Picture the aging broodmare who in past years has produced fine foals–some whose births were more difficult than others. You know her chances of continuing to deliver healthy foals are dwindling, but her bloodlines are still worth perpetuating. It can be challenging to achieve and maintain pregnancy in high-risk broodmares such as this for a variety of reasons. In this article we’ll review what can make a pregnancy high-risk, along with health aspects to monitor before, during, and after pregnancy to optimize a mare’s chances for delivering a healthy foal.

Pregnancy Perils

Age A mare’s age greatly affects her ability to conceive and maintain pregnancy. "The mare’s age plays a much larger role in early pregnancy loss than in later loss," reports Sara Lyle, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. "Actual conception rate is probably not that different between fertile and subfertile mares (of any age; 90% vs. 80-90%) but the problem is early embryonic death (EED)