Stallion Management

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     Stallion management is key in ensuring a successful breeding season. We strive to make our stallions the most comfortable they can be while they stay with us. Studs standing at TCERC will be housed in a 14 x 16 stall at night and then are turned out into a spacious paddock during the day. We are able to accommodate special feed rations to maintain a healthy weight and body condition during their stay. Stallions living here are put on TCERC’s deworming, vaccination and hoof care program throughout the year as well as our daily vitamin supplement. Some owners prefer to keep their stallion at home and haul in for day collections, which works well once he is properly trained.

Behavioral Problems

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     Dr. Shawn Jensen and the TCERC staff have years of experience handling stallions who have had little reproductive training. We can work with your stallion that is having problems in the breeding shed such as: low libido, failure to mount or ejaculate, aggression towards the mare or his handler along with other issues.

A/V & Phantom Training

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     Each stallion brought to TCERC is taught to mount our Phantom and be collected into an Artificial Vagina (A-V). We work with many stallions, young and old each year that need to be trained to a breeding phantom. This not only ensures the safety of the stallion, by not having to mount a mare, but also reduces the chance of the people involved in the procedure getting injured. There is also a reduction in the risk of disease transmission by not allowing live cover. A tease mare is lead in and placed inside of our tease rail where they can show interest in one another, yet he cannot mount her. When the stallion is ready, he is backed away from both mare and the phantom and is instructed to stand and allow for his penis to be washed for each collection. Then, he is lead back to the mare where he again will get ready. When all is set he is lead up to the breeding phantom, allowed to mount and is collected in the A-V. For each breeding session, the stallion is expected to respect his handler and others around; however, he is allowed to show stallion characteristics.

Breeding Soundness Evaluations

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     At TCERC, we have the capability to evaluate stallions for breeding soundness by examining the reproductive tract, testicles, penis and accessory sex glands along with their semen. Each ejaculate is examined for volume, color, concentration of sperm, sperm motility and morphology; records are kept on stallion behavior as well. We also perform cultures and reproductive disease testing. Stallions are evaluated for overall soundness in addition to breeding soundness.

Shipping and Freezing Semen

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     Cooled, shipped semen can be used to offer your stallion to a much larger population of potential mares all across the country; mares no longer have to be hauled to the stallion’s location. We can also help you to present frozen semen from your stallion which may make it easier to continue showing and still breed mares. Additionally, it is a great insurance policy to have frozen semen from you stallion. Here at TCERC, we are capable of storing frozen semen rather than you having to purchase and maintain expensive liquid nitrogen tanks. It also makes it easier for us to then package it up and ship it out to mares for you.

Mare Care

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     We see quality mare care as a necessity at Town and Country Equine Reproduction Center. Mares staying with us for breeding work come into their own stall in the evening and then are turned out into large paddocks during the day (weather permitting). We have ample space for single mares as well as mares with foals. With our feeding regimen it is simple for us to accommodate certain diets for each mare that stays with us.

Reproductive Soundness Examinations

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     Each mare that comes to TCERC for breeding work will receive a reproductive soundness exam upon arrival by means of palpation and ultrasound. In addition, we look at the mare’s overall health and soundness as they are crucial to reproductive soundness. If further diagnostics are deemed as necessary, the veterinarian may suggest procedures such as: vaginal exam, uterine culture, cytology and perhaps biopsy. We have the ability to conduct the uterine cultures and cytology in our in house laboratory, however, we send all biopsies off to a diagnostic lab for evaluation.

Problem Mare Diagnostics & Therapy

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     First we start with a detailed history or prior problems and therapies the mare has had. Then, as with our reproductive soundness examinations, we perform many of the same diagnostic procedures on a problem mare, although it may be more extensive. Then, with the information collected we can better formulate a treatment plan to increase the chances of getting that particular mare in foal. Routine therapies that we practice include: pre and post-breeding uterine lavage, intra-uterine infusion of antibiotics, hormone assays, routine caslicks surgery, deep uterine horn insemination and embryo transfer.

