China was one of the first countries to use artificial insemination (AI) in equids, and it
achieved international recognition for its widespread application of AI to commercial
horse breeding. This article reviews the history of equine AI in China. The technique
originated from the high demand for horses to be used in agriculture, transportation, and
the military. Artificial insemination was identified as an ideal tool for Chinese horse
breeding to improve the productivity of native horses, especially during 1950-1970.
Presently, AI is still practiced commonly in China, and it includes the use of fresh semen
and transported cooled semen. The use of frozen semen has also been resumed to broaden
the range of elite Sporthorse stallions and to preserve threatened or endangered native
breeds. Accurate prediction of the optimum time for insemination depended mainly on
transrectal palpation of the mare’s ovaries. In addition to controlled methods of insemination,
factors like volume and number of spermatozoa in the inseminate and timing and
frequency of insemination were optimized to accomplish high fertility rates in the field.
Production of hinnies and mules for agricultural labor and donkeys for meat and hide
gelatin stimulated a nationwide upsurge of research into the reproductive physiology of
and AI technology in donkeys. In the future, there will be further increases in the use of
traditional and modern AI techniques in the breeding of Chinese equids.