A question for ya'll "old timer" breeders. This will be my 2nd yr. breeding. I spoke with a stallion owner & thought we were going to be able to do business. However, when I got the stallion contract, they require the mare owner to pay all charges for semen collection (including vet bill) and "handling charges" plus the shipping charges. When I bred my mare last year by AI, I paid for the shipping charges but not any other fees or charges. All other fees were included in the stud fee. Is this customary practice? I know the mare owner has to pay the shipping charges, which I think were $75.00, but I did not realize that the mare owner paid these other fees. Can some of ya'll give me your experiences?? Thanks

Those charges are usually charged all in one fee. The going rate for shipping is $250 per shipment. Find out how much these charges add up to and see if it is in line. The stallion owner may actually be giving you a better deal by only charging you cost instead of one fee. In other words, with most stallions, you pay the same no matter how many mares they service in one collection. This owner may be dividing the charges between mare owners. Ask for specifics, don't immediate think you are being shafted just because it is not the same way the last owner handled it.

Most ads, that I remember seeing, had collection fees, but I haven't seen many ads recently. Here's something to consider. Would it be fair for people bringing in mares for hand breeding to pay the same stud fee if collection and shipping were included? One should think about the board, that those owners pay.

Maybe the difference is that some people collect their own stallions at their farm and ship using their own containers and others obtain veterinary services for the entire process. It would also affect the price if those farms that collect their own semen didn't have or use an outside lab to test (and ensure!) the semen quality before shipping it to the mare.

The breeding center that I use charges a total of $325 for semen collection, analysis, providing an equicontainer and the FedEx services to: from their facility. This price also including the equicontainer rental fee (not sure what that is though, sorry!). Otherwise, they charge $100 to collect, $85 to evaluate the semen, and I'm thinking around $50 to AI and extra to the flush ($?) the mare at their facility. Other fees might include office visits, too...both for the mare and the stallion.

After experiencing how time consuming it was to get my older mare bred using AI, I think it’s fair to charge/pass semen collection/shipment fees as long especially if the facility that the stallion owner uses (whether their own or not) also has high standards and success rates. Even though it can be an expensive endeavor, the convenience of being able to "send for semen" combined with the added safety of not having to send your mare across the country, to me, is worth it.

Maybe just ask for specific details...which might be helpful in case you need to recollect for any reason. That happened to me when we were AI'd our older mare---she refused to go by the text book...

It does depend on the facility. We are not completely set up to collect here yet...so we have to use a service; so we are currently charging the Stud Fee and Chute Fee (chute fee with us includes Collection, Shipping & container rental). Mare owner pays to have the container returned. If I were set up to collect then I would increase my stud fee slightly to include the Chute Fee.....I prefer to list one amount and that amount includes everything, but again since I am not set up yet....I list them separately, since you are making out two checks one to me and one to the Vet.

I am new to breeding as well and appreciate all the posts and information!

Thanks everyone!

Cindy