You find the perfect stallion for your mare, and he happens to live across the pond. So FedEx delivers a shipping container, and your mare has a date with your equine practitioner. It sounds so simple. But is it?

To breed your mare to a stallion standing in Europe, however, involves a chain of protocols that must meet government regulations. That’s “government” with a small g, because the European nation where the stallion stands at stud, the European Union, and the U.S. government all dictate the documentation required–before the shipping container lands on your doorstep.

The logistics of importing equine semen from Europe must follow each government’s demands for testing and certification.

For transit of collected semen, shipping schedules affect timely delivery of the canister. And U.S. regulations control imported biological materials. Those mandates add an extra wrinkle to the successful delivery.

Ultimately, marketing European stallions is a situation of supply and demand. France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, or the Netherlands house the supply that breeders in the rest of the world covet–hundreds of sport horse stallions. If you’re set on that European sire, you must understand the details of the logistics and paperwork.

European Origin
Breeding facilities follow European Union and national procedures. Private farms and national studs earn the license of being a European-Union approved collection facility.

“There’s now a tremendous amount of commerce across Europe with fresh semen between countries,” said Bo Crabo, DVM, of Cave Creek, Ariz. “The facilities have to be EU-approved.”

Crabo represents the Swedish dressage star, Amiral, in North America. Their stallions have been screened through extensive, regimented testing to assure they’re free from disease.

“They’re tested on a regular basis,” said Joe Gengenbach, of Tailwinds Farm, Collinsville, Texas. He and Molly Gengenbach are the North American representatives for Sweden’s Dalhem Farm, the owner and breeder of Bj?lls Briar 899.

Stallions standing in Sweden, he said, are tested for Australia and Europe, which have more stringent requirements than the United States. Generally, stallions are examined for Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), EVA, EIA, dourine, and glanders.

Reputable farms also test semen samples for quality. They verify cryopreservation (freezing) through post-thaw motility and sperm numbers that promote conception. If you deal with an established facility you won’t have to worry about a stallion’s fertility with frozen semen.
For example, the Hanoverian state stud collects semen for freezing at its Stallion Testing Station at Adelheidsdorf. Its Besamungsstation (collection center) at Landgest?le was established in 1973, and it’s a second collection and shipping location for frozen semen. Celle exports semen to the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

Karen Reid, of Fox Fire Farm, Fox Island, Wash., who represents stallions from Germany’s Holsteiner Verband, emphasized the importance of having data on a stallion’s pre- and post-thaw motility.

“If the importer has in hand the motility of the stallions, then the excuse from the breeder’s vet that ‘the semen wasn’t good’ can be dismissed. Otherwise, [some] American vets can and will use this as an excuse why the mare did not take.”

Stallions used for semen exportation are maintained separately from other horses. The conditions of quarantine vary, with demands of different nations governing the restrictions of stabling and fences.

“The details of the requirements have to do with the country the semen is going to,” said Kathy Hickerson of Majestic Gaits, Brookline, N.H. “The regulations are always changing.”

Crabo said, “The stallion can’t be in contact with any other horses, or only certain people can enter the area. He’s not in contact with other horses once he went through all the tests, especially because of CEM.”

Gengenbach added, “The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [APHIS] has changed the rules and is more user-friendly, in my opinion. The old way, a stallion could be two months in a quarantine station before he goes back to competition. Now the time re-straints are shorter to get the stallion back competing. It makes more sense to have less time to wait between the tests.”

Importing fresh, cooled semen is another option, although dependent on tight time schedules. “You do have mares that won’t get pregnant with frozen semen,” said Gengenbach. “There are breeders out there who will pay the extra cost for fresh.”

He explained that the same regulations apply, and semen can ship from Germany to Dallas within 12 hours of collection. “We set everything up beforehand, to clear through customs and the Government Veterinary Services.”

MeriJane Malouin, Harmony, Calif., recalled that Galoubet, the famous Selle Francais stallion, had semen that didn’t freeze well so his was shipped fresh, two or three times a week.

Her Malouin Manor represents stallions from Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. “With U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], it’s the same whether you import fresh or frozen. It has to come with the right paperwork,” she added.

“The costs are basically the same for 50 straws or for fresh, cooled,” agreed Gengenbach.

Stateside Regulations And Procedures
“Importing frozen semen is basically the same as importing a horse,” said Crabo.

The National Center for Import and Export (NCIE) of Veterinary Services of APHIS, USDA, oversees protocol for importing equine semen.

Because all European Union countries are affected by CEM, or known cases exist, only semen that originated from an official semen collection unit–approved or licensed by the country’s national government, and supervised by that country’s national animal health service–is acceptable for import into the United States. The horse must test negative for dourine and CEM. In addition, any semen extender using a milk product must originate from a country not affected by foot-and-mouth disease.

NCIE does not specify days of quarantine, however. The stallion may not be used for natural breeding for 15 days prior to beginning the period of CEM testing.

