Category Archives: mare management

Can Embryo Transfer Success Rates be Improved?

Posted: | September 16, 2023

Can Embryo Transfer Success Rates be Improved? Embryo transfer success rates are recognized as having a variable outcome dependent upon technician technique as well as mare suitability. While the flush process is usually fairly stable in results and less subject to variability, the subsequent transfer often does not maintain that same stability of success between all practitioner groups.… Read More »

Endometrial Biopsy in the Mare

Posted: | September 2, 2023

Endometrial Biopsy in the Mare – is one sample enough? An endometrial biopsy in the mare is a useful diagnostic to determine cellular health of the uterine lining which will be directly responsible for pregnancy maintenance once placentation has occurred. The biopsy score is correlated to the likelihood of live foal production by use of different scales, such… Read More »

Older Subfertile Mares

Posted: | August 19, 2023

Improve Pregnancy Rates in Older Subfertile Mares! How can one improve pregnancy rates in older subfertile mares? This category of mare is notorious for having lower pregnancy rates, and this becomes even more annoying when one is performing a higher-cost procedure such as embryo transfer. A perennial question therefore is “can we improve pregnancy rates in those older… Read More »

Obese Mares

Posted: | August 6, 2023

Obese Mares Have More Problems Than We Thought! It has been previously documented that obese mares have a higher tendency towards early embryonic death, particularly in hot weather and this has been put down to the core temperature of these mare potentially being higher than other mares, with a negative impact on embryo survival[1]. At ISER XIII Meikle… Read More »

Vulval Conformation and Caslick’s Procedure

Posted: | November 2, 2021

Vulval Conformation, Common Vulval Injuries and the Caslick’s Procedure – Vulval Conformation and the Caslick’s Procedure are important aspects to consider, especially when breeding older multiparous mares By Jonathan F Pycock, BVetMed, PhD, DESM, MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Equine Reproduction In the normal mare the vulva provides the first effective barrier to protect the uterus from ascending infection.… Read More »

Steroidal Secretion Effects on Uterine Ultrasound Characteristics

Posted: | October 27, 2021

Ultrasound Characteristics of the Uterus in the Cycling Mare and their Correlation with Steroid Hormones and Timing of Ovulation – By Jonathan Pycock, BVetMed, PhD, DESM, MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Equine Reproduction – Steroid Effects on Uterine Ultrasound in the Mare By Jonathan F Pycock, BVetMed, PhD, DESM, MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Equine Reproduction The introduction of transrectal… Read More »

Hormones of the Mare’s Estrous Cycle

Posted: | October 22, 2021

The Mare’s Estrous Cycle – an overview of the hormonal relationships that go to make up the reproductive cycle in the mare By Jos Mottershead (These charts and much of the information appearing in this article are reproduced from the Equine-Reproduction.com short course notes, at which this topic is discussed in detail. For more information on the educational… Read More »

Early Cyclicity

Posted: | March 22, 2021

Inducing Early Cyclicity in Mares – What practical solutions are there to start mares cycling earlier in the year? This article discusses some of the options. By Jos Mottershead (Originally Printed in: “The Reproduction Forum” in the CSHA Newsletter, 1996; updated 2006, 2015 & 2021) Q: I want my mare to have an early foal, but she doesn’t… Read More »

Uterine Cytology Diagnostics in the Mare Explained

Posted: | March 14, 2021

Why Perform a Cytology Smear in Conjunction with a Uterine Culture? – The importance of uterine cytology evaluation supporting the culture results is explained. By Jos Mottershead Most stallion owners require a “clean uterine culture” from a mare prior to breeding her live cover or in some cases shipping semen to her; many mare owners also reference the… Read More »