Recent News for Breeding Basics
Article
Breeding on Foal Heat
October 10, 2001
The mare has a long gestational period and to be a yearly producer she must be back in foal, on average, 25 days from giving birth. It is important to understand all the processes that take place in the period from parturition to the restoration... Read More
Article
HYPP: Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis
October 10, 2001
They gave the muscular Quarter Horse colt an ambitious name: Impressive. He lived up to the name in such dramatic fashion that it became a household word in Quarter Horse circles - especially among breeders and exhibitors involved in showing... Read More
Article
Combined Immunodefiency in Arabians
October 09, 2001
A newborn Arabian foal is possibly one of the most beguiling creatures on Earth. Elegant of feature and blessed with beauty, he's full of promise for the future--and often descended of royal blood and worth many thousands of dollars. Imagine how... Read More
Article
Restraint Techniques for Breeding
October 08, 2001
When a mare and a stallion meet, love might be in the air...but there's the potential for danger, too. Particularly when humans get in the middle of it all. In our efforts to orchestrate the best possible combinations of... Read More
Article
Failure of Passive Transfer in Horses
October 08, 2001
Infectious disease is a major cause of death in neonatal foals. The foal is born immunocompetent, meaning it probably is able to initiate an immune response to organisms to which it is exposed. However, a newborn foal lacks... Read More
Article
Teasing Mares
October 08, 2001
Teasing mares can be a time-consuming and boring procedure, but it is essential if one is to detect when a mare is in estrus. Unfortunately, all mares do not react to teasing in the same manner, so one approach doesn't suit all.... Read More
Article
AAEP 1995 Convention Roundup
October 04, 2001
A total of 2,351 equine veterinarians--a record attendance--descended on Lexington for the 41st annual American Association of Equine Practitioners convention. Committee business dominated the day on Dec. 2, with 21 of the association's 40... Read More
Article
Dual Hemisphere Breeding
October 03, 2001
Thoroughbred breeding stallions truly have joined the jet set. These four-legged Romeos are flying from one part of the world to another these days as they perform breeding duties on both sides of the equator. Hundreds of... Read More
Article
Oxytocin and Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy
October 03, 2001
A research report from the laboratory at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky noted that it is well-established that early conceptus loss (the embryo and its... Read More
Article
Breeding Facilities
October 03, 2001
Any way you look at it, building a barn is a major undertaking. Doing it right the first time, to avoid headaches later, is the smart approach. In addition to the usual considerations of location, aesthetics, cost, and... Read More
Article
Breeding With Chilled and Frozen Semen
September 26, 2001
Artificial Insemination (AI) involves the introduction of sperm into the reproductive tract of the mare without natural mating. AI in the horse was first practiced long ago. Ancient Arabian texts describe how mares were successfully inseminated.... Read More
Article
Embryo Transfer for Horses
September 18, 2001
One plus one plus one equals one. The stallion, dam, and surrogate dam probably never met, but all three contributed to produce a foal. Today's assisted breeding technologies can overcome the constraints of distance, competitive involvement,... Read More
Article
Tying-Up Syndrome
September 13, 2001
I just bought a Thoroughbred filly which was in race training, but retired without running because of recurrent bouts of ‘tying-up.’ She had been turned out for six months before I got her, and never showed any problems while on the farm.... Read More
Article
Return to Nature With Pasture Breeding
September 13, 2001
In a world of artificial insemination and embryo transfer, simplicity can prevail. Registered stallions and mares can breed with minimal human intervention, through natural cover in the pasture. Pasture breeding continues as an... Read More
Article
Should I Breed My Mare?
September 12, 2001
T o breed or not to breed . . . .With apologies to William Shakespeare, that is a question that perplexes many mare owners and is one without a single, simple answer. The problem usually begins with ownership of a mare which fits our equestrian... Read More
Article
Horse Geneticists Meet In Brisbane, Australia
July 13, 2001
Horse geneticists met July 4-6, 2001, in Brisbane, Australia, for the Fourth International Equine Gene Mapping Workshop. Forty-two scientists from Europe, Asia, Australia and America met to present their research and discuss... Read More
Article
Barefoot Benefits
July 01, 2001
We often assume a horse needs shoes without really thinking about why or how that affects a horse's overall health. Yet standard veterinary texts, such as books by James Rooney, DVM, and O.R. Adams, DVM, on... Read More
Article
Deadly Spring Syndromes
July 01, 2001
Good news travels fast in the horse business; bad news travels even faster. In the case of an outbreak of mysterious early fetal loss and late-gestation foal loss, cooperation and quick sharing of information served to help researchers... Read More
Article
Advice On Getting Mares In Foal After Losses
June 07, 2001
Bob Douglas, PhD, owner of BET Labs in Kentucky, specializes in working with veterinarians and farm owners to assist in reproductive problems of mares and stallions. He works with Northern and Southern Hemisphere breeders, and said his clients... Read More
Article
Equine Reproduction--The Essential Elements
June 01, 2001
The reason for the improved reproductive rate in summer is related to the length of estrus (heat period) of mares and to sperm cell production by stallions. Estrus is prolonged in early spring as the reproductive system "tunes up." By May and June... Read More
Article
Elective Cesarean Sections: Who Needs Them?
May 01, 2001
Many horse breeders and owners are familiar with the circumstances that necessitate an emergency cesarean section. Those circumstances involve the mare and/or unborn foal being in imminent danger due to birthing difficulties (also known as... Read More
Article
Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP) and Breeding
May 01, 2001
I have a 6-year-old Quarter Horse mare N/H (heterozygous) for hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), and a lot of vets have told me that I can breed her to a Thoroughbred, and the baby should be fine. She does have some problems with the... Read More
Article
The Trouble With Twins
March 01, 2001
Mother Nature clearly does not favor the birth of equine twins, as a significant number of twin embryos spontaneously abort within the first six weeks of pregnancy. Of the twin conceptions present after 40 days of pregnancy, about 80% will... Read More
Article
Stallion Libido
March 01, 2001
I have a breeding problem with my 13-year-old Quarter Horse stallion. He has tremendous bloodlines. He has four or five foals on the ground, so I know that he is not infertile. But recently I leased him to a friend out of state to use. He... Read More
Article
Can You Breed for Speed or Stamina?
March 01, 2001
For centuries, horsemen have tried to breed for speed and endurance and found that the greatest genetic potential can yield disappointment as easily as reward. Consider the indomitable Secretariat, who sired a string of mostly unremarkable... Read More
