By Sandro Barbacini, DVM, WEVA board member 

Assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs) are used extensively in today's equine breeding industry. Breeders use ARTs to increase the number of offspring produced by stallions or mares, preserve or move international bloodlines, avoid spreading infectious diseases, allow subfertile subjects to produce offspring, or use stallions and mares as athletes and breeding animals at the same time.

Here, we'll review the four most common ARTs.

Artificial Insemination (AI)

Artificial insemination is the most-used ART in horses and is now approved by all breed registries, except for The Jockey Club. In its infancy breeders used this technique to inseminate mares with fresh semen at the same farm where the stallion stood. The technique was designed to increase offspring produced by a stallion during the breeding season, reduce venereal disease spread, and minimize injury risk in stallions and mares