Managing Your Mare
Trouble-Shooting Guidelines and Helpful Tips
Whether you've been unsuccessful in breeding your mare thus far this season or you just want to be as proactive as possible as a breeder, we're happy to provide this list of helpful guidelines.
Start the breeding season by acquiring a culture on your mare to unsure a clean uterine environment prior to the first insemination. If your mare is older, has been unsuccessfully bred in the previous season, has a history of fetal loss, or any other concern regarding her ability to conceive, a biopsy should be performed.
Ask your vet to administer HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) or Deslorelin the day prior to the expected semen delivery. Either of these hormones help to close the window of ovulation, so that hopefully the timing of ovulation closely follows the timing of the shipment's arrival and your mare's insemination. While we try to send two doses of semen per shipment whenever possible, it is never a guarantee. By narrowing the window of ovulation, you have a better chance of not requiring an additional shipment of semen should your vet be working with a single dose.
Mares that have been repeatedly given HCG to encourage ovulation will become less responsive to the hormone. If you have already used the hormone HCG repeatedly this season, Deslorelin is a better option.
Confirm the day after insemination that your mare has indeed ovulated and that her uterus is clear of fluids. If she has not yet ovulated, your mare will require an additional insemination.
If your vet has found that your mare has fluid clearance issues, an injection (or several depending on the severity) of Oxytocin may be required. Oxytocin is a hormone that encourages slight contractions of the uterus. The contractions help the mare flush out any offending fluid. Oxytocin can be effective when administered from no sooner than five hours and up to three days post-ovulation.
If your vet finds fluid AND your mare has not yet ovulated, it will be necessary to manually clear the fluid before breeding her again.
Consider discussing a product called "Settle" with your veterinarian. Settle is an immuno-stimulant that has been show in studies to help mares settle into pregnancy. For more information: www.expectbetterresults.com.
Lastly, you may also consider placing your mare on Regu-Mate (synthetic progesterone). A mare may be placed on Regu-Mate at 5 days post-ovulation.
These tips are NOT to be used in place of your veterinarian's advice or recommendations, but may be helpful in stimulating further discussions with your vet about the most effective management of your mare's breeding cycle. We do not claim to be veterinarians or experts on any of the above mentioned products or methods, but we have used these techniques with success in our own breeding endeavors. We wish you the best of luck with yours!
© Hassler Dressage, 2007.
