Harrisburg, South Dakota
Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981!
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Harrisburg, South Dakota Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981! |
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Is She Bred, or is She Open? There are a couple of different methods for determining whether or not your mare is pregnant. One of the most common methods is rectal palpation the earliest that pregnancy can be confirmed with this method is one month. Unfortunately mares are sometimes found open at this time and one whole breeding cycle has been passed by. One way to avoid this problem is by using ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. With the use of the ultrasound, we can detect a pregnancy as early as 14-17 days and if for some reason your mare is found open at this time, she can still be rebred on the next heat period (usually 21 days after she came in the last time). Thus, that heat cycle is not totally lost. There are other uses for the ultrasound than just pregnancy conformation. Twins can be detected relatively easily with ultrasonography. Since twins usually lead to abortion or foaling problems, early detection is very helpful so that proper steps can be taken. Occasionally there is that problem mare that will not settle this year or did not carry a foal to term last year. Ultrasound can often be a useful tool for recognizing uterine and ovarian problems that cause infertility such as cysts, tumors, and infections. Once these problems have been recognized, steps can be taken to correct them and get your mare back in foal. Ultrasonography is a useful tool in equine reproduction today. Whether you breed one mare of several, it can save time, money, and prevent you from having a barren mare for another year. |
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