Reproduction

• The Hofmann Center offers a Breeding Soundness Evaluation or fertility work-up for mares to determine if there are problems that may be associated with infertility. 
• The package includes:
  • Palpation and ultrasonographic evaluation of the mare’s reproductive tract per rectum
  • Uterine culture
  • Uterine cytology
  • Uterine biopsy
  • Manual, digital evaluation of the cervix
  • Vaginal speculum examination
  • For those mares requiring additional diagnostics, we also offer hysteroscopy, low volume uterine lavage with culture and cytology, endocrine testing and cytogenetic analysis.
• If you are interested in a fertility work-up for your mare, please contact our reproduction team today by calling 610-925-6364.

• The Hofmann Center offers breeding packages for mares being inseminated with fresh, chilled or frozen semen.  The packages include all necessary transrectal ultrasonographic examinations and artificial inseminations.  Board, medications and other treatments (ie. uterine lavage, uterine infusions) are additional. 
• Mares managed for frozen-semen breedings are carefully monitored throughout the daytime and evening hours and are inseminated via deep uterine horn insemination, timed carefully to coincide with ovulation.  All mares, including those with foals, receive personalized care including daily individual turnout in large outdoor paddocks.

• The Hofmann Center offers a wide variety of other reproduction services to mare owners including:
  • Pregnancy diagnosis
  • Fetal sex determination
  • Manual twin pregnancy reduction
  • Medical treatment of blockled oviducts
  • Transvaginal twin pregnancy reduction
  • Treatment of uterine infections (bacterial and fungal)
  • Endometrial biopsy interpretation (in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System, PADLS).
  • If you are interested in submitting an equine endometrial biopsy for processing and interpretation, please fill out the Endometrial Biopsy Submission Form (PDF), and contact PADLS Mammalian Pathology Lab for more information, fees, and timeline for results. 
• In conjunction with our Board-certified surgeons, internists and imaging specialists, we also offer:
  • Surgery to improve mare perineal conformation
  • Evaluation of mid- and late-term pregnancies
  • Diagnosis and treatment of uterine and ovarian tumors
  • Uterine cyst removal
  • Cervical laceration repair
  • Ovariectomy
  • Foaling packages for high-risk mares
  • Laparoscopic treatment of blocked oviducts

If you are considering the purchase of a breeding stallion, if you have a stallion whose fertility is uncertain, or if you are retiring a performance horse to a breeding career, the Hofmann Center offers a wide range of fertility evaluations designed to fit your needs – from simple semen evaluations to complete fertility workups including the most advanced semen analysis tests and testicular imaging. 

We routinely work with stallions breeding only a few mares to stallions breeding hundreds of mares each year and we are happy to put together an evaluation that will most accurately allow us to assess your stallion’s potential fertility.

Semen collection and packaging for transport are available by appointment Monday – Friday between 9 AM and 3 PM. Semen is collected and analyzed by veterinary specialists before packaging and shipping. Transport containers are available for rental and disposable transport containers are available for purchase. Hofmann Center will use UPS unless an alternate courier is requested, but Hofmann Center will not be liable for any delays or damage that occurs during shipping that results in a damaged or unbreedable dose. It is the owner’s responsibility to request insurance if the courier offers insurance for fresh/frozen semen.

To book a collection, contact the team at (610) 925-6364.

The Hofmann Center offers training services for stallion semen collection.  The center boasts a spacious breeding shed with rubber flooring, experienced stallion handlers, board certified reproduction specialists and stimulus mares (ovariectomized and mares in natural estrus).

Our experienced team can train your novice stallion to mount the breeding mount or stimulus mare for semen collection in an artificial vagina. We also can introduce novice stallions to live cover using our seasoned mares. 

In addition, we provide training for semen collection on the ground (“ground collection”) and specialize in assisting problem stallions.

The Hofmann Center offers semen freezing services.  The center boasts a spacious breeding shed with rubber flooring, experienced stallion handlers, board certified reproduction specialists, reproductive laboratory and stimulus mares. 

Both before and after freezing, a careful semen analysis is performed, including computer-assisted sperm motility analysis, evaluation of sperm morphology, and fluorescence-based sperm cell counting. 

An automated freezer is available to more carefully control the freezing process.  Frozen semen can be stored at the Hofmann Center for a quarterly fee. Transport containers are available for rent if frozen semen needs to be transported to another facility.

In addition to routine semen freezing, the Hofmann Center also offers epididymal semen freezing.  Epididymal sperm can be harvested directly from the testicular duct in recently deceased stallions or following castration. This allows for preservation of a valuable stallion’s genetic material, even after unexpected death.

For stallions with fertility problems, our experienced veterinarians can provide not only the best in diagnostic testing, but also management recommendations, and advanced semen processing techniques to maximize pregnancy rates.  We can remove ‘toxic’ seminal plasma and even filter semen to remove defective sperm from an ejaculate.  Low-dose, deep horn insemination is readily available for mares bred to subfertile stallions with low sperm numbers.  For the most severely subfertile animals, sperm can be frozen and made available for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

We also specialize in comprehensive evaluations for stallions with behavioral and ejaculatory problems.  A team of experts including our board certified reproduction specialists, board certified equine behaviorist and our experienced stallion handlers will work together to find a solution to your stallion’s problems.  Having your stallion evaluated with us allows for a ‘whole horse’ approach to the problem and access to all the state-of-the-art facilities available at New Bolton Center.  Together with our board certified imaging specialists, surgeons and internists, we can design a customized, comprehensive evaluation plan for your stallion designed to identify even subtle problems that can adversely affect reproductive function.

• Weaving
• Cribbing
• Pacing
• Headshaking
• Developmental
• Foal Behavior
• Compliance with Management
• Procedures Aggression
• Head-shyness
• Social Grouping and Separation Problems

• Libido
• Erection Ejaculation
• Rowdy Behavior
• Handling Issues
• Breeding Shed Facilities and Design Related to
• Behavior Self-mutilation
• Hyperactive Stereotypes (Weaving, Pacing, Cribbing)

• Mare Foal Interaction Problems
• Estrus Cycle Related Performance Problems
• Stallion Like Behavior in Mares