So I have a question for breeders out there -- just saw dash ta fame horses has a embryo program where you can purchase an egg from a mare owned by Bob and Darian Burt an cross on a stud you choose. Has anyone tried this?? What were your thoughts/results with the whole process?? I'm just starting to breed a few of my own and don't know a whole lot about embryo transfers. 

I'll start. I looked into trying to get an embryo o/o a better mare than I can afford to buy or one that is older.  I ended up deciding against it and buying a mare I could afford that was young, had accomplishments and a great pedigree.  Putting all my "eggs" (pun intended) in one basket (one try on a risky endeavor) doesn't appeal to me as much as having a good mare to breed several years and get several good babies. One of which might be exactly what I was trying to get. The thing about getting a high return on investment like breeding to DTF, you also have the possibility of getting nothing but a huge money pit. 

I think you’d be insane to do it unless you are in a much higher tax bracket than most people. The fee is for the egg alone. Add stud fee, vet work, ET costs and you will have a minimum of about $7,000-$15,000 before that baby hits the ground. And that is going with a cheap stud fee of $1,000. Plus you have to pay double the egg cost if you want to be listed as the breeder. That means Burt’s have zero expense but reap the benefits of being listed as the breeder in some programs.

I can find a darn nice yearling for the amount it would cost me to get a baby from an egg from their program. Not to mention I’d be a year ahead cost wise of feeding it.

I know you can purchase embyros from some NFR mares such as Carman's Ripn Lady. 

It's extremely expensive, but if you have the money, it would be a great opportunity.

I am with SKM.  For that kind of money, you can buy a really nice weanling/yearling, cut a year off of the process and know exactly what you are getting.

I looked at the mares they were offering. Really the only one that I’d consider was $5,000 for an egg. Most of them were around $2,000 and they weren’t anything better than what most people have. I don’t feel like you’d have any resell value. You’d be lucky to break even if you had to sell the foal.

I read an article in BHW (i think) that the average cost of an embryo transfer from start to finish was $10k. So plan on $10k. That's why they usually only do it on mares that are still performing because the owner figures she can make more than it costs to just breed her. Plus they either own the mare/egg or the stud so that fee is cut out immediately. For us everyday horsemen and women it doesn't make sense financially.