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The occurrence and outcome of multiple ovulation and pregnancy in the Thoroughbred mare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

M C G Davies Morel
Affiliation:
Institute of Rural Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY24 5DP UK, Email: mid@aber.ac.uk
S Dennis
Affiliation:
Institute of Rural Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY24 5DP UK, Email: mid@aber.ac.uk
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Extract

Multiple pregnancies (MP) are almost always the result of multiple ovulations (MO) (Ginther and Bergfelt, 1988). Twinning is the most common non-infectious cause of abortion in the mare (Roberts and Myhre, 1983) and represents a significant economic loss. As a consequence, further investigation into its occurrence and outcome is warranted in order to determine effective management practices.

Ultrasonic scanning was used to monitor and classify ovulation in 1582 Thoroughbred mares. Further ultrasonic scanning at Day 13 was used to identify and classify the resulting pregnancies (single pregnancy (SP), or MP)) in varying samples of mares. All MP mares underwent manual reduction of the smallest embryo at Day 13. 1170 mares, both SP and crushed MP, were monitored for the remainder of pregnancy with regard to pregnancy failure or success. Chi squared was used to test for significance throughout.

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Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 2004

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References

Ginther, O.J. and Bergelt, D. R. (1988). Embryonic reduction before day 11 in mares with twin conceptuses. Journal of Animal Science 66: 17271731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, S.J. and Myhre, G. (1983). A review of twinning in horses and the possible therapeutic value of supplemental progesterone to prevent abortion of equine fetuses in the latter half of the gestation period. Cornell Veterinarian 73: 257264. Google ScholarPubMed