IVF/ICSI is necessary when the chance on a successful pregnancy is small, such as in the following cases:
- in subfertile mares in which the recovery of embryos for transfer is not possible (for instance due to chronic uterine disease, or any other damage to the reproductive tract, or a recurrent anovulatory follicle production),
- in mares that are candidates for traditional embryo transfer, but in which viable embryos cannot be recovered from standard uterine flushing,.
- in cases where only very few spermatozoa are available (e.g. stallions with low quality sperm or deceased stallions).