When it comes to reproduction, the terminology is unique and sometimes downright strange! I’ve been asked about “dummy eggs”, “speckled eggs”, “soft eggs” and “the egg up egg down injection”. It’s enough to make you wonder how the equine species managed before the advent of modern veterinary medicine!

However the question on everybody’s lips around covering time is: “Is she gone”? On busy stud farms, where stallions are covering large numbers of mares in an artificially brief season, there is usually only one chance for mares to be covered on any one cycle, and whether or not that mare has ovulated within 48-72 hours of her cover is vital to her chances of conceiving.