Each mare is an individual with her own health history and genetic tendencies. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

Each year, the annual American Association of Equine Practitioners convention kicks off with a rapid-fire run through some of the past year’s most important surgery, medicine, and reproduction studies. The 2017 edition, held at the Nov. 18-21 meeting in San Antonio, Texas, featured Regina Turner, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACT, chief of the Section of Reproduction and Behavior at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, in Kennett Square, presenting reproduction research. Here were her top five selections:

1. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Can Help Treat Persistent Mating-Induced Endometritis

A group out of Brazil investigated the effects of administering intrauterine PRP on uterine inflammation (endometritis) and conception rates in mares with persistent-mating induced endometritis (PMIE).

“It’s normal after semen enters the mare’s uterus for the uterus to have an inflammatory response. This aids in normal uterine clearance,” said Turner. “That inflammatory response should resolve within 12 hours of breeding. If it persists we put these mares into a high-risk category and refer to them as PMIE mares. Mares with PMIE have lower chances of becoming pregnant following breeding