5 – Equine Reproduction/Breeding Flashcards
1
Q
In general what are horses normally bred for?
A
- Things other then reproductive soundness
o Vets commonly presented with subfertile mares and stallions - *athletic performance and LOOKS
o Performance is heritable - Some owners want to breed a horse with a heritable DEFECT
o Easily tested for and some associations have restrictions on being allowed to bred positive animals
2
Q
Reproductive physiology of the mare: puberty
A
- 1st ovulation: 12-24 months
o Depends on nutrition, season and stress - Most can become pregnant as 2 year olds
- Pregnancy In yearlings is not uncommon
- *increased risk of dystocia: if not fully physically mature yet (1 year old)
- *seasonally polyestrous (LONG DAY breeders)
3
Q
What is the normal gestation of a mare?
A
- 340 days
o More normally to be OVERDUE, not usually a problem
o Less common to be early - *need to become pregnant within 20-30 days in order to maintain YEARLY REPRODUCTION
4
Q
What is singletons
A
- Twins = ‘disease’
o Never really deliver live twins=we INTERVENE
5
Q
What is the per cycle conception rate/% best case scenario?
A
- 60-70%
6
Q
What is the per season pregnancy rate/% best case scenario?
A
- 80-90%
7
Q
Why are the best case scenario % for per cycle conception rate and per season pregnancy rates not industry averages?
A
- Many stallions and mares and not fertile fully
8
Q
Reproductive physiology of the mare: parturition
A
- *rapid and very forceful process (especially compared to bovine)
- Uterine contraction, cervical relaxation
- Fetal Expulsion
- Fetal Membrane Expulsion
9
Q
What are some sources of income on a breeding farm?
A
- Stallions
- Mare care
- Chute fees
- *Foals: most common
10
Q
Stallions as an income source
A
- Stud fee paid by mare owner to breed to a particular stallion
- Most offer ‘live foal’ guarantee (except some with frozen semen)
o But read the small print
11
Q
What is the ‘stud fee’ or the value of stallion based on?
A
- Pedigree
- Performance record
- Offspring performance record
12
Q
Examples of stud fees
A
- Most expensive in thorough breed horses
- Used to be over $1M
- Average: $200,000 (American Pharoah)
- Ex. Galileo: private! (so likely extremely high)
- Typical: 4 figures, NOT 6 figures
13
Q
Mare care as an income source
A
- Board charged to mare owners to house and feed mares in for breeding
- Range: $2-50/day
- ‘wet’ vs ‘dry’ mares
14
Q
‘wet vs. ‘dry’ mares
A
- Wet: foals born that year that are still with them (still lactating)
- Dry: do NOT have a foal
- *wet mares fee is higher than dry mares
15
Q
Chute fees as an income source
A
- Additional fee to mare owner
- Various fees:
o natural service or hand breeding on farm
o semen collection and preparation on farm AI performed
o fee associated with shipped, cooled semen
16
Q
Foals as an income source
A
- sold as weanlings, yearlings or in utero
o most expensive: 7 figures!
o Ex. highest publicly known: Seattle dancer (13M) - marketing
o word of mouth
o yearling sales
o auctions
o internet
o equine publications
17
Q
What is the rule of thumb for price of a foal?
A
- *asking price is at least 2x the stud fee
18
Q
Into Mischief stallion
A
- 25-30% of offspring have been winning race horses
- *amazing production record
- Stud fee: $250k
- Likely breeds 100+ a day
- Successful himself, but got injured
19
Q
What are the expenditures on a breeding farm?
A
- Largest: FEED
- Overhead
- Wages to employees
- Advertising
- Vet’s role: EXTENSIVE
o Subfertile horses with high value
o AI, ET, ovum pick up (OPU) advanced repro tech commonly practiced
o Cloning is also done and allowed by many breed registrations
20
Q
Horses as food: ‘timeline’
A
- For a long time they have been viewed as food
- Domestication may have allowed us to raise them for consumption
- World wars and Great Depression: hunger and lack of resources (especially in UK, and then NA)
- *religious and culture traditions
- Consumed in many parts of the world (Asia and Europe)
- “taboo’ in most English speaking western cultures
o Some consumption in Quebec
o Concern with slaughter of horses in NA
21
Q
Why are horses used as food?
A
- Sweet, tender, lean meat
o More protein, less fat, less cholesterol - In older animals: meat becomes tender
o ‘viable’ option for older horses - Served in a variety of ways depending on culinary traditions
22
Q
What is the production of horse meat?
A
- Slaughter similarly to cattle
- Regulated by CFIA
o Safety and welfare of horses
o Safety of product entering the food chain
o CFIA vets
o Meat inspection act and inspection regulations
23
Q
What slaughters do we have in Canada?
A
- 2 federally registered (AB and QB: Bouvry)
- *peak in 2008 and consistently dropped since then
- 2022: $22M export of meat (small industry)
24
Q
What is the safety of horse meat in Canada?
A
- Tested for drug residues, environmental contaminants and pesticide residues
o Random AND targeted - *biggest concern is: phenylbutazone
25
Q
Phenylbutazone
A
- NSAID commonly used in horses
- May cause aplastic anemia in people
o BANNED for use in food animals - Detection levels among the BEST in the world
o Rare to get positive test results
26
Q
Where do horses for export of meat come from?
A
- Feedlots
- Shipped in
- Intermediate buyers
27
Q
European markets
A
- Light horse types
- *processed meat product, not whole horses
- ‘on hook’
- Recent controversary: due to phenylbutazone contamination and surveillance
28
Q
Asian markets
A
- Draft horse types
- *prefer to by LIVE horses
- Animals purposely raised for this market
- Controversy over how they are shipped
29
Q
Why is horse meat appealing? (in regards to diseases)
A
- NO spongiform encephalopathies
- No FMD (CJD in humans)
o Directly led to increase of consumption in some European markets
30
Q
Equine information document (EID)
A
- Required for all horses presented at a processing facility in Canada
- Owner-signed declaration to verify info contained
o CFIA vet needs to sign off on it - *minimum record of last 6 months
o Written and visual ID
o General health
o Medications
o Must be transferred with horse if/when ownership changes (ex. to an intermediate buyer)
31
Q
Controversy in Canada: US and then export of live horses
A
- In 2007: no operating equine slaughter in US
o Canada has become destination for US horses destined for slaughter
o Has slowed in recent years, but controversary remains - 2021: directed to ban export of live horses is BANNED but not acting on quickly
- 2022: 2600 exported still
- 2023: bills to actually ban export of live horses to a different question (will likely pass, unless interrupted by an election)
- *rapidly decreasing industry, likely on its last legs