Artificial Insemination with Shipped & Frozen Semen

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     Timing is critical when artificial inseminating mares with shipped semen and even more so with frozen semen. At TCERC, when breeding with shipped semen, we monitor the estrous cycle very closely to allow breeding near ovulation, ideally only breeding a single time to keeping shipping costs down for the mare owner. Once a mare is in heat we use ultrasound and teasing daily to monitor a mare’s estrous cycle. With frozen semen, the best situation would be to have at least two breeding doses for that mare which would get shipped to TCERC early in mare’s heat cycle or before she is in heat so there is no worry about semen not arriving on time.

Embryo Transfer with Recipient Herd

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Embryo Transfer (ET) has become a proven and viable procedure for equine reproduction in recent years. It offers another option for a mare with a busy show season or for a mare that is unable to carry a foal to term. In addition, most breed registries allow for more than one foal to be produced from an individual mare in a given season.

The donor mare is bred with cooled, shipped or frozen semen; then seven days later the fertilized embryo is removed from the donor mare and transferred into a recipient mare.



With our recipient mare herd, on-site, we can synchronize the donor mare with several recipient (recip) mares. This allows us selection of the recip mare whose ovulation coincides with that of the donor mare, providing the best scenario for a successful pregnancy.

Without the on-site recipient herd, the embryo would have to be shipped to another facility that maintains mares for such use. Unfortunately, this requires more steps to the embryo transfer process adding stress to the embryo and delaying transfer into the recip mare.

Our recip mares are carefully selected for age, size, and body condition. All of the mares are halter broke and have passed a very thorough health and reproductive exam. The recip herd is started under lights December 1st so they are cycling normally early in the breeding season.

After a successful embryo transfer, the recip mare is sent home at thirty days of pregnancy carrying a valuable foal from your donor mare.

Artificial Lighting Program

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     Mares that are to be bred early in the year should be in an artificial lighting program to help ensure they will cycle earlier than normal. Mares need 16 hours of light per day for 60-90 days to induce fertile cycles. At our facility we can manage your mares in our lighting program to get your mares cycling early in the year; if you are interested in setting up your own artificial lighting program at your farm, allow us to answer any questions you may have.

Mare Foaling with 24 Hour Attendant

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     At TCERC, we have two indoor, heated stalls that are designated for foaling out mares. They have cameras on them at all times and mares will be monitored 24 hrs a day by an experienced staff member. We use daily physical exams and Foal Watch Kits to help us determine when a mare may be getting close to giving birth. As the mare is progressing towards having her foal, the Dr. on call will be notified and also be present in case of a dystocia. Post foaling, both mare and foal are looked after and monitored closely. We will aid the foal in nursing from his mother until he is able to eat on his own, along with watching for him to urinate and pass the muconium. It is routine for us to spray the foal’s naval 2-3 times per day for the first few days of life and all foals born here will be on 3 days of antibiotics to ensure they get off to a healthy start. When the foal is between the age of 18-24 hrs old, we check their IgG level to be sure they received adequate colostrum from the mare. If their IgG level is low, plasma IV is usually highly recommended. We offer this service to any mare owner who may be dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, have a geriatric mare or even one that will be a first time mother; some may be having foals early in the year and owners are concerned about cold weather. Whichever your situation may be, we are here so you, your mare and new foal all benefit.

Foal Services

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     At Town and Country Veterinary Hospital, we a well equipped facility, experienced and knowledgeable staff to properly take care of and treat sick foals. Our clinic is set up so we are able to run fluids, plasma and nurse the recumbent foal. We have a wide range of services that we offer not only to an unhealthy foal, but also to newborns. Some owners like to have their new foals looked over and checked out by a veterinarian in their first few days of life. We recommend an IgG test at 16-24 hrs to check for failure of passive transfer; this may prevent a series of health problems from occurring. We will also check for congenital and conformation defects; as some can be corrected if treated early or others which may require surgery.