THE annual cycle of thoroughbred breeding has started again in studs around the country, as the 2015 foal crop appears.

With a gestation length of 11 months, the race is already on to get these mares back in foal as soon as possible.

So, what are the factors that need to be addressed now, to ensure early foals for 2016?

The first essential for establishment of an early pregnancy is to ensure an easy, trouble-free foaling this year. Remember, complications of foaling may prevent the mare from conceiving for many months or indeed occasionally can spell the end of her breeding career.Also, a difficult foaling will frequently lead to death of the foal and termination of your profit for last season!

Therefore, careful consideration should be given to where the mare will foal. Inexperienced breeders would be well advised to send the mare away to a specialised foaling unit, where expert help will be on hand at all times. However, do remember that things can go wrong no matter how carefully the process is monitored.

Assuming a normal birth has occurred and the foal is standing and sucking, the next concern for the mare is passing of the afterbirth. Immediately following birth, the remains of the amnion will be hanging from the mare’s vulva and eventually the allanto-chorion separates from the endometrium and contractions of the uterus cause the whole placenta to be expelled. This process happens, on average, approximately 40 minutes after birth and if it has not passed by about three hours, veterinary advice should be sought.

Retention of a part of the membranes can cause serious infection and potentially lead to laminitis or chronic infertility so early aggressive veterinary intervention is essential.

The mare’s vulva should be inspected following foaling to assess any damage that may have occurred. Obviously, some degree of swelling and stretching is normal, particularly after delivery of a large foal but severe bruising or tearing will necessitate a longer period of recovery. Repair of the Caslick’s procedure, where necessary, may be carried out the day after foaling but many veterinary surgeons prefer to leave this until after the foal heat. Certainly where there is swelling or infection of the vulvar lips, stitching should be delayed until it has settled down.

Flushing of the uterus post-foaling is another procedure that is favoured by some veterinary surgeons and forbidden by others! If there is a significant discharge in the days following foaling, it may be desirable to physically remove debris from the uterus but remember that some discharge is absolutely normal for the first few days and exercise of the mare is probably the best method of clearing the uterus.

Indeed, a lack of exercise in the post-partum period is probably the single most important factor in delaying uterine involution. Sometimes, the arrival of a sick or weak foal will necessitate the mare being confined to her box but this will certainly delay her return to normal. If the foal is normal and healthy, mare and foal should be let out the day after foaling.

It is advisable to put her in a small paddock at first, so that she will not exhaust the foal by running too much. Also, she should be left by herself for a couple of days until the foal is certain to follow her. In a group of mares, a very young foal can become confused and end up injured by another mare.

Swabs & blood samples for CEM, EVA & EIA, which are required for all major studfarms, may be taken before or after foaling but do remember that a CEM result will take seven days so don’t leave it too near to the expected covering date.

Probably the most controversial question with a post-partum mare is when to cover her again. The first post-partum heat (“the foal heat”) , will normally occur around about day nine after foaling but veterinary surgeons, managers and owners often disagree about using this heat period. There is no doubt that the mare’s uterus is not back to normal by this time and the fertility at this heat is at least 33% less than at subsequent heats.

Also, there appears to be a greater risk of early pregnancy loss after foal heat covers. However, there are certainly some mares that conceive and carry successful pregnancies every year, following foal heat coverings. On the down side, subjecting the mare to another covering when the uterus is not fully recovered, may predispose to establishment of infection within the uterus and a further delay in time of conception. Each case must be judged individually but each day that the first ovulation is delayed, will increase your chances of success, i.e. if the mare comes into season early abd would be fit for covering on day seven or eight, it is probably a waste of time, but if she will wait until day 10, 11 or 12, there is a better chance.

The heat is on

When the foal heat is missed, the next heat will occur at approximately day 28 after foaling and this is often the easiest heat to aim for, particularly where the services of a teaser are not available! If the foal heat was early, then this heat may also be a little earlier but very few mares will ovulate before day 27, so if not walking-in for cover, the mare should be sent to stud at about day 24 or 25 to allow her to settle in.

Occasionally, mares will fail to cycle properly after foaling. It used to be thought that this was a feature of lactation and indeed, some mares consistently fail to conceive with a foal at foot. However, it was noticed that these problems occur almost exclusively in the early foaling mares, i.e., January or February foalers and it is now thought that this is actually a seasonality problem. All mares are seasonal breeders, shutting down in the winter and resuming fertile cycles again in the spring, so early foaling mares may actually “switch off” following foaling in wintertime.

This effect can largely be prevented by subjecting these early mares to artificial light for the last six or eight weeks of pregnancy, in the same way as with barren mares. By exposure to 16 hours of daylight before and just after foaling, we attempt to convince the mare that spring has arrived and she should resume normal cycling after foaling.

With only a few days to go until the start of the new breeding season, it is only 11 short months until the start of another foaling season…

Bridget McGing is a veterinary surgeon with Troytown GreyAbbey Equine Veterinary Hospital in Co Kildare