Legends Premier Stallion Season Auction
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Supporting Advancements & Technology in the Breeding Industry
By Heather Smith Thomas
Reproductive specialists at Texas A&M University have been leaders in research that has advanced our knowledge and abilities in equine reproduction. In recent years one of the ways that these advancements and technology have been funded is through a unique on-line stallion auction. The Legends Premier Stallion Season Auction was originally begun as a way to support research and new techniques in stallion reproduction and was promoted as “stallions helping stallions”. Now in its 8th year, the program has expanded to support all aspects of equine reproduction, in mares as well as stallions.
Warren W. Hohertz, Program Coordinator of Equine Reproductive Studies, says that in the first 6 years, this special auction has raised more than 1.4 million dollars for equine research. “The Legends Auction was started by Dr. Dickson Varner, Pin Oak Stud Chair of Stallion Reproductive Studies at Texas A&M University. He is one of the top stallion specialists in the world and is highly respected in the equine industry. He travels all over the U.S. and to other countries working on stallions,” says Hohertz.
“The idea for a stallion auction was suggested to Dr. Varner by one of our supporters. We needed something to help keep our research program going and growing because education, research and equipment are expensive. The auction was started with the generous donation of breedings from a few select Thoroughbred stallions, and it grew from there.”
Dr. Varner spent a lot of time developing the model for the auction. “He basically camped out in his office and called people to let them know about the program and tell them about the auction. By the second auction he was able to hire some part-time help with this, and the auction kept growing,” says Hohertz.
The Legends Auction is no longer just a Texas event. Today, there are donors and participants from all over the world, and the donated stallion breedings represent many disciplines including Quarter Horse racing, cutting, barrel racing, reined cowhorse, and show horses. This past year, breedings from more than 200 stallions were donated.
“In September 2012, I joined the team as a full-time program coordinator. The auction is held December through February, but the work involved in doing this takes place through most of the year—to promote our program and talk to the wonderful people in the horse industry about their needs. Industry interest in our program grows each year. Starting out, we showcased mainly cutting, reining and racing stallions. I started growing the barrel horse discipline a couple years ago, and I think there will be a lot more interest in this area, and in elite show horses, in the future,” says Hohertz.
“We are currently growing the show horse discipline more, and have recently seen more interest represented in the show stallion breedings that are donated. We are open to any discipline. Our research in reproduction applies to all breeds and we appreciate this wide base of support,” he says.
Proceeds from the auction go toward equine reproduction advancements. In addition the auction-related activities enable the professors and researchers to reach out and connect with the equine industry through short courses and workshops specifically for Auction donors, buyers and supporters. These interactions help the scientists better understand the needs of the industry so they can structure their efforts to help horse owners.
As Dr. Dickson Varner says regarding the stallion auction, “We are indebted to so many people within the horse industry for their generosity and for their guidance as we strive to advance our knowledge of both basic and clinical aspects of equine reproduction.”
RESEARCH IN NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUES
“A facet that is gaining more interest today is the ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) and some stallion breedings (of frozen semen from deceased or geriatric stallions) are now being donated for this category,” says Hohertz. This is amazing technology, to assist reproduction in horses using semen stores that would otherwise have very limited chance at producing offspring. This technique involves injecting a single sperm directly into an egg (harvested from the donor mare), to fertilize it and hopefully create an embryo to be transferred into a recipient mare. This is a way that valuable genetics can be perpetuated even if the stallion is dead or infertile or if the mare has various reproductive problems.
“The mare is sedated and oocytes (eggs) are aspirated from her ovaries. We take those into our Equine Embryo Laboratory where Dr. Katrin Hinricks’ team matures them and performs fertilization by the ICSI procedure, injecting one sperm cell into each mature oocyte. Each fertilized egg is then incubated in hopes of getting a viable embryo. Once the embryo is ready, we ship it to an embryo transfer facility and it is transferred into a recipient mare—just as you would with an embryo that was collected from the uterus of another mare,” explains Hohertz.
“ICSI is a complicated process and is less efficient than natural fertilization, with a lower success rate. However, in 2014 at Texas A&M we produced embryos from over 50% of the procedures performed. There are only 2 or 3 laboratories in the world which are proficient at producing embryos via ICSI, and our lab has reported more success with this procedure than any other laboratory in the world. One person is responsible for all the ICSI procedures done at Texas A&M—Dr. Young Ho Choi—and he is really good at it. He works with very specialized equipment and excellent technical help. The environment must be perfect, and everything has to line up just right. To make that happen is very challenging,” Hohertz says.
“We are building some new facilities here, and Dr. Hinrichs’ ICSI laboratory will be relocated. Although we are very excited about the new facilities, we are also very concerned about the environment in the laboratory and hope that the move won’t disrupt it. Even volatile gasses from paint on the wall could tip the balance the wrong way!”
