Caterpillars that Cause Abortion in Mares

Learn how researchers determined that hairy, bristly caterpillars can cause abortions and how to protect mares.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Caterpillars that Cause Abortion in Mares
Photo: Courtesy Dr. Joan Carrick
By CJ (Kate) Savage, BVSc(Hons), MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, WEVA Junior Vice-President and Oceanic Board Member

The horse industry was shaken in 2001 and again in 2004 when abortion storms occurred in two Thoroughbred breeding strongholds with none of the usual reasons implicated. Central Kentucky was hit with this mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) in 2001, while Scone, Australia, was impacted in 2004. Both locations lost a substantial portion of their foal crops.

Scientists quickly started looking into the cause of these outbreaks. Researchers in Kentucky, using an epidemiological study to ascertain what factors could be considered risk factors, developed a few interesting theories. One of the most surprising to many horse people was exposure to Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC)—one of the many types of hairy, bristly caterpillars.

How Is This Possible?

During the 2001 MRLS outbreak, more than 20% of Kentucky’s pregnant mares suffered abortions. However, it is likely that prior abortion storms in the 1980s were also due to the ETC, but technology (e.g., ultrasonography) at the time was not sufficient to detect problems with the fetus until abortion occurred

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:

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?
276 votes · 276 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!