It’s important that all the players in an industry speak the same language, and the Reproduction/Perinatology Forum on Dec. 3 at the American Association of Equine Practitioners convention in Seattle, Wash., tried to help equine veterinarians do just that. The main topic of discussion was the updating of several reproduction-related terms and definitions in the AAEP position statements in the annual membership directory and resource guide.

Moderators Steven Brinsko, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACT, associate professor of theriogenology at Texas A&M University, and Stuart Brown, DVM, a field veterinarian with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute of Lexington, Ky., began the forum by passing out a list of the old terms and a few new ones with the new definitions, and asking for feedback. It soon became clear that while it might seem simple to classify a mare as pregnant, not pregnant, or suitable for mating, it’s actually not so easy. Veterinarians discussed the following terms:

• Pregnant
  
• Not pregnant
  
• Aborted
  
• Mated
  
• Mating
  
• Suitable for mating
  
• Stillborn
  
• Neonatal death
  
• Foal died

There were several questions about why all these terms are needed; some answered that it was based on insurance, auctions, stallion contracts, etc. “There are certainly still some questions, but this is helping,” commented another attendee.
Another topic of discussion concerned updating the AAEP’s brochures on cooled semen, frozen semen, pregnant/nonpregnant mares, and possibly others. They discussed collaborating with the American College of Theriogenologists and Society for Theriogenology to develop a consistent set of brochures for all the organizations