Breeding and Reproduction

Horse breeding from planning through foal care

Without Warning: Dystocia

Eleven months is a long time to wait for the birth of a foal. Even with the best of care, things can go wrong and interrupt the normal development of the fetus and/or compromise the health of the mare.

When the day (or as is often the case,

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Rotavirus Vaccine

Researchers looked at healthy and sick foals and also checked mares at foaling and two days after foaling to see if the mares were shedding the rotavirus into the environment where the foals could pick it up.

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Caesarean Sections

When your favorite basketball team is leading by a point and the clock is ticking down to the final seconds with your team in possession, time seems to move at a snail’s pace. Not so when your favorite mare is in labor and can’t seem to deliver

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Colostrum: Nothing Better Than Mother’s Milk

There might be ongoing debate as to the value of a woman’s colostrum versus commercial colostrum products, but for a foal, nothing is better than a mare’s milk. Colostrum is specialized milk secreted during the first 24 hours following birth and

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Evaluating Placentas Can Pinpoint Potential Problems

Although common knowledge among veterinarians, few horse owners know that the condition of a mare’s placenta following birth is a useful barometer for gauging the health of a newborn foal. If the placenta appears abnormal, the foal could be at

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Persistent Uterine Infections

T he question that begs an answer concerning uterine infections, in the mind of Jim Briddle, DVM, Riverton, Wyo., isn’t so much why they occur, but, rather, why they don’t occur more frequently.

It has always been amazing to me, says the”P>T he question that begs an answer concern

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Management of Twins: Have We a New Option?

As has been discussed in earlier issues of The Horse, twinning is highly undesirable in the mare. The advent of ultrasound has allowed earlier detection of multiple pregnancies from around Days 14 to 16 post-breeding, and the majority of

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A Breed Apart: Cooled and Frozen Semen

The shipping of cooled and frozen semen has opened the door to a wide variety of breeding opportunities for horse owners, providing, of course, that their breed organization permits artificial insemination (AI) with shipped semen. A mare in New

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So You Want to Breed…

Breeding season is just around the corner, and you might be one of the thousands of mare owners considering breeding your mare. Before taking the plunge and becoming a full-time reproduction service, you should create a realistic expectation of

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Ovuplant: Improving the Odds

If you’re a breeder, frankly, it pays to be in the livestock business. Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs all make life easy for those trying to produce young stock–they are all facultative-induced ovulators, meaning that matings early in their”P>If you’re a breeder, frankly, it pays to be in the livestock busi

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Late Gestation Mare Management

The final months of a mare’s gestation period are anxious ones. As an owner during those final weeks, one is filled with anticipation now that the date of birth is approaching. At the same time, there are those disquieting concerns about

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Uterine Cysts

The equine uterus, in a manner of speaking, could be compared to a house. When a house is snug and solid with no broken windows, holes in the roof, drafts, or plugged drains, it is a comfortable place in which to live. If, however, there are

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Males as Athletes

In a crowd of geldings, his presence is conspicuous. The stallion that competes in sport adds extra energy to every step. His distinctive bearing attracts the eye, and he truly displays the look of eagles. Horsemen debate the pros and cons

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Stallion Insurance

There is virtually no investment in the horse business, short of buying a farm, that equals the investment in a stallion. Whether an individual is buying a horse or several members get together to form a syndicate, the price can run well into th

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Foal Rejection

To understand why foal rejection occurs and how to prevent it, you must first realize what is normal post-foaling maternal behavior.

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