Equine Semen Extenders: Effect on Bacterial Growth and Sperm Viability

Preliminary results of a collaborative effort between researchers at Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University were recently presented at the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in San Diego, Calif. These researchers compared antibiotic properties of common equine semen extenders with four different strains of bacteria, including Taylorella

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Preliminary results of a collaborative effort between researchers at Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University were recently presented at the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in San Diego, Calif. These researchers compared antibiotic properties of common equine semen extenders with four different strains of bacteria, including Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative organism for contagious equine metritis (CEM).

Unique to this study were the comparisons of how these extenders and bacteria affect semen quality and longevity.

Equine semen that is packaged and cool-shipped for artificial insemination (AI) is almost always extended with a skim milk- or egg yolk-based semen extender. There are multiple types of these extenders available on the market, but results on their benefits and detriments are not definitive.

In equids, they are utilized for their ability to maintain plasma membrane integrity while protecting spermatozoa from cold shock, detrimental seminal plasma proteins, and toxic byproducts produced by the sperm cells. Most extenders used today also contain antibiotics to decrease bacterial growth in semen; however, additional antimicrobial supplementation of extender is also accepted

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Kimberly S. Brown is the editor of EquiManagement/EquiManagement.com and the group publisher of the Equine Health Network at Equine Network LLC.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
277 votes · 277 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!