I have a 15year old maiden mare. We have unsuccessfully attempted AI three times this season. This mare does not show heat. She does develop follicles, however when the follicle becomes a "breedable size", her cervical and uterine tone do not coincide. Her cervix relaxes only very slightly (enough to introduce the pipette for breeding), but never relaxes as "normal". The window when the cervix is slightly relaxed is only about 24hours. We have allowed her to cycle on her own and have also used lutalyse in conjunction with fertagyl at breeding. Any suggestions in getting this mare pregnant?
Jos
Posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2000 - 07:41 pm:
Two initial concerns I would have in this situation are:
Is she ovulating? and: Is she retaining fluid in her uterus post-breeding?
The fact that the cervix is not relaxing greatly is not a major problem as long as you are performing AI, and she is ovulating in a timely manner and not producing and retaining fluid in her uterus post-breeding.
As a first step, if she is ovulating, but is producing/retaining fluid, I would give her 2 cc of Estradiol cypionate (ECP) post-breeding, and couple this with oxytocin and antibiotic infusion treatment, as outlined on this site at http://www.equine-reproduction.com/articles/oxytocin.htm
If that doesn't work, I would feel inclined to check her Thyroid level, as sometimes tight cervices and apparent breeding problems can be as a result of low thyroid. If this is the case, supplement with Thyro-L and once levels are normal, rebreed.
I have a 24 year old maiden mare, large, somewhat cobby POA in excellent health. She appears much younger than her years and always has. When she was 14, a vet mistook her for 4 and had to examine her teeth to proove to herself that she was older. I have owned her for 16 years. We are considering breeding her but I do not know if she is too old to go through a first time pregnancy and foaling. What are your opinions please? Thank you very much.
Jos
Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 09:23 pm:
Although 24 is getting up there in age, as long as she is able to conceive and carry, the age itself should not be a problem.
I would recommend a thorough breeding soundness examination including a uterine biopsy on this mare before going ahead and breeding though. Older mares may have uterine pathological changes, as well as other changes, so such an examination may save you a considerable amount of money if it turns up a problem before you actually commit to the expense of breeding.
Good luck.
Beth Miller (206.68.196.97)
Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 07:38 pm:
A local breeder told me that older mares may have problems carrying a foal because the tissues are less elastic than young mares. Because of this, I long ago gave up on breeding my 21 yr. old maiden mare. We bred her at 16 & 17 yrs. old but she never settled. She was not very willing so we quit before someone got hurt.
Kelly (63.172.47.212)
Posted on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 01:27 pm:
It may take more time and effort, but many older maiden mares do conceive and carry to term.
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