Iron Horse Equine Reproduction Services

05/27/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cc6P2KREC/

💥ISSR Snippet!🐴 Predicting Breeding Soundness in Pre-, Peri- and Postpubertal Colts

Background:
• The study aimed to identify parameters for predicting breeding soundness in colts at the youngest possible age
• Rearing colts for breeding is costly; early prediction of future fertility has significant economic value

Study Design:
• 46 Warmblood colts examined at approximately 6 months, 20 months, and 30 months of age
• Assessments included: body condition scoring, weight, and testicular palpation, ultrasound and volume measurement
• Blood sampling before and after human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation (5,000 IU intravenously)
• Hormones measured: anti-Müllerian hormone (basal) and testosterone (at 0, 2, 24, and 72 hours post-stimulation)
• 12 stallions at 2.5 years were evaluated for s***m quality; grouped by testicular volume and palpation findings

Key Results:
• No significant difference in morphologically normal or progressively motile s***matozoa between groups
• Stallions with small te**es showed lower membrane-intact s***matozoa and higher acrosome reaction rates
• Body condition score positively correlated with progressively motile s***matozoa (r=0.765, p

05/22/2026

New open-access review — worth a read!

The equine reproductive tract is not just about hormones, anatomy and timing… microbes may also have a say.

In this open-access review, Pelenė, Šiukščius, Nainienė, Merkelytė and Šveistienė explore what is currently known about the equine reproductive microbiota in both mares and stallions: from vaginal and uterine microbial communities to seminal microbiota, dysbiosis, endometritis, semen quality, and fertility.

The review highlights an important shift in perspective: the equine uterus is no longer viewed simply as “sterile vs infected”. Instead, reproductive health may depend on a delicate balance between microbes, host defenses, hormones and clinical context.

A key take-home message: microbiota data are promising, but they must be interpreted carefully in conjunction with clinical examination, cytology, culture, and reproductive history.

An interesting read for anyone working in equine reproduction, fertility and reproductive health.

Open access article:
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/9/1414

04/27/2026

04/26/2026

💥ISSR Snippet! 🐴 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐚 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡?

This study is an interesting comparison to the one posted earlier this week, and with a different end point it investigated the downstream developmental consequences of seminal plasma (SP) exposure — or its absence — at the time of breeding, examining placental gene expression & seminal plasma impact on foal growth trajectories over the first two years of life.

Background & Purpose:

• SP proteins serve key immunomodulatory roles at breeding: SP DNAse suppresses neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs); CRISP-3 & lactoferrin/SOD-3 balance s***m protection with pathogen clearance
• Prior work identified SP-associated DEGs in the endometrium linked to embryo development, immunotolerance, & metabolism
• Parallels with human ART outcomes motivated the hypothesis that SP absence disrupts the uterine environment & offspring health

Experiment 1 — Placental Transcriptomics:

• Warmblood mares: SP-exposed (n=9) vs. ICSI-produced embryo recipients (n=9; no SP)
• Chorioallantoic RNA sequencing performed post-partum
• 1,580 genes differentially expressed (FDR p

04/26/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18wVxbowcu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

04/21/2026

📢 New Open-Access Paper Alert in Equine Reproduction! 🐴✨

How much do assisted reproductive techniques really influence the health of newborn foals? This is a question that continues to spark debate—and a new study by Alonso et al. (2026), published in Reproduction in Domestic Animals, brings some much-needed clarity.
In this retrospective study, the authors compared foals obtained through AI, embryo transfer, and ICSI, looking closely at early neonatal parameters such as birth weight and the timing of key developmental milestones after birth.
The results are reassuring: despite the increasing use of advanced techniques like ICSI, no significant differences emerged in neonatal outcomes between the different reproductive methods. Instead, factors such as breed and farm management appeared to play a much more relevant role in shaping early foal health.

💡 In other words, the technique itself may matter less than we think—while genetics and management remain central players.

If you're working in equine reproduction or simply curious about how far reproductive technologies can go without compromising animal health, this paper is definitely worth your time.

📖 Dive into the full open-access article here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/rda.70192

What’s your experience with ARTs and neonatal outcomes in foals? 👇

03/14/2026

https://news.ufl.edu/2026/03/equine-ivf/

Interesting to note frozen semen more practical to work with!

Researchers successfully fertilized a horse egg using IVF for the first time in the state of Florida.

03/01/2026

Hands on learning experience on March 14, 15, 2026! Skills that aid in resume development, breeding program expansion and overall horse experience.

01/28/2026

Breeding season is just around the corner! Let’s think warm thoughts!!

01/16/2026

https://youtu.be/NaO4vYQColI?si=Xu2d5UX1Nz1u1zh4
Learn how to collect a stallion, package horse semen for transport, artificially inseminate a mare with fresh and frozen semen at our upcoming Reproduction Workshops Match 14, 15, 2026!!

What we do at Iron Horse Equine