Managers on Kentucky horse farms prefer pastures used for grazing pregnant mares to be composed of Kentucky bluegrass and orchardgrass and little, if any, tall fescue. Most of the tall fescue in Kentucky pastures is “KY 31,” and essentially all
“In my opinion, a mare that fails to become pregnant by AI with good semen quality and does so by natural cover without human intervention is an example of poor or inadequate breeding management by the personnel performing the AI,” said Samper.
Thinking of breeding your mare this spring? The recent outbreak of contagious equine metritis (CEM, which is caused by bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis) in the United States and the previous outbreak of equine viral arteritis (EVA) have
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As foaling season approaches, horse owners who are expecting foals this year should know how to recognize the signs of labor in a foaling mare. The normal gestation length for a mare can range from 320 to 360 days, with the average being around
The equine uterine environment plays an integral role in the early developmental stages of pregnancy, even prior to implantation of the embryo, according to British researchers who recently examined the role of the uterus in
Lameness is not an uncommon condition in pregnant mares. But does pregnancy itself make a horse more prone to lameness?
“Any horse can become lame while pregnant, but pregnancy does not make lameness more likely as a single factor,” said
After witnessing a rare (and unsuccessful) infanticide attack by a stallion on a one-hour-old foal, behavior researcher Meeghan Gray, PhD, from the University of Nevada, Reno, reported findings from the macabre event.
“In this first report
A fourth stallion that formerly stood at a Central Kentucky breeding facility, now identified as DeGraff Stables/Liberty Farm Equine Reproduction Center LLC, has tested positive for contagious equine metritis (CEM). Officials had considered this
Foals start arriving in January, so having all of the necessary equipment organized and ready to go is a project best completed in December. There are basic supplies that are important to have on hand for foaling mares. These should be in a kit or
Determining when a mare will foal is art and science, but there are tests to help you pinpoint the due date.
Australian researchers based at Coolmore Stud in New South Wales, Australia, reported in a new study that placental weight and parity (number of foals a mare has had) are positively associated with foal weight. In contrast, neither
A medication protocol that can induce lactation in “open” mares has changed the way prominent Kentucky Standardbred nursery, Walnut Hall Ltd., manages its nurse mare herd, while giving more than 20 rescued mares a new
Walnut Hall’s vet, Joe
According to a group of European reproduction specialists from the Centre for Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer, University of Veterinary Sciences in Austria, subclinical infections of the uterine lining can occur following
A recent study of wild horses in New Zealand has found that broodmares that are healthiest at the time of conception are more likely to have colts.
The study, conducted by researchers Elissa Cameron, MSc, PhD, and Wayne Linklater, PhD, foun
The body condition of a mare and the sex of her foal will determine how much the foal plays, according to a new study by researchers at the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
The group, led by Elissa
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