[Redfishy]

A friend was talking about embryo transfers and it got me thinking about money. Does anyone know how much this costs? Just seems like it would be $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to me.

Anyone know?

[Mutrok]

It is very expensive. Last time checked it was about $3500.

[Lindsayanne]

It is both "crazy expensive" and "not as bad as you'd think"

Firstly, Whatever price they tell you the procedure will be, inclusive, add another 25-50%. Pricing varies widely from clinic to clinic, and may include up to several attempts, or be priced procedure by procedure. Be sure to find out how your veterinarian prices equine ET. As a very basic rule of thumb (excluding stud fees and/or AI costs), expect about $800-$1000 per attempt using a local non-specialist veterinarian, $1200-$2500 to go through a university vet school, and upwards of $3000 to go through a equine reproductive clinic. Keep in mind, however, equine reproductive clinics who specialize in Embryo transfer have a significantly higher success rate that universities, and universities as higher success rate than local veterinarians.


I tried it one year with Ebony. I may do it again, as she ages, but I will never, ever try it again with a local vet. Esh. What was I thinking? I've since learned repro clinics, while yes, more expensive, have an astronomically higher success rate.

[RiddleMeThis]

According to Kathy at Equine Reproduction (and I am sure she will chime in here) the foal should have a value of about 10k when it hits the ground to make it worth it. That should give you a range of pricing.

[Lindsayanne]

Originally Posted by RiddleMeThis

According to Kathy at Equine Reproduction (and I am sure she will chime in here) the foal should have a value of about 10k when it hits the ground to make it worth it. That should give you a range of pricing.

I hope she'll post- but I think that is really steep. That must include stud fees (sometimes when doing ET, a stallion owner charges the fee per embryo), and doing every ET attempt using a embryo produced with AI (and all it's costs), AND boarding your mare at a clinic, AND leasing your recipient mare. Even then, if you got it on the first or second try it shouldn't be that much, IMO.

[RiddleMeThis]

Originally Posted by Lindsayanne

I hope she'll post- but I think that is really steep. That must include stud fees (sometimes when doing ET, a stallion owner charges the fee per embryo), and doing every ET attempt using a embryo produced with AI (and all it's costs), AND boarding your mare at a clinic, AND leasing your recipient mare. Even then, if you got it on the first or second try it shouldn't be that much, IMO.

Im not sure what she included in that cost, but Im almost completely positive its with AI, as it was on a board with mostly warmblood breeders, and they almost exclusively do AI.

[Equine Repro]

Originally Posted by Lindsayanne

I hope she'll post- but I think that is really steep. That must include stud fees (sometimes when doing ET, a stallion owner charges the fee per embryo), and doing every ET attempt using a embryo produced with AI (and all it's costs), AND boarding your mare at a clinic, AND leasing your recipient mare. Even then, if you got it on the first or second try it shouldn't be that much, IMO.

RiddleMeThis is correct. I did not say that the cost of doing an ET is $10,000. I said that the VALUE of the foal should be, at a minimum, $10,000 to warrant the expenses involved in doing an ET. Even then, the costs can quickly surpass the value of the foal. Dealing with individuals that are competent in ET's is a BIG plus as not all facilities are created equal. Fees can be anywhere from a per cycle management fee, to an all inclusive, live foal guarantee. Also, costs of recipient mares, cost of using your own mare, cost to ship the embryo, all of those will enter into the picture. If you're dealing with a facility that has a large herd of recipient mares, you will be more likely to have a mare that will "match" the donor mare's ovulation and subsequent flush date. Trying to syncrhonize two mares can be tricky although that was the method I used quite successfully for years.

Costs will vary from as low as $750.00/flush (that will not include the transfer, recip mare, mare management, etc.) to as high as $7,500.00 which includes a recip mare, live foal guarantee and multiple flushes. Huge variation and HUGE variety of skill levels.

ET is not for the faint of heart and before considering it, make sure that your mare is worth the additional expenditure. Additionally, older mares (over 18) can be considerably more difficult to attain a viable embryo even though those are often the mares that are most often used as the tend to be ones that have successful performance careers behind them.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[Spotted Mustang]

Originally Posted by Equine Repro

RiddleMeThis is correct. I did not say that the cost of doing an ET is $10,000. I said that the VALUE of the foal should be, at a minimum, $10,000 to warrant the expenses involved in doing an ET. Even then, the costs can quickly surpass the value of the foal. Dealing with individuals that are competent in ET's is a BIG plus as not all facilities are created equal. Fees can be anywhere from a per cycle management fee, to an all inclusive, live foal guarantee. Also, costs of recipient mares, cost of using your own mare, cost to ship the embryo, all of those will enter into the picture. If you're dealing with a facility that has a large herd of recipient mares, you will be more likely to have a mare that will "match" the donor mare's ovulation and subsequent flush date. Trying to syncrhonize two mares can be tricky although that was the method I used quite successfully for years.

Costs will vary from as low as $750.00/flush (that will not include the transfer, recip mare, mare management, etc.) to as high as $7,500.00 which includes a recip mare, live foal guarantee and multiple flushes. Huge variation and HUGE variety of skill levels.

ET is not for the faint of heart and before considering it, make sure that your mare is worth the additional expenditure. Additionally, older mares (over 18) can be considerably more difficult to attain a viable embryo even though those are often the mares that are most often used as the tend to be ones that have successful performance careers behind them.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

I can see why the average mare owner does not usually do embryo transfers, though I have of high level performance mares who have multiple foals each year.

Could you explain the process to those of us who have little experience with it? I understand the basic idea, but I would love to hear more detail.

[Lindsayanne]

Originally Posted by Spotted Mustang

I can see why the average mare owner does not usually do embryo transfers, though I have of high level performance mares who have multiple foals each year.

Could you explain the process to those of us who have little experience with it? I understand the basic idea, but I would love to hear more detail.

Maybe Kathy can provide a more technical answer, but I think UT has a fantastic "embryo transfer for dummies" article online here: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publi...ts/TNH1003.pdf

[Finallyownhorse]

I saw it done on Discovery Channel. It was on Dirties Jobs, and it was the most facinating this I have ever seen. It was a breeding facility and they did everything from semen collection to the embryo transfer.

Maybe some computer gurus on here could see if it was on-line somewhere. It was very interesting to watch.