The equine industry, excluding Thoroughbreds, relies heavily on AI to access genetics from different stallions regionally and internationally. Horse selection for breeding is based on pedigree and athletic performance, but not upon reproductive traits or fertility compared to other domestic species. As a result, different breeding strategies have been developed to overcome equine reproductive limitation, [...]
A vaccination program is essential for your foal to provide protection for severe and potentially fatal diseases. While vaccinations can be administered at any age, vaccinating your foal too early will not be successful in mounting an immune response because the mare’s antibodies will interfere. It is therefore recommended to start a vaccination protocol from 12 weeks [...]
What is a premature foal?A premature foal is a foal that is immature and born before term, generally considered to be if they are born at less than 330 days gestation. However, length of pregnancy varies between mares, so the definition of a premature foal is not based solely on gestational age but also the [...]
WHAT IS IT?Placentitis is an inflammation within the placenta, it is responsible for the majority of late term abortions in broodmares. The most common type is ascending placentitis where bacteria enters the sterile uterus from the lower reproductive tract (e.g. mares with poor vaginal conformation). Viral and fungal infections can also cause placentitis.Early detection of [...]
ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN THE MARE AT NERRCSemen collection and insemination techniques have been refined to make Artificial Insemination (AI) an excellent reproductive choice providing an advantageous option for many breeders.Some of the advantages of AI are to eliminate transporting a horse for breeding, reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, eliminate breeding accidents [...]
Preserving your stallion genetics is key and we offer this procedure in our equine reproduction laboratory at Luskintyre.WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES? Increased quality control:The use of frozen semen allows pre-screening for infectious diseases and a thorough evaluation of the semen quality after collection and after thawing. This allows owners to be informed about the quality of [...]
Available for all breeds, this procedure consists in a brief physical examination and external evaluation of the reproductive tract (testicles, scrotum and penis) followed by semen collection in an artificial vagina and a purpose made collection dummy. The semen sample obtained undergoes a thorough evaluation in our fully equipped lab which includes motility, morphology and [...]
By Dr. Lisanne Gallant Neonatal maladjustment syndrome (aka dummy foal syndrome) is a common disorder of foals that have mystified equine veterinarians for decades. Foals affected by this disorder seem detached from the world, often wondering aimlessly with no affinity for their mum. The most problematic symptom of this disorder is these foals’ lack of [...]
BY Dr. Paddy Todhunter Specialist Equine Surgeon. What is normal conformation and what are we looking at in assessing conformation? Conformation is essentially how the legs of a horse are put together and the alignment of the legs. It plays an important role in a horse’s soundness and athletic ability. To assess a foals conformation, [...]
BY Dr. Lisanne Gallent Medicine Specialist. It’s that time of year! As exciting as foaling season can be, what do you do when your new arrival gets sick or isn’t thriving as you’d expect? Here at NEC we offer everything in neonatal foal care ranging from healthy foal checks to intensive and critical care under [...]
