Subfertile Mares Need Conscientious Monitoring (AAEP 2012)

One researcher describes how practitioners can monitor pregnant mares to minimize reproductive losses.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Many reproductive losses occur in the very early stages of pregnancy, but veterinarians emphasize that losses late in gestation can happen as well. A Louisiana State University (LSU) reproduction specialist recently described how practitioners can monitor pregnant mares to minimize such losses, particularly those mares difficult to get in foal in the first place.

“Considering the time and expense that goes into establishing pregnancy in subfertile mares, careful monitoring during the latter part of gestation is essential to identify any problems and institute multimodal therapy to successfully deliver a healthy foal,” explained Sara Lyle, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, from LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine, in her presentation at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif.

Mares dubbed “subfertile” can include those with a history of ascending placentitis, which is infection of the placenta that generally starts in the vagina and works its way up via the cervix. Such infections are the most common complication veterinarians detect late in gestation, occurring in as many as one-third of mares losing pregnancies in the last trimester. The most common cause of placentitis is bacterial infection, picked up in the environment.

“Signs of placentitis include discharge from the vulva, early udder development, prenatal lactation, premature delivery, and stillbirth,” said Lyle

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:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

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:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 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!