The logistics around managing stallions during the relatively short horse breeding season presents horse producers with a unique set of limitations that threaten the economic, environmental, and ethical sustainability of this industry. We are attempting to address these limitations via the application of reproductive engineering developments arising from a solid foundation of basic discovery science. These developments include a stallion sperm storage medium that extends the fertility of liquid-stored spermatozoa from two days to two weeks; a device that can be used on-farm to predict the fertility of a semen sample based on metabolic activity; a simple feed supplement that can reverse oxidative DNA damage in the male germline; and management strategies to reduce the effects of heat-stress on the spermatozoa of susceptible stallions. These reproductive engineering developments have all been facilitated by a foundation of basic research discoveries, the most significant being the finding that the default metabolic pathway of ATP production by stallion spermatozoa is oxidative phosphorylation. Although this pathway is extremely efficient, it does result in the production of large amounts of reactive oxygen species, which, when combined with the high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the stallion sperm plasma membrane, make these cells particularly susceptible to oxidative damage, leading to a ‘live fast, die young’ phenomenon. This contrasts markedly with most other species, which almost exclusively utilise glycolysis, and therefore have very different requirements during in vitro storage. Other fundamental discoveries that have led to translational outcomes include a comprehensive proteomic characterisation of ejaculated stallion spermatozoa, and the identification of a cohort of stallions with an intrinsic susceptibility to heat-induced germline DNA damage. These examples of translating basic science into high-impact applications for stakeholders illustrate the importance of continued support for discovery research.