When To Ultrasound Mares

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I finally have found a vet in my area that can ultrasound my mares and this year I am wanting to take advantage of being able to do this.

My question is, after hand breeding, how many days after the first date of breeding do you do your first ultrasound and if in foal, when do you do subsequent ultrasounds to ensure she is still carrying?

Thanks so much!

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Ask your vet! They all have different preferences.

 

[Miniv]

A vet who is very experienced can ultra-sound at the 18 to 20 day mark. Yes, ask your vet about his comfort zone.

There is a point during the pregnancy when it's difficult to see the fetus because it drops down in the lower part of the uterus.

But that's further along.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

She told me she can do it as early as 18 days, but I was wanting to see what the general concensus of the breeders on here do

 

[chandab]

I believe the measure days from after the last day covered, but anyway, it's not common but my AQHA mare's pregnancy was detected at 14 days post breeding; I think the norm is 18-20 days as already stated.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

And when you yall generally prefer to do another ultrasound to confirm she is still carrying?

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Once again, ask your vet. Each vet has different preferences.

For example, my current vet manually checks my cows at 45 days, then again at 180 days. A vet at the last farm I worked on would check with an ultrasound at 35 days, again at 60, and manually at 200. Neither one is more accurate or correct, just the way they prefer to do things.

 

[Miniv]

We don't ultra-sound anymore, but when we did, I documented the breeding and then watched to see if the mare came back into heat.

If she didn't, we would then have her ultra-sounded.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Thank you everyone for your input, I greatly appreciate it

Our first mare being bred for 2015 is our cremello Alvadars Double Destiny granddaughter has been covered yesterday and today (and hopefully tomorrow) by our Magic Man son and we have set up an appointment for her to be ultrasounded June 4th with the vet.

Hopefully she will be bred

 

I used to ultrasound my mares 3 times during pregnancy. Once between 14-21 days, then around 3 1/2-5 months looking for twins, and then closer to delivery to see that everything was moving forward in the right direction.

Keep us posted, can't wait to "hear" the results!

 

[Jean_B]

I never ultra sound. Too invasive, can lead to the introduction of infections and abortions. I just wait for signs that a mare is pregnant.....such as not showing heat, growing belly, etc.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Mares generally ovulate 24 hours prior to going out of heat, so figure from the last breeding and not the 1st.

Big horses can be done as early as 10 days post-ovulation, but not having the uterus in your hand is a disadvantage for minis. I'm more comfortable at >14 days. If you consistently use your Vet for this procedure, her skill and comfort level will improve over time.

Early detection of pregnancy has advantages:

1) No longer need to re-tease a mare which is a dangerous situation for mare, stallion, and handler.

2) Showing signs of heat or not is not the same as being pregnant. Although it is the norm for pregnant mares to not show signs of heat, it is also not 100%. Additionally, just because a mare doesn't show signs of heat doesn't mean she is pregnant 100% of the time.

3) Because mares have a long gestation, quickly returning to pregnancy increases production. Mares that lose just a few weeks each year a few years in a row will eventually have an open year. Open years are very costly. Knowing if a mare is open at 14-18 days allows for short cycling and saving those days.

4) The opportunity to diagnose reproductive issues is between cycles. If we know at 14-18 days that a mare is open then we have a chance to take a culture and cytology which allows us to treat the uterus prior to the next ovulation.

Dr. Taylor

 

[Debby - LB]

Very good additional information, thank you so much Dr. Taylor.