“The USDA has very tight regulations,” said Margaret O’Neill of Windsor Farm, Upperville, Va., who imports semen of the renowned jumper sire Quidam de Revel. “The work gets done on the other end [Europe]. When we get the semen, it’s been through the USDA regulations.”

Once the semen is collected and frozen, the straws must be marked with donor stallion, collection date, and the AI unit. The veterinarian supervising collection will attest to certification and testing and issue an official health certificate in English. A veterinarian employed by the country’s national animal health service endorses the certificate.

The facility will safeguard the straws under lock and key or the veterinarian will maintain custody of straws until the straws are packaged in a shipping container and sealed with government seals. The dry shipper, also called a vapor shipper, is a liquid nitrogen storage tank that contains the straws. Sealed dry shippers are sent to the nearest airport for direct U.S. shipment.

Paperwork on every semen shipment includes an import permit issued from NCIE. The permit and the health certificate accompany the shipment from European origin to the United States.

“They do all the testing and do their paperwork at their end to make sure it meets the USDA requirement. On my end, we have to do the paperwork for the permit,” Malouin said.

Upon arrival, often an import agent hand-carries the frozen semen from the plane through customs and then to FedEx.

The shipment must clear APHIS Veterinary Services, and each destination has an assigned government veterinarian, said Gengenbach. For rapid processing of fresh semen shipments that official may be based near or at the airport.

“Importing semen takes getting to know the federal veterinarian in your area,” Reid advised, noting the APHIS Veterinary Services does have area offices in many states that supervise all species of animal imports (live, semen and embryos).

After receiving a shipment, the importer banks frozen semen at a U.S. location.

All of this organization is costly. Besides purchasing the straws from Europe, the importer pays NCIE $94 for each import permit. Liquid nitrogen storage tanks are a major investment and require constant oversight.

The costs are passed on to buyers, who pay for the protocol. (For example, a local breeding at one state stud is only $300.) Stallion owners or agents add on shipping and handling and a deposit on the tank, which can be $750 or more.

Science makes it easy to breed European–yet the bureaucracy on both sides of the Atlantic can delay the insemination. When you’ve got to have that one European sire, weigh the expense, logistics, and risks against the foal you plan.

Worldwide Exposure
Through the use of frozen semen, a stallion can produce offspring worldwide, increasing his value through the thousands of sport horse offspring he produces.

For example, in 2005 the Hannoveraner Verband reported that to date Weltmeyer has produced 3,637 foals in Hanover (Germany) alone, and untold numbers globally through sales of frozen semen.

His offspring have won more than $1 million, mostly in dressage. This 1984 chestnut continues to rank first in the United States Equestrian Federation leading sires for dressage.

A High-Risk Investment?
How often do you buy a product as is, with no guarantee or warranty? With imported frozen semen, often you’re investing with no promise of return. You must trust the agent’s reputation for honest representation–but realize you could spend thousands with no foal, if your mare doesn’t conceive.

Kathy Hickerson of Majestic Gaits, Brookline, N.H., offers a “limit foal guarantee” with imported frozen semen, backed up with two U.S.-based stallions for fresh semen.

Karen Reid, of Fox Fire Farm, Fox Island, Wash., explained, “We sell the semen live-foal guarantee only. That means the breeder whose mare isn’t pregnant may wait another year for more straws, or may substitute one of the Holsteiner stallions standing here. I sell semen only from the Holsteiner Verband, which keeps quality control and communication much easier.”

MeriJane Malouin said, “I have a whole variety of guarantees. Some stallions have a live foal guarantee with the frozen semen. Some are by the dose, with no guarantee. New this year from the owner of Ferro is that they’re selling it by the straw.”

She noted that many breeders express concern about using frozen semen. “I’ve never used fresh semen–only frozen. Ask about how many mares the stallion has bred and how many conceived,” she advised.

For more information, read the U.S. regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations, 9 CFR, part 93, at 93.301. The USDA also publishes news and articles on the APHIS Web site: www.aphis.usda.gov.

Working With An Agent
The representatives interviewed for this report are semen distribution agents. The agent’s role is to simplify importation–acting as the middleman who deals with the challenges of international commerce.

You contract with the agent to purchase the product. Some require upfront payments before the semen is shipped from Europe. What’s often more convenient, however, is for you to buy from stock.

“That’s the beauty of frozen semen,” said agent MeriJane Malouin, Harmony, Calif. “It’s ready when you’re ready.”

For most stallions, what you buy is a dose, loosely defined as a minimum of 700?800 million sperm, in six to eight straws. A straw usually holds .5 ml.

A dose is planned insemination for one cycle. However, if the mare conceives with fewer than the eight straws, you may be able to use one dose to cover more than one mare. (Check the contract to verify conditions.)

Agents are also customer-service oriented and often perform duties beyond just acting as middleman. “I send a guideline of the KWPN for the registration,” said Malouin. “I also send a straw to the Gluck Center to have it EVA-tested. It’s just good protocol to make sure.”

So far, all samples she’s sent have been EVA-negative. (Semen imported to the United States does not have to be negative for EVA.)