OK, so I do not have very much faith in the ability of my vet so would appreciate your comments!!
My mare was inseminated last year, post ovulation. I had one vet come and scan her at day 18 and he said she felt in foal but could not find the embryo (if embryo right word?). My normal vet came back at day 30 and again, felt in foal but took him ages to find the embryo. Eventually he said he found it and confirmed pregnancy.
I recently became concerned she wasnt pregnant as she was was not gaining much weight and I had seen her come into season, he scanned her on Tuesday this week and confirmed she was not pregnant. He also advised me that when he scanned her pregnant that it "hadnt come down and was still up in the horn". Could this have been the reason she didnt hold onto it?
On Tuesday he said that she was coming into season with a 3 follicle and he estmated she would ovulate at the end of the week. a) what exactly does he mean by 3 follicle (size)? and how does this affect when she is due to ovulate? I would like to inseminate her next cycle so I am anxious to try and get on top of her season now to plan correctly for the next one.
I would start by getting a definitive answer on pregnancy status from a veterinarian in whom you have confidence. If she is still pregnant and you stick an AI pipette in through the cervix, she probably won't be pregnant for much longer...
An early pregnancy from about 17 days onwards is going to be located at the base of one uterine horn (in an ideal situation). In the event that the pregnancy is located in the body of the uterus, there is a high risk of pregnancy loss. This makes the observation that it "hadn't come down and was still up in the horn" suspect, unless the pregnancy was located well towards the top of the horn. Although I said 17 days, it should be noted that there are sometimes a few days variation, so if still located in the upper horn at 18 days, it would not unduly concern me. By 30 days though, it would.
Follicular diameter is typically measured in cm or mm, so a "3" indicates a 3 cm diameter follicle. It is unusual for a follicle to ovulate before reaching a diameter of 35mm (3.5 cm) although not unheard of. It is important to note that follicular diameter itself is not a good indicator of timing of ovulation, as some follicles may grow to a diameter of 6 cm, while others ovulate as noted at 3.5 cm. Furthermore, mares can and do develop mid-cycle follicles (i.e. when they are not in "heat") which should not be bred upon.
All in all, I would suggest a further consultation and evaluation with and by a veterinarian with whom you are comfortable with their level of equine reproduction knowledge and expertise...
Thanks Jos- unfortunately where I live is really remote and this is the only qualified AI technician available. It would cost me £600 to send her to a proper AI centre plus full livery
He manually checked for pregnancy this time and said she was not pregnant (presume he couldn't possibly miss pregnancy at 280 days?).
We had an AI foal off her 7 years ago, using same vet but I am a little rusty and want to make sure I am on the ball with him and ask the right questions so very thankful for your advice!
I certainly thought he was a little off when confirming and it took him a lot of searching to find pregnancy - again - thank you very much for your help!
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