My Breeding Adventure with Penny

SuZQuzie · 05-05-2008, 04:08 PM

Wow, so this has been a fun past few weeks. (Sarcasm there.)

When talking with the breeding manager of Capone (PM me for name), we worked out that the contract from Corrine would be accepted. When I asked about the fees, it was a $250 collection fee and another $500 booking fee. Huh? We paid the booking fee last year, yes, and Corrine agreed that, since we never actually requested any semen, she would role over the booking fee to 2008. The BM responds with "you can go get that money from Corrine, but this $500 is so that I get paid for doing my job." Corrine (former "owner" of Capone) had dropped off the face of the earth and had changed e-mails and phone numbers, the only ways we had of communication with her. We ended up paying the second booking fee (ew). And the collection fee was only $175 last year, but who's counting.

So, Penny went off to the local clinic with an awesome breeding program on April 17th to be bred to Capone I. Based on her last heat, she should have been coming into heat a bit more than a week after arriving. She was teased to a paint teaser stallion. GORGEOUS chestnut heavy-sabino stallion who has a few nice foals on the ground, but had a trailer accident and can no longer service a mare nor a phantom. They tried ground collections, but he didn't catch on, so he was donated to this clinic.

So, rather than not exist, he proved his worth as a teaser. When he had Penny up there barely entering estrus, he was cooing at her and giving her little love nips. She started to squeal, but he kept it up until the vet, Dr. Winkler, said, "that's enough Patch," and he backed off immediately!

I was so impressed, especially since the last teaser Penny had dealt with was a 14.3hh screaming nutso Arab who had to be dragged away from ANY mare, estrus or not.

A week later Penny started teasing well and was looking like she could be bred that Thursday. On Wednesday, she had a 36mm follicle, so we ordered semen at 9:30ish am for Thursday. Perfect timing considered she ovulated at a 40mm last time and conceived.

We don't hear a word from the Breeding Manager, you know, the woman who needed the $500 "to do her job," until at least after 3:30 pm that afternoon. She says, that fine, we will get you the semen. Okay, fine.

Thursday comes but the semen doesn't.

She had misunderstood us and thought we wanted semen COLLECTED Thursday. Alright, fine, that can happen. They can't counter-to-counter it because of reasons unknown to me, btu she assures us that the semen will go out that morning. Everyone crosses their fingers HOPING Penny holds on to her follicle!

Friday morning and everyone is waiting around for the semen. We get a call from UPS - they have a package of semen scheduled to arrive at the clinic at Monday. HUH??? Turns out the semen wasn't dropped off at UPS until AFTER HOURS (4:30pm) and they had second day-ed it rather than overnight. SERIOUS?

We say, no, we need the semen NOW. Well, we can upgrade the shipment, but we need the shipper to approve it. Fine. Well, once again, the BM can't be reached until after 2.

We finally get the semen on Saturday around 2:30pm. It is in a one-time use cardboard semen container that has two other sets of postage on it and isn't recommended for out-of-state shipments (WA to CA), there is no original quality report on the semen, and it is in a run-of-the-mill syringe rather than an Air-Tite sterile one. They look at the semen under a microscope to see if it's even alive. Well, we couldn't tell. We asked the BM and she said that it was some fancy German extender that uses fat globules. The clinic's BM, however, said that it looked like a old style of extender that went out of style since you couldn't tell mobility for squat. Well, SOMETHING was moving, so we dosed Penny with it on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Monday, she still has a follicle. It's a 48mm. Serious, Penny? We wanted you to hold it, but not that long! It's gone by Tuesday.

So, who thinks she'll take?

I'm sorry, but I'm rather doubtful right now. If she doesn't, we're asking for frozen semen so Penny can take her sweet ole time and she is the only one in the world that we are waiting for.

Shannon · 05-05-2008, 04:20 PM

Oh....my...gosh.

Suzie, can you please post this on COTH? Ugh.

I'm so friggen sorry. 48mm? DANG! I sure hope in a week and a day (that would be 15 days right?) an US shows you that she caught...so you never have to deal with this corrupt arrangement again. Phew.

