Equine Reproductive Services (UK)

​General terms:

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The establishment at which Your (the owner or agent of the horse) horse is resident at will be responsible for the daily husbandry and care of your horse and/or foal. We do not accept any liability for any illness or injury suffered by your horse and/or foal at establishments run or operated by third parties. Upon verbal or written request by you or the person caring for Your horse(s) we will provide veterinary services and invoice You for goods and services provided, unless previously advised otherwise in writing.

 

Emergency procedures requiring referral, surgery or general anaesthesia will be performed after consultation with You. If contact cannot reasonably be made, appropriate treatment will be provided to protect the welfare of Your horse. If at all possible we will liaise with and via the person(s) responsible for the care of your horse(s). If the services of other veterinary surgeons are enlisted, You will be liable for their fees. If Your horse is insured, You should advise either Us or the person(s) responsible for the care of your horse(s) when leaving Your horse(s) in their care.

 

All mares that are bred by natural cover or artificial breeding are foaled at Your risk and We do not accept any liability for any damages or compensation in respect of any injury or illness suffered by any mare and/or foal as a result of foaling. The vulva of any mare may be sutured if considered necessary unless written instructions are received to the contrary.

 

We recommend you to contact the person(s) responsible for the care of your horse(s) be that in training, at livery, at stud, or otherwise, regularly regarding progress with your horse(s). We welcome contact with you to discuss any aspect of your horse's veterinary care or costs of treatment; please telephone us during office hours (08:30 -15:00 weekdays).

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All horses under Our care should be signed out of the human food-chain and section 9 (IX) of the horse’s passport should be signed by You. Or, by agreeing to our terms You agree to Us signing it on your behalf. By signing your horse out of the food-chain you are giving Us the freedom to use our clinical judgement in the use of medicines and the prescribing cascade. If you wish for your horse to remain in the human food chain you must notify us immediately in writing so that appropriate action can be taken.

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Breeding schemes:

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Schemes only apply to the current breeding season and for mares at participating studs on receipt of a signed ‘scheme form’. Successful pregnancy or delivery of a live healthy foal is not guaranteed by ERS(UK) Ltd. In the event of a negative pregnancy diagnosis it will be taken that you wish to continue under a scheme up to a maximum of three attempts unless we are informed otherwise. You will be invoiced monthly for any items not included in a scheme.

 

Mares will be inseminated by either a veterinary surgeon acting on behalf of ERS (UK) or at certain studs by a certified AI technician outside the employment of ERS (UK), but a representative of the stud. We do not accept any liability for illness or injury suffered by your horse, or any adverse consequences of insemination, when this is performed by an AI technician. This would include illness or injury suffered by your horse, or any potential contagious disease consequences for your horse and other horses as a result of insemination of fresh, chilled or frozen semen of unknown disease status.  Details of AI technicians involved can be found either in the breeding schemes or directly from the studs.

 

ERS(UK) Ltd do not accept any liability for, or the consequences thereof, in the event of a stallion not being able or available to perform breeding duties, semen not arriving on the day or time ordered to inseminate the mare, or semen arriving in an unusable condition, without appropriate labelling or health certification. ERS(UK) are not responsible for any additional veterinary, livery, or other costs incurred in such instances.

 

We reserve the right to refuse breeding services in the event that any of our conditions are not complied with or if we deem that Your horse or foal are determined to be in an unacceptable state of health or a safety risk

 

Frozen semen storage terms:

 

Where We are providing frozen semen storage, You shall arrange delivery of the semen to the storage facility on a date and at a time to be agreed with us. The container in which the semen is delivered must be suitable for this purpose and we shall be entitled in our absolute discretion to refuse to receive any semen delivered in a container which is not considered of a satisfactory standard.

 

We will store semen at the stud or at such other premises that We may in our absolute discretion determine for such purpose. Frozen semen will be stored on site in tanks maintained and overseen by a representative of Genus Breeding Limited, who are experienced in such work. We will store semen in such quantity as may be agreed between You and Us. We shall be entitled in our absolute discretion to refuse to receive any semen for storage or to end our storage of the semen for any reason.

 

You agree to us carrying out all necessary tests and procedures on the semen as appropriate for its storage or use. In respect of semen delivered to us a proportion (being part of a single dose) of semen will be thawed and examined under a microscope for motility and morphology when the mare is inseminated. This is a guide only as to the quality of the semen but we give no guarantee in respect of any tests carried out on the semen regarding the fertility or suitability of the semen or otherwise.

 

We do not provide insurance for frozen semen in storage. You can take out privately based insurance on the semen You have in storage with Us. For more details on how to insure your semen we suggest You contact Irene Pickering, NFU Yorkshire Coast Agency on 01723 585307.

 

You may remove the semen from storage at any time on a date and at a time agreed with Us after giving seven days written notice, provided that such removal is not in breach of any relevant statutory or regulatory requirement. Return of semen to the stallion owner/agent will be the responsibility of the mare or stallion owner and is not the responsibility of ERS(UK) Ltd.

 

We will charge You (the mare owner/agent) for storage of semen at our current rate plus VAT per annum, or part thereof. We reserve the right to increase this fee with 28 days-notice.

 

Payment terms:

 

All Our fees and medical charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Our fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the medicines, materials, and consumables used. A written estimate is available on request. Any new client will be expected to pay in full at the time of treatment. Treatment on account will only be available to established clients known to Us with a sound credit history. We reserve the right to refuse services in the event that any of our conditions are not complied with or for any other reason we see fit.

 

Our clients will be invoiced monthly however We reserve the right to interim bill. Credit terms are 28 days from receipt of invoice for registered clients. Payment may be required on account of our professional fees before work can commence in certain circumstances. Please also bear in mind that if bills are not paid in accordance with Our credit terms We may not continue to work on Your horse until You or an agent have settled Your account. We have a statutory right to charge interest on the amount of the bill after expiration of one month from the date hereof.  Such interest will be charged by Us at a rate of 8% if payment is not made within one month. We reserve the right to increase Our fees with 28 days notice.

 

Any cheque returned by Our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured, and any cash tendered and found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of the bank charges and administrative costs.

 

This Agreement can be terminated by You at any time in writing or by Us on the occasion of any of the following events: You fail to comply with our terms and conditions, You fail to provide Us with instructions on request, You fail to pay an account delivered within 30 days, or on Our giving You notice in writing.

 

Legal title to any embryo or foal resulting from an insemination or embryo transfer undertaken by ERS(UK) Ltd shall remain the sole property of ERS(UK) Ltd unless and until all outstanding fees and interest thereon have been paid in full. ERS(UK) Ltd do not accept any liability for any costs incurred for said embryo or foal when not directly under our control.

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