Preparing Equipment for Embryo Transfer

The veterinarians prepare the wand with fluid to flush the donor mare's embryos. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Preparing to Flush the Embryos

The technician and veterinarian ready the extracting wand with fluid in preparation to flush the donor mare's embryos. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Flushing Embryos from the Donor Mare

The veterinarian flushes embryos from the donor mare. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Ultrasound Equipment

Ultrasound equipment helps the veterinarian find and extract the embryos while flushing the uterus. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Removing Impurities

Fluid collected from the donor mare is strained through a series of filters to remove impurities. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Filtering Fluid to Reduce Contamination

Filtering fluid collected from the donor mare during an embryo transfer before inserting into the recipient reduces contaminants. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Preparing the Embryo for the Recipient Mare

After examining the embryo, the veterinarian places it in a pipette to be inserted into a recipient mare. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Transporting Embryos

If the embryos need to be transported to reach the recipient mare, they are loaded into an insulated container. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Transferring the Embryo to the Recipient Mare

Watching the ultrasound monitor, the veterinarian inserts the embryo into the proper location in the recipient mare. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Fertilizing the Egg

The veterinarian fertilizes the egg with sperm in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) chamber. If traditional embryo transfer is not an option for the donor mare due to hostile uterine environment, oviductal damage/disease, or limited sperm numbers, the veterinarian might perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection in which he or she fertilizes the egg with sperm in the lab before transferring the resulting embryo into the recipient mare. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Evaluating the Embryo

The veterinarian is evaluating the fertilized egg through the microscope. | Photo: Abigail Boatwright

Embryo Transfer Step-by-Step

The veterinarians prepare the wand with fluid to flush the donor mare's embryos.