STUD NOTES

The most asked question I get regarding a mare's cycle is "How long after the mare has foaled can she be served?" If you've read my other articles about the reproductive cycle, you will note it is not simple, after all we are discussing the female of the species. However, this is the point where the mare deserves a totally new level of respect. In short the answer is some time between roughly 6 - 16 days, most commonly between 9 to 12 days after foaling. I'm sure pleased humans are not designed that way!

THE WET MARE CYCLE

From our point of view, the wet mare can be looked upon in two ways - as she is in foal, she can be regarded as a fertile mare to work with. Conversely she hamstrings us too. With an around eleven month gestation period, and with our imposed breeding season, we have very little opportunity to get her back in foal without letting her next foaling date slip further backwards. My heroine is Lady Violet. Some may recall she had 16 foals straight without missing a year. Her first foal was born on the 8th September, and her last foal was born 14th October - only 36 days lost across 16 years of breeding - that is phenomenal! We had the pleasure of some involvement with this mare.

After foaling, by the very fact hormones are involved, the wet mare cycle begins a short time after foaling. This first heat is commonly termed "foal heat". The wet mare cycle then follows the same pattern as the dry mare once the mare has her foal heat ovulation. Foal heat commencement varies from mare to mare and from season to season. I also stated the fact that the wet mare is capable of being served in this time bracket, and that is correct, but it does not mean by any stretch of the imagination it is advocated as a normal practice for studs to do this. Keep in mind the mare only just foaled so it is reasonable to assume there will be fertility issues on this foal heat. Even in the equine world, God is a male!

Statistics suggest serving on the foal heat there is much less likelihood of conception and greater chances of embryonic death than on subsequent cycles..

Uterine environment at foal heat can be both cause and effect of fertility.

• After a foal is born, the whole mare's reproductive tract is stretched and flaccid, so her vulva, cervix and uterus are all loose. Literally a path wide open to bacterial and infectious invasion of the uterus which would result in endometritis.
• The uterus itself needs time to involute (tighten up) to expel fluids as a result of the foaling process. Remaining fluids will have a profound effect on fertility, both going in foal, and holding pregnancy.
• Generally the older the mare the lower the chances of conception rates, younger mares recover much more efficiently.
• Difficult foaling will delay and impair recovery period
• A fetus that settles in the previous pregnant horn is thought to have increased rates of early death (makes sense really)
• A persistent endometritis form foal just produced. That is, the mare has already got endometritis prior to foaling. This will result in a septic foal being born

With the financial pressure on stallions and mare owners these days, the importance of getting a mare in foal, and to carry that foal to birth alive and healthy is paramount. To achieve this in an environment where we have time constraints of the season makes this all the more difficult. In the natural state, the mare would be due to came back into season proper 14-18 days after foal heat ovulation. By the time we add a few more days before she is ripe for service the clock is ticking. We are on average, all going well, 28-34 days down the track from foaling. Now ... lets revisit the gestation period of approximately eleven (11) months ... Yep, we need to get her to the serving barn and in foal if we don't want to loose time on next years expected foal due date. Do take note though, this heat is far more fertile than the foal heat, so is most likely a better option of the two at face value.

Common practice is we take a bit each way - we steal time by manipulating the natural cycle with hormonal drugs by bringing her in season early, roughly between the two heats, (i.e. 6 days after foal heat ovulation she is given a prostaglandin and will be usually ready to serve 3-7 days after that yet allow the mare more time to recover post foaling). Essentially the fertility of this practice is very close to waiting for the natural heat, and the added advantage we are now in control of the mare's cycle. A great each way bet.

Before going any further and wanting to try a foal heat anyway, a key point is this: Mares tend to take longer to reach their foal heat earlier in the breeding season , often going out 12-13 days and much more sometimes. Later in the season say November & December 8 -10 days is much more likely to be the norm. Fertility statistics pretty much say fertility on foal heat under 10 days significantly drops off and the longer the foal heat, conception rates improve. So those who think they want to steal some time later in the season due to a late foaling to try and bring their dates forward is much more likely to have a mare with significantly lower chances of pregnancy, and even worse, loose the pregnancy after the serving season has finished, so no opportunity to go again to the stallion for re breeding.

FOAL HEAT CANDIDATES
If you really insist on trying a foal heat, by working within the following boundaries, you can increase your chance of a better fertility result. You must bear in mind the stallions job is to get as many mares in foal as possible from the given book in conjunction with balancing all mares within the book getting fair access to the stallion.

If the stallion is busy or has lower fertility levels himself, mares are quite often competing for the same service slots. I would endorse that the stud master in charge select the more fertile mare ahead of the foal heat. I would check this first with the stud on their protocol regarding foal heat breeds to that particular stallion.

• Easy foaling with little internal damage and bruising.
• Normal placenta, indicating good uterine health prior to foaling.
• Good vulva shape and preferably not had a Caslick opened at this foaling.
• Had appropriate post foaling treatments such as a washout, plenty of oxytocin or other veterinary prescribed drugs.
• A healthy active foal that allows the mare to have high paddock activity herself (helps involution).
• Not stabled for long period post foaling.
• Foal heat examination show no evidence of uterine fluid and a nicely involuted uterus.
• Projected ovulation is 12 days or greater.
• Young mares under low teens.