I bred a mare, who belongs to a friend, for the last three years and have three lovely offspring. Each time the mare was bred she took on the first live cover. We kept her sutured due to her conformation, and lavaged her and followed with oxitocin the last time we bred her, as she started to have a little difficulty with retained fluid. This year my friend bred her using AI. Her vet did a culture and cytology first which came back clean. They did not suture her, nor did they US post breeding. After the first breeding, she developed numerous clusters of cysts and one large oblong cyst across the body of the uterus, stretching almost from horn to horn. In addition, the next two times she was AI'd, the vet said she had a 3.5 to 4 cm follicle, but the uterine wall was not "involuted" as it should have been when in estrus and she did not have good uterine tone. He said the uterine wall did not match the follicle. He bred her anyway. She was US'd on day 16 following the third and last AI and the vet said she had fluid in her left horn, and the uterine tone was again, not good. I believe she should have been kept sutured and US'd for post breeding fluid retention, but that is water under the bridge now. She has been sutured finally and will be rebred next spring. There is a chance I will get this mare back, and I'd like to know what I might be getting into with her reproductively. I do not believe she had any further culture and cytology done and I know she was not biopsied this fall. She is 13 and had three consecutive pregnancies before this year. Thanks for your help.
Jos
Posted on Friday, October 20, 2000 - 09:27 pm:
I suspect that your summation that this mare should have been treated with oxytocin post-breeding and then undergone a Caslick's procedure is quite likely very accurate.
Certainly, if it were me looking at getting her back to use as a broodmare, I would feel that being aware of this years problems, it would be advisable to have a uterine biopsy performed before I agreed to taking her back. It could well give you some food for thought, and save you some money in the long run!
Other than that, I think I'd be reaching for the oxytocin, and calling for sutures.....!
Thanks for the imput! I suggested they should consider sending the broodmare to a breeding farm nearby in the spring, who will handle the AI using their repro vets. I'd be willing to bet it won't cost any more (and maybe less) than the numerous farm calls and unproductive breeding did this year. And a uterine biopsy before anything else...
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