Blood Test to Detect and Monitor Pregnancy in Mares

Veterinarians and breeders can now detect pregnancy in mares using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test that detects estrogen molecules in a mare’s blood sample and is cheaper and easier to perform than an ultrasound.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Veterinarians and breeders can now detect pregnancy in mares using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test that detects estrogen molecules in a mare's blood sample and is cheaper and easier to perform than an ultrasound.

BioTracking, a company founded by Garth Sasser, PhD, a professor of animal science at the University of Idaho, recently introduced a test that can detect pregnancy in mares with high accuracy at 70 days post-breeding and two weeks before foaling. According to Jeremy Howard, sales manager at BioTracking, breeders and veterinarians can draw blood from mares and send samples to BioTracking's lab. Earlier this year, the company released a similar test that aids in tracking the pregnancy.

The specific molecules detected by the blood test are estrone sulfate, a hormone produced in high concentrations by the placenta and fetus that is present in a pregnant mare's blood and urine.

During the first month of pregnancy the blood level of estrone sulfate conjugate is very low (below 5 nanograms /mL). It rises between Days 38 and 42, due to estrogen produced by the corpus luteum (what remains of a follicle after an egg has ovulated and which produces the hormone progesteron) in the ovary. Estrone sulfate concentration in blood plasma gradually increases to a relatively high level (12 ng/mL of plasma) by Day 70. The hormone concentration continues to increase and remains significantly higher than in nonpregnant mares

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
288 votes · 288 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!