OPTIMISING exercise and nutrition and keeping a good daily routine helps fertility rates in breeding mares.

Teagasc Equine Specialist Wendy Conlon addressed the key issue of fertility in broodmares and how to best ensure the production of viable foals for breeders.

Most fertile mares should become pregnant and if still barren after three breeding cycles, further investigations are warranted.

“Infertility can be for identifiable reasons, it could be a relatively easy uterine infection or there could be complex hormonal issues at play. It can be hard to find out what the underlying cause is. Age can be a contributor,” said Conlon, who pointed out that mares over the age of 18 could be harder to get in foal and may suffer ovarian failure.

Advocating breeders to breed from younger mares where possible, Conlon said that the general health of the breeding mare has an impact on her ability to conceive.

“Exercise is critical to ensure fertility. Keep mares happy. Pasture is the cheapest form of feeding. Look after your land, make sure there are no deficiencies, carry out soil tests. When it comes to nutrition, the waistline is all.

“Exercise also provides a good source of nutrition. It helps to maintain muscle tone, remember the uterus is a muscular organ. Exercise is very important to clear out any uterine infection,” said Conlon, who also outlined that conformational flaws can lead to pneumovagina (sucking air) while a narrow or damaged pelvis can impede foaling.

Vaccination cover for Tetanus, EHV, is essential and broodmares should be kept away from other mixed stock to help prevent any contagious diseases spreading.

“Parasite control is critical and impacts greatly on the general health of the mare. You need to be working with your vet and doing faecal egg counts, resistance to wormers is a problem so no longer blanket treat for parasites. Only treat animals with chemicals where absolutely necessary,” Conlon added.

Commenting on early cycling, the Teagasc Equine Specialist advised: “Some breeders want early foals on the ground. I believe it is more labour intensive and costly to manage mares in early spring season. The best advice I can give is to wait for cycles to normalise. Remember every cover or AI (artificial insemination) exposes mares to infection risk.

“If you are going for early foals, then eight to 10 weeks of 16 hours of light for mares in an early breeding programme is needed, they must be housed and have good body condition. Work closely with your vet and remember that the condition of your mares has a huge ability on their conception ability. You should have good quality grazing available for mares and young stock,” she added.

Breeders should also keep records of their mares’ breeding cycles and foaling patterns as these repeat themselves year after year.

Note: Read Larry Dunne’s ‘Optimising Fertility’ on A54.