Background

Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre is one of the most specialised providers of veterinary equine reproduction services in the UK. The Reproduction Centre is under the direction of resident Veterinary Surgeon Dr Madeleine Campbell, who is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and by the European College as a Specialist in Veterinary Reproduction (Equine). She is a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Reproduction (Equine) and holds a PhD in Equine Reproduction. Dr Campbell has been working in the field of equine reproduction since 1996. In addition to her clinical work, Dr Campbell is past-President of British Equine Veterinary Association; Chairman of the British Equine Veterinary Association’s Artificial Insemination Committee; a member of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board’s sub-committee on venereal diseases; an advisor to Defra; an Honorary Lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College; an examiner for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; a frequent lecturer at international and national conferences and the author of numerous research and review articles on equine reproduction.

The team at Hobgoblins Stud and Equine Reproduction Centre is very well-trained and experienced. It is headed by Dr Madeleine Campbell (who is personally involved in the care of each horse at the centre and undertakes all of the veterinary reproduction work), and includes our General Manager (who takes care of all the paperwork and logistics associated with running a busy stud); our Stallion Manager (who is responsible for handling and exercising the stallions and for training them and handling them during semen collections); and our Laboratory Manager (who is responsible for laboratory tests; semen analysis, processing and shipments) as well as a dedicated group of yard staff.

Together, our team offers a level of service second to none to the discriminating mare, stallion or foal owner. We pride ourselves on providing a highly personal service to our clients; on treating each and every horse as an individual, and on maintaining an efficient, quiet and calm premises in which horses can relax. We aim to work with owners to tailor our services to suit their needs.

The facilities at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre

include a mare examination area equipped with mare stocks and diagnostic ultrasound; a semen assessment laboratory and semen analysis, shipment and storage facilities; semen processing centre and frozen semen storage facilities; an embryo laboratory; facilities for chilling and packaging embryos; facilities for freezing embryos; liquid nitrogen storage tanks for storing frozen embryos; a semen collection area; a “dummy” mare for semen collections; and an ovariectomised mare for semen collections for stallions which cannot use the “dummy” mare.

Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre caters for all livery requirements by offering both indoor and classical stabling; stallion accommodation; large mare and foal boxes; individual paddocks and group turnout fields. We have a dedicated team of fully trained stud grooms as well as supervised veterinary and animal science students who will ensure that your mare, foal or stallion is looked after as an individual to the highest welfare standards. We also have a fully implemented biosecurity strategy which covers all of the venereal diseases (including C.E.M and Equine Viral Arteritis) and Equine Infectious Anaemia.

STALLION SERVICES INFORMATION

Hobgoblins Stud is one of the most specialised semen collection, assessment; processing; chilling and freezing facilities in the UK. The semen centre is licensed by Defra for semen export, and is under the direction of Veterinary Surgeon Dr Madeleine Campbell. Dr Campbell is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a Specialist in Veterinary Reproduction (Equine) and an European Veterinary Specialist in Equine Reproduction. Dr Campbell has been performing equine semen collections, analyses and freezing since 1996, and is also actively involved in research into methods of improving equine semen processing and preservation. Some of Dr Campbell’s published papers in this area can be viewed in the “research” section at www.hobgoblins-stud.com. The facilities at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre include a semen collection area; a “dummy” mare for semen collections; an ovariectomised mare for semen collections for stallions which cannot use the “dummy” mare; a semen assessment laboratory; semen processing centre and frozen semen storage facilities. Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre provides a comprehensive service to the owners of stallions, ranging from freezing semen to diagnosis of subfertility. Dr Campbell also provides an independent semen assessment service for clients wishing to have a stallion’s fertility assessed, for example before purchase - semen samples collected elsewhere may be delivered to Hobgoblins’ Equine Reproduction Centre for analysis. For stallion owners wishing to stand their stallion at stud by artificial insemination, we will train your stallion for semen collection; carry out initial analysis and test chilling of his semen; deal with all the paperwork for you and collect; assess; process; document and certify; pack and ship semen to order. Hobgoblins Stud and Equine Reproduction Centre Office has over ten years’ of experience at providing fresh, chilled and frozen semen to mare owners within the UK and throughout Europe – we are now in the enviable position of having stallions coming in for semen collections who were themselves born as a result of semen collections and inseminations performed at Hobgoblins some years ago! We minimise the work for stallion owners by dealing directly with the semen orders from mare owners, and also help with promoting stallions standing at Hobgoblins via free inclusion on our website and co-ordination of national advertising campaigns for which each stallion owner pays only a proportionate cost. Hobgoblins Stud and Equine Reproduction Centre offers an unrivalled combination of excellent facilities; specialised veterinary clinical expertise and experience and administrative support. To discuss how we might help with your stallion, to arrange an appointment, or for a current price list please contact the office on 01825 713631 or email: office@hobgoblins-stud.com.

