Equine Cyclicity Flashcards
are horses seasonal or non seasonal breeders
seasonally polyestrous - long day (breed in spring/summer)
21 day cycle that repeats during season
seasonal transition period
the first cycle after entering the breeding season has an abnormally long estrus period with irregular inter-estrous intervals
NO ovulation occurs during this time (follicles will just regress) = infertile
what stages of the cycle do horses have
- estrus
- diestrus
- seasonal anestrus (enter when out of season)
estrus
“horsing”; female is receptive to the male
LONG - 6-7 days
high estradiol
low progesterone
how big are horse follicles
VERY large
when does ovulation occur in horses
before the end of estrus
mare can be bred and still be in estrus afterward due to long length of estrus
where does ovulation occur in the ovary
ovulation fossa only
cortex and medulla are inverted (medulla outside, cortex inside) and follicles ovulate from the cortex, so there is only one site that ovulation can occur at
can hormones can be used to induce ovulation in mares
GnRH or hCG
can horses super ovulate
NO because ovulation can only occur at the ovulation fossa and follicles are too large to ovulate multiple at a time
does double ovulation occur in mares
yes decently often, but mares can NOT support twins so they usually reduce to a single fetus
is the corpus luteum palpable in mares
no - does not expand from the outer surface
are the follicles palpable in mares
yes - large and extend from outer surface
diestrus
occurs after ovulation and estrus ends, no longer “horsing”
low estradiol
high progesterone
diestrus ovulation
second ovulation NOT associated with LH surge that occurs during the luteal phase (2-12 days after regular ovulation) despite high luteal progesterone
extends the length of the interestrus interval
is estradiol alone enough to induce estrus in horses
NO requires:
- high estradiol
- LOW progesterone (from luteolysis)
function of progesterone in horses
primes the next estrus
suppresses receptivity/ovulation
is luteolysis in horses spontaneous or senscent
spontaneous - relies on placental production of PGF2a and CL production of OT (+/+ feedback) to regress CL
is luteolysis in horses local or systemic
systemic - PGF2a released from one uterine horn CAN affect the contralateral ovary
NO vascular architecture to support local luteolysis
reduced metabolism of PGF2a in the lungs allows higher concentrations to reach both ovaries
do horses ovulate a primary or secondary oocyte
secondary oocyte - can be fertilized immediately after ovulation
do sperm have a long or short lifespan in the female repro tract
long BUT oocyte does not - still want sperm present at the time of ovulation
what is unique about unfertilized oocytes in horses
unfertilized oocytes will accumulate in the oviduct - do NOT get released into uterus
what hormone is used to facilitate the transport of fertilized embryo into the uterus
PGE2 secreted by the embryo
relaxes the oviduct papilla
embryonic capsule
blastocysts form a hard capsule within the zona pellucida before entering the uterus
- forms at day 6 and maintained even after embryo hatches zona pellucida
- maintains spherical shape to protect embryo during transplacental migration
transplacental migration
spherical, encapsulated embryos migrate extensively between uterine horns from day 11 to 16
- driven by PGE2 that is secreted by the embryo
NO elongation in uterine horns