SuZQuzie · 05-05-2008, 08:14 PM

Haha, thanks for taking the time to read this Shan. I posted it for you anyways!

Canadian Sage · 05-05-2008, 08:15 PM

Yikes, sounds like quite the ordeal...

hopefully she caught and your done with all of that!

imjustjoking22 · 05-05-2008, 09:03 PM

Wow, what a professional...

. I think you should make a stink

- you are far nicer than me.

Crossing my fingers that she is successfully bred to that hunk!!!

ryu2832 · 05-06-2008, 04:54 AM

Ruby held onto a follicle like that for 5 or 6 days...it just wouldn't go. She didn't take on that heat, but we got her on the next.

I hope everything works out. Fingers crossed. Breeding is nerve racking enough without complications.

Come on Penny!

ponypotion · 05-06-2008, 05:23 AM

wow!!! i could not deal with what you are dealing with, thats for sure!!
And that lady does NOT NOT NOT deserve 500 bucks for doing "her job", I'm mad for you!
I'm praying that she takes...!!

Acme Acres · 05-06-2008, 06:37 AM

Well the only thing I really see being a problem is 1. no report being sent with the semen outlining a. what the collection volume was gel free, b. what the motility was at the time of collection, c. what extender was used and d. what the final total number of sperm per mL was sent (or a total volume of sperm) and that they did not care about it making it to UPS on time. As far as the booking fee and collection fees, we don't roll booking fees over from year to year unless there are extenuating circumstances and the collection fee... well shoot, you have no choice but to pay it.

Hopefully Penny sticks though!

Sandra-A1 · 05-06-2008, 07:13 AM

I must say that after reading what your experience with this breeding manager was like....I would even be worried as to what stallion this semen shipment even came from!

Shannon · 05-06-2008, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandra-A1

I must say that after reading what your experience with this breeding manager was like....I would even be worried as to what stallion this semen shipment even came from!

SHE HAS A POINT!!!

And Julie, it wasn't Suzie's fault that they couldn't use the breeding last year. It was ALL on the then-stallion "owner."

05-05-2008, 04:08 PM	#1
SuZQuzie Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cold, Rainy, and Miserable Central California Posts: 2,821	My Breeding Adventure with Penny Wow, so this has been a fun past few weeks. (Sarcasm there.) When talking with the breeding manager of Capone (PM me for name), we worked out that the contract from Corrine would be accepted. When I asked about the fees, it was a $250 collection fee and another $500 booking fee. Huh? We paid the booking fee last year, yes, and Corrine agreed that, since we never actually requested any semen, she would role over the booking fee to 2008. The BM responds with "you can go get that money from Corrine, but this $500 is so that I get paid for doing my job." Corrine (former "owner" of Capone) had dropped off the face of the earth and had changed e-mails and phone numbers, the only ways we had of communication with her. We ended up paying the second booking fee (ew). And the collection fee was only $175 last year, but who's counting. So, Penny went off to the local clinic with an awesome breeding program on April 17th to be bred to Capone I. Based on her last heat, she should have been coming into heat a bit more than a week after arriving. She was teased to a paint teaser stallion. GORGEOUS chestnut heavy-sabino stallion who has a few nice foals on the ground, but had a trailer accident and can no longer service a mare nor a phantom. They tried ground collections, but he didn't catch on, so he was donated to this clinic. So, rather than not exist, he proved his worth as a teaser. When he had Penny up there barely entering estrus, he was cooing at her and giving her little love nips. She started to squeal, but he kept it up until the vet, Dr. Winkler, said, "that's enough Patch," and he backed off immediately! I was so impressed, especially since the last teaser Penny had dealt with was a 14.3hh screaming nutso Arab who had to be dragged away from ANY mare, estrus or not. A week later Penny started teasing well and was looking like she could be bred that Thursday. On Wednesday, she had a 36mm follicle, so we ordered semen at 9:30ish am for Thursday. Perfect timing considered she ovulated at a 40mm last time and conceived. We don't hear a word from the Breeding Manager, you know, the woman who needed the $500 "to do her job," until at least after 3:30 pm that afternoon. She says, that fine, we will get you the semen. Okay, fine. Thursday comes but the semen doesn't. She had misunderstood us and thought we wanted semen COLLECTED Thursday. Alright, fine, that can happen. They can't counter-to-counter it because of reasons unknown to me, btu she assures us that the semen will go out that morning. Everyone crosses their fingers HOPING Penny holds on to her follicle! Friday morning and everyone is waiting around for the semen. We get a call from UPS - they have a package of semen scheduled to arrive at the clinic at Monday. HUH??? Turns out the semen wasn't dropped off at UPS until AFTER HOURS (4:30pm) and they had second day-ed it rather than overnight. SERIOUS? We say, no, we need the semen NOW. Well, we can upgrade the shipment, but we need the shipper to approve it. Fine. Well, once again, the BM can't be reached until after 2. We finally get the semen on Saturday around 2:30pm. It is in a one-time use cardboard semen container that has two other sets of postage on it and isn't recommended for out-of-state shipments (WA to CA), there is no original quality report on the semen, and it is in a run-of-the-mill syringe rather than an Air-Tite sterile one. They look at the semen under a microscope to see if it's even alive. Well, we couldn't tell. We asked the BM and she said that it was some fancy German extender that uses fat globules. The clinic's BM, however, said that it looked like a old style of extender that went out of style since you couldn't tell mobility for squat. Well, SOMETHING was moving, so we dosed Penny with it on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Monday, she still has a follicle. It's a 48mm. Serious, Penny? We wanted you to hold it, but not that long! It's gone by Tuesday. So, who thinks she'll take? I'm sorry, but I'm rather doubtful right now. If she doesn't, we're asking for frozen semen so Penny can take her sweet ole time and she is the only one in the world that we are waiting for.