Before any horse can enter Hobgoblins you will need to have the necessary health tests completed (see below). If you know when your mare is going to come into oestrus (season), the ideal time to first bring her to Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre is two days before you expect her to do so. If you are not sure when your mare is next due in season you can make her first appointment for anytime, and Dr Campbell will, if necessary, inject her with the hormone prostaglandin to hasten her oestrus. Mares with foals at foot should first be examined about 5-7 days after the end of their “foaling heat”.

Mares being inseminated with fresh or chilled semen may attend the Equine Reproduction Centre on an “outpatient” basis, or you may prefer to leave them at livery at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre. Mares which are being inseminated with frozen semen must reside at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre for the duration of their oestrus as they need to be examined every 6 hours in the peri-insemination period. Whichever type of semen is being used, it generally takes about 5 – 7 days from the time the mare first comes into oestrus to get her inseminated and checked post-ovulation. There is then a 2- week wait until the first pregnancy diagnosis scan at 15 days postovulation. Some mare owners prefer to take their mare home for those 2 weeks and to attend for the pregnancy diagnosis scans as “outpatients”, whilst others prefer to leave the mare at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre until the 15 day and then the 28 days pregnancy scan have been performed. The choice is yours, though we do recommend that mares which are particularly poor travellers be left at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre until the 28 days scan, as transport-induced stress may increase the risk of embryo resorption.

The health tests required for horses entering Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre are designed to ensure maximum biosecurity, and to minimise the chances of disease transmission to your mare and foal. As one of the foremost veterinary reproduction centres, we take biosecurity and welfare very seriously, and in addition to the health checks every stable is disinfected completely between animals. Quarantine facilities are available if needed. The health tests required are based upon the HorseRace Betting Levy Boards Codes of Practice, for which Dr Campbell is the national veterinary BEVA-delegated advisor for non-Thoroughbred breeding. These tests are detailed in our nomination forms and contracts and in the separate client information sheet on biosecurity. Please call the office on 01825 713631 or email office@hobgoblins-stud.com to get details of the current requirements and/or to arrange a telephone conversation with Dr Campbell if you would like to discuss biosecurity further.

Most importantly, bring your mare’s passport and vaccination record as she will not be admitted without it. Hobgoblins ERC carries a full range of Dodson and Horrell feeds. If your mare requires a brand other than Dodson and Horrell please inform us in advance so that we can order some in, and bring a small amount with you to start with. Bring any supplements which are strictly necessary for your mare during her stay at Hobgoblins ERC, bearing in mind that pasture kept mares are fed in the field. If your mare needs to wear rugs or fly masks or to have fly repellent applied, bring them with her and label them clearly with the mare’s name and your surname. Please do not bring numerous changes of rug as this is impractical. We pride ourselves on having one of the most specialised, comprehensive artificial insemination programmes in Europe, and to providing a service tailored to individual needs. For further details of our artificial insemination programmes and to discuss your needs in detail with Dr Campbell, please call 01825 713631 or email: office@hobgoblins-stud.com.

EMBRYO TRANSFER PROGRAM INFORMATION

Hobgoblins Stud Equine Reproduction Centre is one of the most specialised and proven embryo transfer centres in the UK. The Reproduction Centre is under the direction of Dr Madeleine Campbell, who is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and by the European College of Animal Reproduction as a Specialist in Veterinary Reproduction (Equine). She is a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Reproduction (Equine) and holds a PhD in Equine Reproduction. Dr Campbell has been performing successful embryo transfers since 1996, and was responsible for the first two embryo transfer Quarterhorse foals in the UK. She frequently lecturers to and teaches other vets wishing to learn the techniques of embryo transfer. We have performed successful embryo transfers for dressage horses; polo ponies; eventers; showjumpers; reining, show and endurance horses. The comprehensive embryo transfer programme at Hobgoblins Stud Equine Reproduction Centre includes fresh transfers (i.e. recovery of an embryo from the donor and direct transfer to the recipient); chilled embryo transfer (we flush the donor mare, chill the embryo and transport it for transfer into a recipient mare at a distant centre with whom we have an agreement) and embryo freezing for transfer at a latter date. Semen being used to inseminate mares for embryo transfer can be from one of our resident stallions, or sourced from any other stallion in the world which has semen available for use in the UK. We are happy to work directly with your Vet who is inseminating / overseeing the covering of your mare to provide a seamless embryo transfer service. The facilities at Hobgoblins Equine Reproduction Centre include a mare examination area equipped with mare stocks and diagnostic ultrasound; an embryo laboratory; facilities for chilling and packaging embryos, and liquid nitrogen storage tanks for frozen embryos.  For further details of our embryo transfer programme and to discuss your needs in detail with Dr Campbell, please call our office on 01825 713631 or email: office@hobgoblinsstud.