Stud Work
At Bushy Equine vets we provide a range of stud services
Pre breeding examination and testing
Before your mare is served she should be examined to ensure that she has no gynaecological abnormalities that might preclude pregnancy, and to confirm that she has a normal oestrus cycle. A swab should be taken from her uterus, when she is in season, examined under a microscope and cultured to see if there is any uterine infection which would stop her from becoming pregnant. Uterine infections are common in mares, and are even seen in mares never previously mated. These infections must be treated before service. Many studs also insist upon a clitoral swab to screen for venereal disease; the latter may be taken at any stage of the oestrus cycle.
Artificial insemination
Reasons for choosing Artificial Insemination:
- Avoids transporting the mare long distances to the stallion, thus reducing costs and allowing competing mares to continue training.
- Mares not able to be mated naturally for reasons of injury, aggression or infectious disease can be inseminated via A.I.
- Mares with susceptibility to uterine infections may require A.I. to minimise contamination of the uterus, and so achieve pregnancy.
- Semen may be collected from the stallion and frozen and stored for later use including after a stallion has died.
There are, however, potential pitfalls associated with A.I.:
- If there is no ‘Teaser’ stallion around then predicting the best time to serve the mare is difficult and will certainly require veterinary examination(s).
- Inseminated semen may not be so fertile, especially if frozen.
- Thoroughbred foals born by A.I. may not be registered.
Due to the large degree of veterinary input to ensure that insemination is synchronised with the mare ovulating, it is easier for a mare to be admitted to the clinic for monitoring during her oestrus period. This allows us to give your mare the best chance of getting in foal.
Pregnancy Diagnosis and twin detection
14-18 days after service, pregnancy may be diagnosed by ultrasound scan. The chief advantage of this procedure is that twins may be detected. Mares are not able (in most cases) to produce more than one healthy foal at a time and, if they conceive twins, they usually abort them both after several months. If twins are detected early on then one of the twins may be removed such that the other survives. Alternatively the pregnancy can be terminated and the mare covered again during the same breeding season. The only way to detect twins in time to take action is by scanning.
Investigating problem mares
If your mare has been served on several occasions without success during a previous breeding season, then she should be examined and swabbed. It might also be necessary to perform a uterine biopsy; here a piece of tissue is removed from the uterus and examined in the laboratory. An accurate diagnosis of the problem is then possible and any necessary treatment can be carried out. In a very small number of cases further investigation may also be necessary.