About Our Equine Reproductive Services
General Information About Equine Pregnancies
In general, a horse carries a foal 340 days. This, however, varies from pregnancy to pregnancy. In most cases, foal born before 300 days of gestation is unable to survive. We offer services to monitor your horse's pregnancy and intervene, if necessary, to prevent complications from occurring.
Breeding Soundness Check
A soundness check is the first examination your horse will undergo when you decide to breed. This ensures your mare is healthy enough to breed. During this exam, Dr. Youngblood will evaluate your mare's reproductive health through a trans-rectal palpation and a trans-rectal ultrasound. This helps Dr. Youngblood view your horse's cervix, uterus, and ovaries.
Other testing includes:
- a uterine biopsy
- vaginal speculum exam
- and a uterine culture
All of these tests help us identify issues that could interfere with a healthy pregnancy, such as infections, uterine fibroids, and inflammation, among other problems.
About Artificial Insemination
Artificial Insemination is the predominant form of breeding preformed at this time. Artificial Insemination allows you to choose a stallion from any part of the country or even the world without the mare and stallion coming in contact with one another. Semen is shipped in cooled when the mare is ready to be inseminated. Artificial Insemination allows for greater diversity in breeding selection.
About Horse Pregnancy Monitoring
Between 14 to 18 days after insemination, Dr. Youngblood can confirm if your horse is pregnant using an ultrasound. We'll develop a pregnancy monitoring schedule for your mare.
Between day 25 and 30 day, a heartbeat can be observed by ultrasound.
For high-risk mares, more extensive monitoring is necessary during the last few months of her pregnancy. Sometime during the last three to four months of the high-risk mare's pregnancy, she'll need weekly ultrasounds.
Foaling
Mares in our care during foaling are fitted with a foal alert system, which allows for 24/7 monitoring. Mares are also watched via cameras and nightly checks. The actual foaling process usually only takes about 30 minutes total. We will intervene at any time if complications arise. At the end of the delivery, Dr. Youngblood examines both the mare and her foal for any problems. Between 18-24 hours we will run an IgG on the foal to determine passive transfer. If values are less than 800 then plasma will be administered.
Whether you’re breeding a horse for profit or for pleasure, we advise anyone interested in breeding to see a veterinarian with experience in equine reproductive services. We're able to assist in every step of the process to ensure both mare and foal are healthy.
