Foals Bred by Cooled Transported and Frozen Semen

Note: Updated May 3, 2024

With modern advances in science, we can now breed a mare to a stallion without them ever being in the same pasture. They don't even have to be on the same continent! Semen can be cooled or frozen and shipped virtually anywhere.

In the instance that either cooled or frozen semen is used in horse breeding, AQHA requires the stallion owner to indicate the method of breeding on the stallion breeding report.

When reporting the breeding to AQHA, stallion owners must distinguish each mare bred and the breeding method on their stallion breeding report. A common source of confusion is mares bred via artificial insemination.  AQHA considers the breeding method as artificial insemination if the semen was collected from the stallion, then inseminated into the mare in the same facility. The semen must not have been shipped or frozen at any point in the breeding process.

Remember that breeding stallions must be DNA typed and the six-panel health test completed for the 2015 breeding season. All breeding mares must be DNA typed with AQHA in order for their offspring to be registered.

When registering a foal produced by cooled transported, frozen semen, or embryo transfer, the foal must be parentage verified.

Please keep in mind, with respect to any stallion foaled 2015 or after, the semen of such stallion may not be used beyond 2 calendar years following the year of his death or his being gelded to produce a foal eligible for registration with AQHA. Any embryos stored must also be used within 2 calendar years following the death or sterilization of either the sire or dam.

Other than these requirements, no other foal registration procedure changes. Once registered, the foal's certificate will denote the breeding method that produced it.

For a step-by-step guide to registering your foal, please see the AQHA Registration page.