Planning breeding with the best stallions without having to stop the mare for a year and a half is now a reality. Through OPU-ICSI, this is possible. This revolutionary procedure allows for the scheduling of the foal’s birth according to competition and training calendars, providing unprecedented flexibility to owners.
Tomorrow, January 9, 2024, at Ovohorse, two magnificent showjumping stallions will be available to perform this procedure: “Conthargos” and “Cornet Obolensky”.
Conthargos
This chestnut Oldenburg stallion, standing at 1.72 meters, has had an outstanding career both in sports and breeding. At the age of four, he triumphed in the Deister Championship in Dobrock with an outstanding score of 9.5. His legacy is remarkable, with renowned descendants such as “Conthalou”, the Double Stallion Champion, and “Coeur Rouge”, the Stallion Champion of Westphalia. “Conthargos” passed away a year ago, and since then, his genetic material has become even more valuable, as it is now limited to the available semen straws. Today, owning a “Conthargos” is an exciting sports and “romantic” bet for enthusiasts of top-level showjumping breeding.
Cornet Obolensky
This 1.72-meter grey stallion, born in 1999, is one of the greatest figures in showjumping. His career includes numerous achievements, from his victory in three Nations Cups (2008, 2011, 2012), another in the CSI5 Grand Prix of Zurich*, and the Super League Samsung Finale in Barcelona (2007 and 2008), several second-place finishes in the CSI5 of Doha* and Bordeaux, to his participation in the Beijing Olympics, among others.
The great legacy “Cornet Obolensky” passes on is reflected in his offspring, especially in “Comme il faut”, ranked in the top 10 of the WBFSH 2013 standings. Furthermore, “Clooney”, “Cornet d’Amour”, and “Cornado NRW” compete at the highest level. In Spain, he is one of the most favored stallions among breeders, as evidenced by his large representation at the recent Ancades event.
What is the OPU-ICSI technique?
This technique involves the production of in vitro embryos from elite mares and stallions. Through follicular aspiration (OPU), oocytes (eggs) are extracted directly from the mare’s ovaries via transvaginal means. These oocytes undergo careful maturation in the laboratory before being fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
The resulting embryos are vitrified and stored in liquid nitrogen, allowing owners and veterinarians to select the best recipient and schedule the transfer for the most convenient birth dates.
At Ovohorse, this technique is performed on both mares and stallions with reproductive problems to ensure good results. From older mares with reproductive difficulties to stallions with low sperm motility, OPU-ICSI offers solutions for all these cases.
Being able to schedule the birth of foals using assisted reproduction techniques, with surrogate mothers carrying the embryos, makes it easier to organize competition stables, where stopping a mare for an entire season plus lactation time can often affect competition calendars and limit the mare’s performance. Thanks to these reproduction techniques, the mare can be a mother while continuing her career on the track.
