A note from Karin Offield and Susanne Hassler // Originally published July-August 2009
“We agree in the value of a public statement from us, about how common this kind of drop in a stallion’s semen production can be when a stallion experiences fever for any number of reasons. We can create this into an opportunity to educate the breeding public and media outlets about spermatogenesis, hopefully defusing some of the hysteria that is so typical when the breeders and media learn that the stallion is not ‘perfect’ at this time.”
Susanne continues: “I always remind breeders that these are creatures–not machines–susceptible to transient episodes of colds or fevers just like the rest of us. I also think it is wise to note his pregnancy rate achieved during this period, reassuring the community of his continued fertility.”
Lingh by Flemmingh x Columbus
In early May 2009, some press hit the internet and magazines about Offield Farms’ stallion Lingh, stationed at the National Stud of Sweden Flyinge. The stallion had experienced a transient fever earlier in the spring and, as very commonly happens for stallions, this brief health episode showed up several weeks later most tangibly in the quality of his semen. Spermatogenesis (the production of sperm cells) takes 60-days and any health event for a stallion which results in even a slight fever will interrupt spermatogenesis. While Lingh continued to produce sperm cells during his brief ‘cold,’ the quality of those cells’ motility was significantly lowered. The excellent professional management team at Flyinge, Sweden’s National Stud who are committed to the successful representation of their stationed stallions and the success of their breeders, chose to contact the mare owners and inform them that until Lingh’s semen quality had returned to normal, mares would need to be brought to Flyinge for breeding, given the lower volume of quality semen available from the stallion at that time.
The problem was short lived.
By June 5th, less than 30 days later, Flyinge resumed sending semen from Lingh 1185
As noted in a Flyinge Press Release: “Lingh is again producing high quality semen. Flyinge is immediately resuming the transport of Lingh semen to breeders all over the country.”
Lingh has shown excellent pregnancy results, with over 70% pregnancies among examined mares so far this season. Even most of the mares inseminated with his slightly less motile semen in the beginning of May have become pregnant.
“I am very pleased that we again can send Lingh semen to breeders outside of Flyinge”, said Karl-Henrik Heimdahl, Breeding Manager of Flyinge AB. “Lingh with his excellent international show record, great dressage pedigree, his type and excellent movements has attracted a lot of interest among Swedish breeders. I am therefore very happy to again be able to recommend Lingh to mare owners all over the country interested in high quality breeding.”
Lingh in Flyinge
Ridsport magazine was one of the first to write about this event at its onset and commented how very professional it was, on the part of Flyinge Breeding Director Dr. Karl-Henrik Heimdahl, to release this information in such a trustworthy way. Ridsport further commented that Flyinge had served to provide outstanding management of the situation and a great example to the breeding community as a whole. The good news, much as was anticipated, is that Lingh’s semen quality returned to normal by early June. Pregnancy rates for the mares bred at Flyinge during this brief intermission of the shipped semen season remained excellent and Flyinge has since resumed the shipment of Lingh’s semen to mare owners across Scandinavia.
Semen frozen from Lingh to meet the international market was frozen during the months of December through February, 2009, well in advance of this minor health episode which caused this recent hic-cup in the quality of his semen. The mares bred early this season with Lingh’s new inventory of frozen semen have reported first cycle pregnancies. Offield Farms and Hassler Dressage are pleased to continue to provide quality frozen semen to represent this outstanding stallion to mare owners across North America.
