Everything starts with the collection. Whether your stallion's semen leaves chilled for a breeder or joins our liquid nitrogen tanks, this is where its quality is decided.
We collect with an artificial vagina, in a centre approved for intra-community trade.
Before you come
We arrange the health tests with you, then the collections as soon as their results are known.
Preparing your stallion's season
A season is prepared a few weeks ahead. Three steps ensure that your stallion is ready on the day the first mare is waiting for him.
How a collection takes place
The artificial vagina reproduces the conditions that trigger ejaculation. We adjust its temperature, between 45 and 50 °C depending on the stallion, and its pressure, by means of a water-filled double wall.
The stallion is first presented to a teaser mare, whose only role is to stimulate him. He then mounts the phantom, and the penis is carefully directed into the artificial vagina.
From that moment, the semen is fragile. Equine spermatozoa are sensitive to cold shock, that is, cooling that is too rapid, which damages them irreversibly. They also tolerate waiting without extender poorly. A quarter of an hour at body temperature is enough to reduce their motility markedly the following day. The collected semen therefore goes straight to the laboratory, protected from light.
What we measure in the laboratory
The semen is first filtered to remove the gel fraction of the ejaculate. We then measure its concentration with a spectrophotometer, followed by its progressive motility, meaning the proportion of spermatozoa that move forward quickly and in a straight line. This is what determines how many of them will reach the oocyte.
For shipment as chilled semen, the semen is diluted and stored between 4 and 8 °C. The extender nourishes the spermatozoa, but above all protects them from lipid peroxidation, the oxidation of the fats that make up the sperm cell's membrane. An oxidised membrane can no longer fuse with the oocyte.
For freezing, the collection is exactly the same. What follows is described on the Semen freezing page.
Which tests, for which use
For semen used in Belgium, the stallion is tested for contagious equine metritis (CEM), a bacterial infection transmitted at covering, and for equine infectious anaemia (EIA), a viral disease transmitted notably by horseflies. These tests are only valid if the stallion has not been used for natural cover during the 30 days before sampling. A covering could indeed transmit metritis to him afterwards.
For semen intended for another European Union country, the stallion must stay at the centre for at least 30 days before the first collection. Such a collection must therefore be planned several weeks ahead; the protocol is set out below.
The European protocol in detail
The stallion stays at the centre for at least 30 days before the first collection and throughout the collection period, without contact with equids of lower health status. He is also tested for equine viral arteritis (EVA), and metritis is tested for twice, at least seven days apart. If he has to leave the centre during the season, the tests are repeated during the collection period. This is what allows his semen to circulate freely throughout Europe. Here too, your own veterinarian may take all the samples, provided we receive a copy of the results.
Programme A · the stallion stays at the centre
Stay at the centre throughout, apart from equids of lower health status.
- Day 0Arrival at the centre
- Day 14 at the earliestEIA, EVA, CEM 1
- At least 7 days laterCEM 2
- Day 30 at the earliestFirst collection, results known
- ThenFurther collections, no new tests
Programme B · absences of less than 14 days allowed
Stay at the centre, with absences of less than 14 days under the responsibility of the centre veterinarian.
- Day 0Arrival at the centre
- Day 14 at the earliestEIA, EVA, CEM 1
- At least 7 days laterCEM 2
- Day 30 at the earliestFirst collection, results known
- ThenTests repeated during collections, within 30 days (EVA), 60 days (CEM) and 90 days (EIA) before each collection
A stallion who learns
A young stallion discovering the phantom is learning a new behaviour. Rushed during his first sessions, he may keep a mental block for his whole breeding career. We therefore prefer several short sessions, of half an hour at most, spread over several days if necessary.
Part of this work is done before he arrives. A stallion who respects people's space and leads in hand without pulling can be collected calmly. One who has never learnt these limits puts the staff at risk, and himself as well, at the moment the mare is presented to him. This education begins at weaning, at home.
Tell us about your stallion before he comes. What you know about him saves us time.
Prices
A collection is charged per procedure, and its price differs depending on whether the semen is used at the centre or prepared for shipment. Where applicable, this is supplemented by the health sampling, whose analyses are invoiced to you by the laboratory, the stallion's boarding, and a supplement for a collection at the weekend or on a public holiday.
| Training session, per half hour | 79,77 € | Sessions longer than half an hour are not recommended and are charged extra. |
| Training package, one week | 322,01 € | Several short sessions, for better learning. |
| Collection for immediate use at the centre | 79,77 € | |
| Collection and preparation of fresh or chilled semen | 95,63 € | |
| Urgent, weekend or public holiday supplement | 23,42 € | |
| Health tests | 39,88 € | Sampling fees (blood, swabs). Analyses are, where possible, invoiced directly by the partner laboratory. |
Stallion services are invoiced by Linalux Equins, veterinary care by Dr Paindaveine. Entrusting your stallion to us implies acceptance of our terms and conditions, which describe the risks inherent in handling an entire horse and our obligation of means.
Frequently asked questions
Why wait for the results before the first shipment?
Because contagious equine metritis and viral arteritis are transmitted through semen, often without the stallion showing the slightest sign. A dose of fresh semen, once inseminated, cannot be taken back. If the stallion turned out to be a carrier, the disease would already be on the mares' premises. This is why no dose leaves the centre before the results, and why the owner certifies in the form the accuracy of his declarations, for which he is responsible.
My stallion has never been collected. How long does it take?
That depends on him. Some mount the phantom at the very first session, others need several days. This is why we offer a one-week training package.
Does my stallion have to stay at the centre?
For semen used in Belgium, not necessarily. He can come on the day of collection, provided his test results are known. For semen intended for another European Union country, yes, for at least 30 days before the first collection.
How long does chilled semen keep?
About 48 hours. It travels at 4 to 8 °C, and we organise the shipment so that it arrives at the time planned for insemination. So-called long-term extenders exist; we do not yet use them routinely, as we do not have enough hindsight on the fertility they achieve.
Tell us about your stallion
A phone call is all it takes to prepare your stallion's season, or simply to talk it over.
Have the stallion’s passport to hand. We then contact you to set the dates of the tests and collections together.