Equine Reproduction Flashcards
Lectures 1-4
Overview
- mares cycle regularly through breeding season (controlled by photoperiod)
- can manipulate this with their environment in some cases to cycle over the winter - idea is to get the foals born at right time with food available
- foals should be born in spring/summer optimally
- Arbitrary artifical birth date depending stimulated by thoroughbreds depending on hemispheres. (Jan 1 in North, Aug 1 in southern) - try to manipulate the mares forward to get them closer to their actual birth date
- age type racing and sales: if you have a foal that was born in August it is going to look better for sales when it is a yearling than if it was born in July
- for thoroughbreds –> get as close to beginning of season as possible
- Sports horses: depends on how it fits into that schedule and management
- conception rates will be lower at a younger age

Mare Reproductive Anatomy

- 3 gateways to the mares tract: perineum, transverse fold (end of the vestibule)- the vaginal vault and then the cervix
- 3 layers of protection
- means there are 3 stops for bugs
Mare Anatomy
(Ovary)

- mares ovaries are quite responsive to the season
- will be rather small if there is no activity (walnut) - anoestrus in the winter
- picture: small anoestal ovary and then larger developing ovary with follicles - follicles get stimulated to be active (often feel like a bunch of grapes when actively ovulating)
- All mares will be ovulating through an ovarian fossa - this is important!! - rather than rupturing in various places, it is always going to rupture in the same place - important in gamete harvesting as well
- Follicles: you will be able to be able to feel the little bubbles
- After ovulation: CL formed and then in horses a corpus hemorrhagica is formed
- all held together by suspensory ligaments that vary on length depending on the mare!
Maiden mares that have never had the pull of pregnancy - shorter and ovaries sit just ahead of tuber coxae - mares with lots of babies - quite a lot of stretch, ovaries can be anywhere from midline to quite low (quite a bit of variability)

Mare Anatomy
(Uterus)

- long horns and a reasonsably short body
- T or Y: important for the implantation of the embryo and harbor for disease
- endometrium is important for implantation of the embryo as well as the placenta, it is also another potential site for disease!
- broad ligament can be a spot for hemorrhage during foaling difficulties - important to identify

Mare Anatomy
(Cervix)
- mares: about 10cm
- in ponies it is about 4cm
- has a definitive os cervix
- anoestral cervix has tone to it, but no color (closed opening)
- oestral cervix: rosebud appearance and becomes a wilted rosebud appearance as it gets closer to ovulation (melting into floor of vagina) - good way to judge if the mare is in season
- needs to be soft to be receptive to the stallion!
- Dioestral: after ovulation, more tone to it and then under the influence of the pregnancy it is a tight fist

Mare Anatomy:
Perineum

- First stop to prevent infection
- also one of the first spots for veterinarian intervention
- clitoris is where you get a lot of harboring of disease
- need to look at these areas for pre-breeding swabs
- remember clitoral sinus and clitoral fossa
- remember this orientation and with multiparous mares this becomes altered and then you run into issues with infections and such
- not a nice straight confomation
- h= bladder
- there is space in the abdomen which makes sense so if you have a big foal developing it will drop down and not squish the bladder
Breeding Season and Oestrus Cycle
- Throroughbreds: earlier in the year
- polar ponies: later in the year (when they are finished playing and don’t have to be in sales/racetrack)
- sports horses: usually in the middle of the year
- Generally April, May, June is peak time
- after that- no chance really of getting them pregnant and then once the clocks change there really is no go
- want to increase day length if we can as it has a lot of effect on their cycle
- bad weather can really impact the way the mares function! - really want to push the daylength to about 16 hours
- can do this with artificial light - enough to read a paper

Influences on Breeding Season and Oestrus Cycle
- stimulate the hormones from the brain that we need to move forward
- green grass effect: if you have grass, that is good for the mares and then there is a response to try and enhance reporduction at that point
- plane of nutrition increase in empty mares will aid conception rates (like FA’s)
- daylength is still key!
- but weight will have an effect!

