Reproductive Problems in the Draft Horse

Draft mares usually make excellent mothers, providing a large amount of milk and rarely rejecting a foal. Because of these traits, draft mares make good nurse mares; some mares can even support and feed two foals. Also, the tendency for multiple

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Draft mares usually make excellent mothers, providing a large amount of milk and rarely rejecting a foal. Because of these traits, draft mares make good nurse mares; some mares can even support and feed two foals. Also, the tendency for multiple ovulations makes draft mares good candidates for embryo transfer. However, draft horses have some reproductive traits–lower fertility rates, twinning, retained placentas, and other foaling difficulties–that lead to problems. In addition, one common draft breed possesses a gene for a devastating birth defect.

Epitheliogenesis imperfecta (EI) is a congenital defect seen in newborn Belgian foals. These foals have a defect in the gene responsible for forming the attachment of the skin to the underlying tissue. They are born with patches of skin missing from their extremities and body. Sometimes, an entire limb will be skinless. Other abnormalities include teeth that are present at birth, ulcers of the mouth, and ulcers of the coronary band. Foals will have difficulty nursing due to the oral ulceration, and the hooves will eventually slough off. Although the severity of the disease can vary at birth, the disease is progressive, and there is no treatment. Affected foals should be euthanized as soon as a diagnosis is made.

This defect is an inherited disease. Currently, it is classified as an autosomal recessive, which means that for a foal to be born with EI, the sire and dam must both be carriers of the disease . In the Belgian breed, there is a certain line of breeding that has been identified as having individuals which are carriers. Research is underway to develop a test to identify carriers of this defect.

Getting a foal on the ground in the first place can be a challenge in the draft breeds. One reason is that, overall, both stallions and mares tend to have lower fertility rates than their light horse counterparts. Since draft stallions mature slower, many two-year-olds have poor semen quality and, therefore, low conception rates. Also, the testicles of a draft stallion are small in relation to their body size compared to light horses. Typically, the draft stallion tends to have a low sperm concentration, high semen volume, and a large amount of gel in the ejaculate. Because of these factors, the semen often must be centrifuged to maintain proper concentration and sperm quantity for optimum reproductive efficiency in artificial insemination. These factors make successfully transporting cooled and frozen semen from heavy horses more difficult and time consuming

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