Stallion AI Services, industry leaders in equine breeding, have over 30 world class stallions available to breeders standing at their centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire, UK. Time is a critical factor when collecting from stallions and inseminating mares. In trying to always give the best possible service to their clients, they know that delivering the semen in the shortest amount of time is crucial. There are times when the regular overnight chilled semen deliveries or even same day driving deliveries are just not an option as the mare will have ovulated before the semen arrives.
Knowing deliveries are time critical, Tullis Matson, MD of Stallion AI Services, who is an experienced skydiver himself having completed over 1,600 jumps, came up with this idea, allowing him to combine his hobby with his business.
Tullis said: “We are a forward-thinking team at Stallion AI Services and are always looking at ways to improve and offer more to our clients. We are lucky to have an airfield next to our stud farm, the Skydive Express lifts us to another level within the equine breeding industry.”
Roger Dixon, clinical director of Ashbrook Equine Hospital, called Stallion AI Services. He had a 30-minute window to inseminate a client’s mare, named Flairloop, with Big Star semen before she would ovulate. Never wanting to let a client down, Tullis was straight on the phone to Busby Hicks of Tilstock Skydive Centre.
“I am more than happy to help Tullis, we are located next to his stud, so we can have him in the air in under five minutes”, says Busby.
The weather was perfect, Busby was able to get Tullis in the air within five minutes and on the turf of Ashbrook Equine Hospital ten minutes later, enabling Roger to inseminate Flairloop before she ovulated.
“Here at Ashbrook Equine Hospital, we make sure we are giving clients the best service and aim to get as many mares as possible in foal at the first attempt,” said Roger Dixon, BVM&S, CertAVP (ESM), MRCVS. “Flairloop has been tricky, she has failed to go in foal for the last three years.
“We purposefully selected Big Star, as we know his semen quality is excellent and thanks to Stallion AI’s Skydive Express Service, she has the very best of chance of getting in foal. We use semen from Stallion AI Services many times over during the season, and on this occasion the package literally fell from the sky!”
Only time will tell if this mission was successful. However, Stallion AI Services aim to roll out the Skydive Delivery Express Service throughout the UK, which not only ensures you are getting your equine semen delivered as quickly as possible; but with the rapidly increasing fuel prices this may also be a cheaper option for mare owners.
“We are now in talks with Amazon to roll this out further, allowing their Prime customers to have this super-fast delivery option too!” Tullis Matson.