Hormonal Pathway
- melatonin in the spring time drops and that stimualtes the GnRH release in the hypothalamus (which we can alter sometimes)
- which then stimulates the anterior pituitary and so on
- we know that we can stimulate the GnRH release at times and increase daylight
- nut ovary –> grape structure producing oestrogens
- get behavior changes and changes in the tract
- need feedback of oestrogen to promote follicle maturation by the relasse of LH!
- without LH surge, don’t get anything but smoldering ovaries that are producing enough oestrogen to get changes in behavior but not enough to get proper maturation of the follicle or ovulation


- We need this feedback of estrogen to have that necessary LH surge
Transitional Period
- time just before the peak breeding season after winter
- this is the part we are trying to move forward in terms of mares cycling for thoroughbreds
- variable, depends on hemisphere!
- Want to kick ovaries into action to get early oestrus cycle
- mares will show signs but they won’t have enough oestrogen to have LH surge
- We know we can manipulate the light - need to be able to read newspaper in the stable
- Dopamine anatognist can be applied to fire ovaries out of the transition stage
- in the US: use progesterone/estradiol to try and prime up the whole HPA axis –> don’y have this in the UK and EU

Oestrus Cycle
- once we are out of the transition phase we are into a true oestrus cycle
- oestrus ballpark is about 3 weeks
- really only a few days where they will actually be able to stand
- There are only a few days when they are ready to stand (then you are talking about AI or naturally breeding)
- PGF2a release from the uterus kicks off the next cycle

Oestrus Cycle: Hormones

Oestrus or Follicular Phase
- follicular development will lead to oestrogen release
- mares are then starting to show signs they are ready to be mated
- uterus under the influence of oestrogen will become oedemetous (wet woolen sock) –> like a heavy doughy tube
- wink, posture and pee


- a bunch of small follicles (1-2 cm in diameter) - all under the influence of FSH
- then start to get one big decent sized dominant follicles and then shut the rest up
- occassionaly end up with 2 dominant follicles - but if more than one gerts ovulated off then there is the twin potential
- If we have more than one dominant follicle, there is potential for twins which is not ideal for horse repro
- follicle goes towards ovulation fossa and then shoots egg into fallopian tube - will see a “collapse down”
- will see hypoechoic activity in the middle of the follicle
Oestrus: Follicular Development
-want to see an increase to the size of the follicle (why we measure in cm) to where we can possibly manipualte with drugs

Oestrus: Ovulation
- some mares will variably want to ovulate at a 3.6 cm or 5cm follicle which makes it hard to mate with a stallion
- work with certain mares and know what their size pattern is
- measuring follicles does help, but is not the sole way we tell oestrus
- Once an ovulation has occurred (shown as flattenting on other slide) , we have a corpus haemorrhagica (baiscally blood into the space) that forms and then become CL to produce progesterone
- the presence of a corpus hemorrhagica is a good sign that she has ovulated already

Oestrus: Ovulation Hormones

- follicle release vs. CL and hemorrhagica formation
Oestrus: Uterus

- again “wet woolen sock”
cartwheel appearance on US is what you want to be looking for!
black fluid - oedema –> remember : Oedematous uterus
closer to standing oestrus - you will possibly see some fluid accumulation in the middle (should be less than 2cm!)
If more than 2 cm —> excessive fluid
usually fluid reduces just before ovulation (can look for the decrease)
Dioestrus or Luteal Phase
- usually a window of 24-48 hours before the cervix closes (3-4 days aft
- they will NOT be having the presence of the stallion anymore
- we can also manipulate the lysis of the CL –> IMPORTANT

Manipulation of Oestrus Cycle
(transitional phase)

Manipulation of Oestrus Cycle
(dioestrus)
- Can give PGF2a to get rid of that CL
- but the CL must be ripe enough to be lysed by the PGF2a (5 - 7days)
- When you know you have your corpus hemorrhagica that is day 1
- in attempts to help bring these mares forward by a week or two
- 2 types of PGF2a you can give (IM ONLY)
- this is a powerful hormone - so they need to know what they are doing and know how to give properly
- people need to be sure they know how to give an IM injection!
- it can really affect horses and people as well!
- You will get sick if you accidentally jab yourself with this
- never to be used if anyone thinks they are pregnant!
- can also even cause asthma in people by inhalation

Manipulation of Oestrus Cycle
(Dioestrus- Prolonging or support of dioestrus)
- we know now that we can shorten the cycle
- NOW, how do we lengthen it?
- oral prgesterone that needs to be given everyday
- dont pour into feed and mix in with their hands!
- progesterone can have adverse effects on people as well
- It IS legal for an FEI (equestrian) horse
- if you give it to a horse you think is competing though, you need to look back at the regulations
- Depo provera (not licensed for horses) can only be used with good reasoning
- Regumate is a better oral and licensed oral preparation to use

Manipulation of Oestrus Cycle
(Inducing Ovulation)- HCG
- mimics LH surge
- want surge to make follicles mature and ovulate
- mix up solution and give IM or IV
- nice water base- and mix it up with solution
- quite handy
- not good for older mares as they tend to not respond well and indications that they may get used to it with multiple applications - won’t have desired response





























