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05-05-2008, 04:20 PM	#2
Shannon Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beautiful Southern California Posts: 6,173	Oh....my...gosh. Suzie, can you please post this on COTH? Ugh. I'm so friggen sorry. 48mm? DANG! I sure hope in a week and a day (that would be 15 days right?) an US shows you that she caught...so you never have to deal with this corrupt arrangement again. Phew.

05-05-2008, 08:14 PM	#3
SuZQuzie Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cold, Rainy, and Miserable Central California Posts: 2,821	Haha, thanks for taking the time to read this Shan. I posted it for you anyways!

05-05-2008, 08:15 PM	#4
Canadian Sage Senior Member+ Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canadian, Eh? Posts: 4,706	Yikes, sounds like quite the ordeal... hopefully she caught and your done with all of that!

05-05-2008, 09:03 PM	#5
imjustjoking22 Senior Member+ Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,175	Wow, what a professional... . I think you should make a stink - you are far nicer than me. Crossing my fingers that she is successfully bred to that hunk!!!

05-06-2008, 04:54 AM	#6
ryu2832 Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 2,633	Ruby held onto a follicle like that for 5 or 6 days...it just wouldn't go. She didn't take on that heat, but we got her on the next. I hope everything works out. Fingers crossed. Breeding is nerve racking enough without complications. Come on Penny!

05-06-2008, 05:23 AM	#7
ponypotion Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Louisiana Posts: 506	wow!!! i could not deal with what you are dealing with, thats for sure!! And that lady does NOT NOT NOT deserve 500 bucks for doing "her job", I'm mad for you! I'm praying that she takes...!!

05-06-2008, 06:37 AM	#8
Acme Acres Senior Member+ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 5,286	Well the only thing I really see being a problem is 1. no report being sent with the semen outlining a. what the collection volume was gel free, b. what the motility was at the time of collection, c. what extender was used and d. what the final total number of sperm per mL was sent (or a total volume of sperm) and that they did not care about it making it to UPS on time. As far as the booking fee and collection fees, we don't roll booking fees over from year to year unless there are extenuating circumstances and the collection fee... well shoot, you have no choice but to pay it. Hopefully Penny sticks though!

05-06-2008, 07:13 AM	#9
Sandra-A1 Senior Member+ Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Alabama Posts: 8,038	I must say that after reading what your experience with this breeding manager was like....I would even be worried as to what stallion this semen shipment even came from!