I have a 13 yr old mare that has had 2 foals but none for 3 yrs. She became obese and I had her thyroid checked in the spring and I have her on thyroid medication. She has been tested and her t levels are normal. She is still over weight but has lost a litte weight. I tried to breed her this past summer AI unsucessfully. She was cultured clean and cycles and ovulates normally. Vet ultra sounded through 3 cycles with everything normal. What do I need to do now? How can I know that the thyroid problem is not effecting her fertility.
Jos
Posted on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 07:11 am:
BET Labs have an excellent series of pages on their web site that can be seen by clicking here (note that the link at the bottom of the first page to the second page is broken, so click here to view the second page in the series).
Essentially, you will need to ensure that your mare's total T4 level is in the 12 to 40 ng/ml range before attempting to breed. If this is already the case, it is quite possible that the reasons for her not being pregnant are not Thyroid-related, and you should have a complete breeding soundness examination performed.
Note that a uterine swab culture alone is meaningless - a cytology smear must be prepared and read in conjunction with it, and the absence of neutrophils verified. If this was not done, it is still possible that the mare has a uterine infection (and about half of all veterinarians still do not perform the cytology smear).
You should also contemplate the possibility that this mare is suffering from delayed uterine clearance, and that she would benefit from oxytocin therapy either pre- and/or post-breeding. More about this can be read by "clicking" here.
Selection criteria of a brood mare for breeding a racehorse.
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