Use of pharmacologically induced ejaculation to obtain semen from a stallion with a fractured radius

Ejaculation was pharmacologically induced in a 13-year-old Quarter Horse stallion with a spiral fracture of the radius. The owners desired to have semen from the stallion frozen prior to euthanatizing the horse, but because of the debilitating injury, standard methods of semen collection could not be used. With the stallion standing quietly in a stall, a plastic collection bag was positioned over the stallion's penis, and clomipramine hydrochloride (2.2 mg/kg of body weight, IV) was administered. Fifty-five minutes later, xylazine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg, IV) was administered. The stallion ejaculated 2 minutes after xylazine administration. The semen sample was of low volume and had a high concentration of spermatozoa; however, motility of spermatazoa was poor and the semen was unacceptable for freezing. The stallion was euthanatized. Semen aspirated from the epididymis after euthanasia was of similar quality to that of the ejaculated sample. Pharmacologic induction of ejaculation can be useful for obtaining semen from stallions when standard techniques cannot be applied.