Diagnosis and Effects of Urine Contamination on Stallion Semen Cooling

Contamination of semen with urine (urospermia) is known to affect raw semen quality in stallions. While semen extension has been shown to mitigate the effects of urospermia on raw semen, the effects of urine on the motility of cooled stallion semen remain unknown. Practitioners have no proven means to confirm urine contamination in extended cooled-shipped semen. We hypothesized that urine contamination affects semen motility after cooling and extension, and that semen levels of creatinine, urea and pH can be used to detect urospermia.
The objectives of this study were: (i) to assess the effects of variable amounts of urine contamination on total and progressive motility of extended fresh and cooled semen and (ii) to test whether pH, creatinine and urea can detect urine contamination in extended-cooled stallion semen. [...]