Welcome to the first interactive information event of the Holsteiner Verband

Topic: Modern reproduction methods (OPU/ICSI, embryo transfer)

Above you can see the live stream of the event, which can be viewed free of charge without registration.

To be able to participate interactively in the information event, i.e. to ask questions, take part in polls, etc., please register with your email address and your name in the designated field. Under the "Questions and Answers" section, you can submit your questions during the course of the event. These will then be reviewed and approved by the team. You also have the opportunity to like other viewers' questions and thereby emphasise the importance of the question. The questions with the most likes (thumbs up) will be put forward by the moderator.

We would be delighted if you also took part in the polls to obtain an overview of the breeders' opinions on the subject of modern reproduction methods before and after the event. You can participate under the "Polls" section.
 

What are these breeding methods actually about?

Embryo transfer is already a quite widespread method: a few days after the insemination of a donor mare, the embryo is flushed out and transferred to a surrogate mare, which takes over both the gestation and the rearing. With OPU, oocytes are retrieved directly from the follicles on the ovaries by means of transvaginal aspiration under ultrasound control. The aim is to aspirate the follicular fluid containing the oocyte. The harvested oocytes are located under the microscope under strict hygiene regulations, washed and then matured in an incubator. Once the oocyte is ready for fertilisation, a single spermatozoon is injected directly into the oocyte using a very fine needle via the ICSI procedure. Subsequently, the fertilised oocyte matures again in the incubator for a few days before the resulting embryo can be transferred into a recipient mare or frozen for transport or storage. These methods enable the breeding utilisation of sport mares or other mares with very high genetic potential that cannot otherwise be used in breeding, as well as of stallions of which there is only (still) a limited amount of semen available.