Equine repro Flashcards
Fertility in horses is
Often poor
Delayed breeding because of athletic performance
Bred for athleticism not fertility
Mares most fertile between 4-10 years
Fertility of mare can be affected by
Hormone imbalance
Granulosa theca cell tumour
Poor perineal conformation
Vaginitis
Endometritis
Soft cervix during estrus
Caslisks stitch in horses is
Appose vulvar lips to prevent fecal contamination and air vaginitis
MUST be cut before mare goes into foal
Commonly performed in racing mares to prevent windsucking
Abortion in horses is caused by
Twins
Placental insufficiency
Placentitis
Fungal, bacterial, viral
EHV-1
Dystocia in horses
Unusual but life threatening
Fetal malpositioning most common
Maternal-fetal mismatch rare in horses
Usually mare or foal or both die
ALWAYS AN EMERGENCY
Stage 2 labour ~20-30 minutes
When things go wrong they go wrong FAST
Reasons for dystocia in horses
Placenta previa/premature placental detachment/”red bag” delivery
Malpresentation
Uterine inertia
Malpresentation of horses is
Foal should be presented in a “diver” position front feet first one slightly ahead of the other facing down followed by the nose.
Due to the foals’ long limbs, small space within the mare’s pelvic cavity and very strong contractions repositioning foals is much more difficult than calves.
Early intervention is key
What to do if a foal is in malpresentation
LOTS of lube
Mare’s may need heavy sedation
Do not use chains around foal’s limbs–damage to tendons ligaments can be career ending.
No calf jack – if you can’t pull them by hand other options must be considered
C-Section- performed via midline incision with mare in dorsal recumbency
Fetotomy if foal is dead.
Uterine inertia in equine is
Cessation of weakening of uterine contractions
May occur if the mare becomes stressed
The myometrium becomes exhausted
Mares with selenium deficiency
If stage 2 becomes prolonged or stops progressing after 20 minutes intervention may be necessary. If the foal is correctly positioned applying traction to the foals legs in a downward direction toward the mares hocks in unison with the mares efforts may be all that is required
Retained placenta in horses is
Stage 3 labour= passage of the placenta, should occur ~ 4 hours after delivery of foal
Common after dystocia/intervention, induction of labour and abortion. Mares with RP are likely to do it again in future foalings
Placenta should be examined for completeness
A placenta with a visible cervical star indicates premature detachment
If left too long infection >sepsis>infertility, laminitis
What to do if a mare has a retained placenta
If not passed in 4 hours considered an emergency
Oxytocin
Warm fluid flush
CAREFUL manual assistance
Caution owners NOT to pull on it, wait until vet arrives
What happens if you try and pull the placenta out of a horse
Can result in uterine damage, prolapsed uterus, significant hemorrhage
What to get owners of foaling mares to have on hand
Vets phone number and phone available
Scissors to cut membranes if needed
Disinfectant to dip umbilicus
Bag to contain placenta until it can be examined for health and completeness
Paraphimosis in horses is
Under conditioned/malnourished male horse
Breeding injury
Secondary to Acepromazine sedation
Avoid breeding stallions
Lose active muscle tone of the retractor penis muscle
Edema accumulation, even more difficult to retract
Compressive bandages, phallectomy
Castration of horses is usaully done when
typically preformed at 1 year
