OPU & ICSI
What is ICSI?
Requirements
To qualify a donor mare for ICSI, she must have a negative Coggins test and CEM clearance (if required by the lab), along with an ultrasound confirming a sufficient count of small follicles (ideally 10–15). Physically, she must be sound enough to stand in stocks under sedation for up to 90 minutes and should have a temperament that allows for safe handling. Administratively, the breeder must secure stallion owner permission for ICSI use, notify the breed registry beforehand to ensure foal eligibility, and coordinate the delivery of semen to the lab to coincide with the egg collection.
The advantage of ICSI is it completely separates the mare's reproductive potential from her physical condition or competitive schedule. It allows elite mares to produce multiple biological offspring in a single season while remaining in full training or competition, as the procedure doesn't require the hormonal shifts or "downtime" associated with traditional pregnancy. Furthermore, it offers a "second chance" for aged or injured mares who can no longer carry a foal or be successfully flushed for embryos, ensuring their valuable genetics aren't lost due to uterine or cervical issues. By allowing for year-round egg collection and producing multiple embryos at once, ICSI maximises a mare's lifetime production while prioritising her athletic career and physical well-being.
Advantages
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection is an advanced assisted reproduction technique where a single sperm is injected directly into a mature mare egg from a mare that has undergone Ovum Pickup at an external clinic, in a laboratory to create an embryo. Used primarily in sport horses, it maximises limited semen, enables breeding with sub-fertile mares, older mares and preserves genetics from deceased stallions. It can be performed at any time of the year and does not require the mare to be out of training for long periods, unlike conventional breeding.
Post-Mortem Oocyte Collection
In the sad circumstance that your mare has to be euthanised or has passed away, a post-mortem collection can give you one last chance at producing an offspring from her. The ovaries are removed from the mare and are dissected and each small follicle is scraped and rinsed. The fluid from the follicles is examined under a microscope. The number of oocytes varies and depends on the mare’s cycle stage, pregnancy, age, and any factor that led to the euthanasia. This generally occurs under two scenarios.
Planned euthanasia will take place at home with your own veterinarian and they will remove the ovaries and ship them to Equigenesis for collection and fertilisation using ICSI.
In the case of an acute euthanasia, your veterinarian can remove and pack the ovaries. The ovaries are then transported to Equigenesis as fast as possible.
Embryo Culture
Equine embryo cultures are the specialised laboratory environments used to grow and monitor horse embryos outside the mare's body (in vitro). This process is essential for advanced reproductive technologies like ICSI and PGT, as it mimics the natural conditions of the mare's reproductive tract to support early development
For a breeder, the primary advantage of embryo culture is the ability to maximise the genetic output of a mare without her ever needing to be pregnant or "in season." Because culture is the essential middle step for ICSI, it allows you to produce multiple embryos from a single collection and grow them in a safe, monitored environment where their development can be precisely graded. This process also provides the necessary time and access to perform PGT (genetic testing), ensuring that only the healthiest embryos with the desired traits are selected for transfer. Ultimately, by using laboratory culture, you gain logistical flexibility, as embryos can be vitrified (frozen) and stored until you have the perfect recipient mare ready, regardless of the time of year.
