh cooled, or frozen semen – we are able to assist in all facets of breeding including long term frozen semen storage
  • Breeding soundness examination – uterine culture, cytology and biopsy and reproductive tract examination
  • Infertility work-up – we are able to help with mares that are difficult to breed or have lost pregnancies
  • Twin reduction – transrectal (14-20 days) or transvaginal (30+ days) reduction
     

Stallion

  • Semen collection – providing facilities exist, we can assist with on-farm semen collection and processing for cooled semen transport
  • Infertility work-up

 
In Clinic

In addition to cases within a 35-mile radius we are able to take referal cases from veterinarians on reproductive issues. All services listed above plus:

Mare

  • Twin reduction – both early, mid and late termination of one fetus in cases of twin pregnancy are possible.
  • Embryo transfer
  • Embryo transport – for shipment of embryos across the United States.
  • Embryo freezing – we can freeze embryos for later placement in donor or in a different recipient
  • Superovulation – it is now possible to obtain ~3+ ovulations from administration of equine follicle stimulation hormone. When used with embryo transfer and/or embryo freezing, we can become more efficient at obtaining embryos for your program.
  • High risk pregnancy management – this includes fetal well being assessment and monitoring of parturition (foaling).
  • Ovary removal and transport for oocyte recovery
     

Stallion

  • Training to phantom for semen collection – stallions are trained to use an artificial vagina while mounted on a phantom (large immovable padded object used to simulate a mare)
  • Semen freezing – we offer initial test freezing to determine your stallion’s semen quality post-thaw. Once optimized, as many doses may be frozen and held indefinitely for you.
  • Semen collection – we have an arena, teasing wall, jump mare and phantom to allow for semen collection. We also have a state of the art reproduction laboratory to allow for semen assessment, including computerized motility assessments.
  • Breeding soundness examination – this includes semen analysis, internal and external reproductive examinations, and testicular ultrasonography
  • Epididymal sperm retrieval and semen freezing – it is possible to recover semen from the epididymus (part of testicles) and freeze this semen for later use. This would be important in cases of sudden or unplanned death where semen collection would not be possible.