Much of the research that allowed ICSI to be applied to clinical equine reproduction was first performed in Hinrichs’ Equine Embryo Laboratory, and the lab still conducts studies to try to figure out the various things that affect the ICSI process, and how this can be fine-tuned for better success.
“The exciting part about this is that it only takes one sperm to produce the embryo and you can have hundreds of chances from one straw of frozen semen! Last year we were working with semen from High Brow Cat and Docs Stylish Oak, and they were very popular in our auction,” says Hohertz.
“There is a lot involved in this procedure and it is expensive, but for most of the people who want to do ICSI, the associated costs are not an issue.” They just want offspring from certain stallions and mares that are known to have been the best in their performance careers.
Other innovative advancements in recent years include improvements in semen analysis, semen processing and preservation, fertility assessment, and insemination strategies that are now commonplace in the equine industry. The research team at Texas A&M has devised a battery of tests to evaluate sperm and testicular function and effective ways to assess stallions, and has come up with new approaches for preserving both cooled and frozen semen and to improve stallion reproductive performance.
They have also led the way in developing and refining technologies to improve mare reproduction, including techniques for embryo transfer, oocyte transfer, and nuclear transfer, as well as ICSI—methods that were pioneered at Texas A&M. These researchers are currently working on new and better methods for collecting, maturing, fertilizing and storing oocytes, for improving success rates with both ICSI and embryo culture, and for diagnosing genetic abnormalities of embryos before they are transferred into recipient mares. Today they can actually take a tiny biopsy (a few cells) from an embryo to know if it is healthy (or possesses any genetic defects) before putting it into a recipient mare. Advances in equine reproduction have come a long way in the past 30 years, and especially the last 10 years.
“Texas A&M has played a huge role in these advancements. Our clinicians and scientists are leaders in this area of expertise, but in a humble manner. I must say this is the most genuine, humble group of people I’ve ever worked with in my life, and this is really refreshing. My previous 18-year career was in distribution sales, which is proof you can do many things with an Animal Science Degree! Now I am working with some of the smartest clinician-scientists in the world and they are the most unpretentious, positive, synergistic group I’ve ever been around. I love to come to work because it’s not really work—it’s more like an exciting adventure!” says Hohertz.
“Our research here is a great directive, and it’s really fun watching the students come in, with their bright ideas. They know that they are in the top place in the world to learn about equine reproduction, from this elite faculty. Our section attended an equine conference in New Zealand a year ago, and several equine scientists came up to me to say that the people I work with at Texas A&M are truly amazing—the best in the world.”
Funds generated from the stallion auction help support educational advancement of graduate students and clinical residents, to help ensure future achievements. “We are excited about bringing in the young folks and new scholars to give them a chance to help develop new ideas. We have young scientists and veterinarians join us from Italy, Argentina and Brazil—a lot of foreign scholars coming here. These students, both foreign and domestic, are sharp and eager to learn. We also have several donors and clients from Brazil and Australia. Our students from abroad augment the community in a very positive manner.”
The researchers at Texas A&M feel their biggest legacy is providing exceptional academic and clinical foundations for their students, so these young people will be able to make a significant beneficial impact on the horse industry in the future. This future success depends on funding and is made possible through the generosity of donors and buyers who participate in the annual Legends Premier Stallion Season Auction.
PROMOTING THE AUCTION
“We try to keep in touch with everyone, and probably the best way our program grows is through word of mouth in the horse industry—people telling others about their experiences here at Texas A&M and their experience in the stallion auction. Word of mouth is good advertising. We also advertise in magazines and the print media has been very generous in giving us low costs for advertising. Many of them run our ads for free—donating several thousand dollars’ worth of advertising to us, just to help the program,” says Hohertz.
“We appreciate all the help we get. I still believe in handwritten thank you notes and telephone calls. We are very grateful to everyone who has donated,” he says.
“We are trying to get the word out that we are here to help breeders and would love to hear from them, not only about their problems but also about their successes in this industry. We like to learn more about the people and the horses—who they are, who the trainer is, etc. We really appreciate our relationships with these folks,” says Hohertz.
“We don’t turn down any donated breedings—because we are glad for the support—but we do seek the best and hope these stallion owners will donate breedings. We have had the honor of showcasing some of the best stallions in the world. This helps elevate the reputation of our program and is also a great opportunity for people to promote their stallions. Even if the breedings don’t sell, it gives them more public exposure and mare owners know they are out there and might want to do some follow-up,” he says.
An added benefit for auction supporters is the invitation to spend some time at the Equine Theriogenology Laboratory, learning the latest techniques in semen processing, handling and shipping. In addition, a Legends Reproductive Short Course is planned for the fall of 2015, for any donors, buyers and supporters who wish to attend.
For more information about the stallion auction and reproductive short course, or how to donate to Texas A&M Equine Reproductive Studies, contact Warren Hohertz at 979-862-2031 or legends@cvm.tamu.edu or check the website: http://legends .tamu.edu
