R. Vlaeva
Department of Animal husbandry – Non-ruminant animals and special branches, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Student’s campus, 6000, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

(Manuscript received 17 October 2025; accepted for publication 18 November 2025)

*e-mail: radka.vlaeva@trakia-uni.bg

Abstract. Artificial insemination of mares is a reproductive method that has been well researched for more than a century. Currently, the method is widely used in warmblood horse breeds, but it is still denied or restricted by other breed registers, such as Thoroughbred or some Trotter breeds. In Bulgaria, artificial insemination of mares has started to be implemented more widely since 2006, first on mares of various breeds in the national stud farm “Kabiyuk” and later on mares of private owners. The Bulgarian sport horse breed has recently been approved in Bulgaria. As with most warmblood horse breeds, the Bulgarian Sport Horse Register has no regulations to restrict or prohibit the application of artificial insemination or any other recent reproductive method. The Bulgarian Sport Horse Association (BSHA) registers between 30 and 70 foals annually. This study aimed to identify the number of foals produced by artificial insemination registered in the BSHA out of the total number of foals registered from 2006 to 2024. The foals were distributed by year, and the number and breed of stallions used for artificial insemination were traced. The total number of registered foals was 940 during the study period, of which 85 were obtained by artificial insemination. As a percentage, foals conceived by artificial insemination represented 9.04% of all registered new-born foals. This percentage varied from 2.04% in 2010 to 17.46% in 2012. The number of stallions whose frozen semen was used for artificial insemination was 57, of which 53 were stallions with imported frozen semen, and 4 were stallions whose semen was collected, frozen, and stored in Bulgaria. Breeders were most interested in Holsteiner stallions, followed by Oldenburg and KWPN stallions.