How does it work?

An embryo is the result of the successful fertilisation of a female ovum or egg and a male sperm cell. A veterinarian collects an ovum from the mare using the OPU (Ovum Pick Up) technique. Then a sperm cell is injected into the ovum under very strict conditions in a laboratory, using specialised microscopic techniques. After approximately 7 days, the success of this fertilisation is determined and if successful, the embryo is frozen to a temperature of -⁠197°C with liquid nitrogen.

MoM's frozen embryos are stored in two locations. The first is in Italy, where the mares and laboratory are located. The frozen embryos are subsequently transported to the ‘De Morette’ Equine Reproduction Centre in Belgium. This reproduction centre complies with all European regulations and is certified for the storage of frozen embryos. Embryos are shipped to their new owners from this centre.

Yes, your frozen embryo may remain at MoM until 6 months after the date of payment.

Immediately after placing your order in our online shop, you will receive a confirmation email. This email also contains all the necessary payment details. Payments can be made by ordinary bank transfer within 14 days of ordering. We will send you the invoice upon receipt of your payment.

We partner with HippoXpress for the shipping of our frozen embryos. HippoXpress vans fitted with special coolers deliver our embryos to the following countries: France, Denmark, Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Poland.

MoM will pay for the transport of your MoM frozen embryo, as long as this is within the normal scope of activities for HippoXpress. The new owner must pay for any special shipping arrangements such as air transport.

It is a common practice to sex an embryo to try and discover the gender. Everyone has his or her own preference. However, it is MoM's very strict company policy not to sex its embryos. This is supported by Avantea and noted on the certificate of authenticity. We do not know the gender of any of our frozen embryos.

If you opt for the ‘no pregnancy no pay’ option, we will take care of the entire procedure for you in partnership with an implantation centre recognized by Mares of Macha.

Together with the implantation centers, recognized by Mares of Macha, we advise you to implant your frozen embryo between March 1st and July 31th. You can also implant the frozen embryo later, of course, but procedures performed within this period have the best chance of success.

ICSI is the abbreviation for IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection, meaning that a sperm is injected directly into an egg to achieve fertilisation.

OPU is the abbreviation for Ovum Pick-Up, the collection of eggs from a mare.

In the process of creating an embryo, OPU comes first. The veterinary team performs an Ovum Pick-Up or in other words, collect eggs from a mare. After an examination to determine the best eggs, these are fertilised with sperm. This process is called ICSI.

An OPU/ICSI embryo is the result of fertilisation of an egg with sperm in a laboratory. The successfully fertilised embryo is then frozen using liquid nitrogen. A flushed embryo is conceived inside the uterus of a mare and then flushed out of the uterus, upon which it is directly implanted into a recipient mare.

Every frozen embryo from the Avantea laboratory is certified by an official document with a unique identification code, the names and Unique Equine Life Numbers of both the dam and the sire and the embryos date of production. Avantea holds UNI EN 9001:2015 quality certification.

After payment you will receive the embryo production certificate with the unique code of the purchased embryo. This embryo production certificate, together with the proof of payment of the invoice, determines your ownership of the purchased frozen embryo.

Please send direct questions on this topic to klaas@maresofmacha.com.

Yes, you can. There is a 5% discount on the total price, if buying 2 embryos (respectively 10% as of 5 embryos, 15 % as of 10 embryos & 20% as of 15 embryos). The purchase of this number of embryos may also be spread over a one-year period. In that case the discount will apply to all five or more embryos obtained that year.

We’re happy to see that you are considering your mare as a potential MoM. Contact klaas@maresofmacha.com to find out if your mare is eligible to become a MoM.

We categorise the mares based on their own performance, their offspring and their dam line.

No, this is not necessary. MoM takes care of all stud fees and guarantees that there will be no additional costs after you have completed the payment of your order.

MoM is primarily a supplier of frozen embryos. We also have a limited number of implanted embryos available; for more information, please contact klaas@maresofmacha.com. We do not offer any young horses for sale.

MoM frozen embryos are divided into 4 price categories; bronze, silver, gold and diamond. Bronze embryos cost EUR 7,750 excl. VAT Silver embryos cost EUR 10,000 excl. VAT Gold embryos cost EUR 15,000 excl. VAT Diamond embryos cost EUR 25,000 excl. VAT For embryos sired by the stallion Chacco-Blue, there is a surcharge of EUR 3,000 excl. VAT. There is a 5% discount on the total price, if buying 2 embryos (respectively 10% as of 5 embryos, 15 % as of 10 embryos & 20% as of 15 embryos).