Reproduction

UCD Veterinary Hospital now offers specialist led equine reproduction service. (opens in a new window)Dr Niamh Lewis joined our team in 2021 and brings a unique skill set in advanced reproduction to the UCDVH.

Services offered include:

• Mare and stallion infertility investigations (Sport horse and Thoroughbred)
  • Barren mares
  • Recurring endometritis
  • Collaborative solutions with the equine surgery department for issues such as urine pooling, poor perineal conformation and oviductal blockages
  • Subfertile stallions with low per cycle and per season pregnancy rates
  • Low stallion libido (collaborative approach with medicine and surgery to rule out musculoskeletal and internal medicine issues)
  • On site laboratory for quick turnaround of cytology and histology samples
• High risk pregnant mare management
  • Serial monitoring of high risk pregnancies to assess fetal and placental development and viability
• OPU and ICSI
  • The latest advanced reproductive technology to produce foals in vitro from subfertile mare and stallion combinations.  Find out more about OPU and ICSI here

Bull & Ram Fertility

The UCD Veterinary Hospital's Breeding Soundness Examination of both bull and ram will identify sterile animals, but also those with reduced fertility at the time of examination.  The examination begins with a thorough physical examination of the bull or ram to check general health and look for any signs of lameness.  Following on from this, the focus then turns to the reproductive system, with examination of the penis and testicles, measurement of the scrotal circumference and rectal palpation of the accessory sex organs in the bull.  Semen is then collected, usually by electroejaculation.  A sample of the total ejaculate is evaluated on a warm microscope slide for motility, while another subsample is placed on a slide and stained to determine the percentage of sperm having normal and abnormal morphology.  The procedure does not evaluate an animal’s ability to mate or its libido.