Mares and horses are integral components of equine studies, focusing on the reproductive and behavioral aspects of equine biology. Mares, or adult female horses, play a significant role in breeding programs and are often studied for their reproductive physiology, gestation, and maternal behaviors. Horses, as a broader category, encompass both sexes and all age groups, providing a comprehensive view of equine anatomy, physiology, and behavior. Research in this area often investigates the differences and similarities between mares and other horses in terms of hormonal cycles, reproductive health, and social interactions. This page compiles peer-reviewed studies and scholarly articles that explore the biological and behavioral characteristics of mares and horses, offering insights into their roles in equine science and management.
Ginther OJ.Movement of the conceptus within the uterine lumen of barren mares was studied by daily ultrasound examinations on days 11-20 and by rectal palpation on days 15-48 (Experiment 1) and by ultrasound examinations 3 or 4 times per day at 2-4 hour intervals on days 11-16 (Experiment 2). In addition, broodfarm records were analyzed to compare side of ovulation with side of embryo attachment (Experiment 3). The vesicle was found in opposite uterine horns for 43% of the successive, daily, ultrasound examinations on days 11 and 12, 12 and 13, 13 and 14, and 14 and 15; 24% of the successive examinations...
Ginther OJ.Fixation and orientation of the conceptus within the uterine lumen of 40 barren mares were examined by ultrasound daily on days 11-21 and at three-day intervals thereafter until day 48. The growth curve of the in situ conceptus had a distinct plateau between days 17-24, as determined by measurements of the width and area of conceptuses on the ultrasound images. The vesicle expanded at an average daily rate of 3-4 mm before the plateau and 2-3 mm after the plateau. Dramatic changes occurred in the shape of conceptus. The predominant shapes were approximately as follows: days 11-16, spherical; d...
Thompson DL, Reville SI, Walker MP, Derrick DJ, Papkoff H.To study the possible role of ovarian androgens in regulation of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion in the cycling mare, five mature, intact mares were treated with testosterone (20 micrograms/kg of body weight) daily during estrus; five control mares received safflower oil on the same schedule. Mares were teased for estrus and samples of jugular blood were drawn daily through one full estrous cycle. Concentrations of FSH in plasma were measured by a newly developed radioimmunoassay based on anti-ovine FSH serum and radioiodinated equine FSH. Testosterone treatment during estrus had ...
Silberzahn P, Dehennin L, Zwaïn IH, Leymarie P.Testosterone has been identified by mass spectrometry in blood and follicular fluid aspirated from mature Graafian follicles of mares. Quantitative measurements made by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry have validated the determination of plasma testosterone made by radioimmunoassay. However, because of high levels of epitestosterone (17 alpha-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one) in the follicular fluid, radioimmunoassay overestimates the true concentrations of testosterone. The occurrence of testosterone in mare follicular fluid at a concentration which is two orders of magnitude higher than that in...
Roberts MC.Vitamin B12 and folate concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay in groups of horses in Queensland. Highest serum vitamin B12 levels were found in supplemented performance horses. These, together with pastured horses that included pregnant and lactating mares, had significantly greater serum folate activity than permanently stabled animals. The range of red cell folate concentrations was much narrower in horses in training than from any other group. Red cell folate may be a better indicator of a horse's folate status than the serum folate value. Vitamin B12 and folate concentrations w...
Thompson DL, Godke RA, Squires EL.Twelve mares fed altrenogest for 14 d were used to study the effects of a single injection of testosterone propionate on concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) during diestrus, and to relate the normal and perturbed patterns of FSH secretion to subsequent estrous characteristics and fertility. Seven of 12 mares received testosterone propionate at 200 micrograms/kg of body weight on d 5 of progestogen feeding. Mares were teased and blood samples were drawn daily; all mares were artificially inseminated at the first estrus after progestogen treatment. Testosterone propionate treatm...
Van Niekerk CH, Morgenthal JC, Starke CJ.Two thoroughbred mares bearing twins as diagnosed by rectal palpation, were subjected to nutritional stress by drastically reducing the daily ration. This resulted in a marked reduction in plasma progestagen levels and the death of either one or both of the twin embryos.
Thompson DL, Godke RA, Nett TM.Two hormonal treatments, chosen for their effectiveness in other seasonally breeding species, were tested in mares during the nonbreeding season to determine if they could induce ovarian activity and estrus during the winter. Of 15 functionally anestrous (anovulatory) mares, five received intravaginal, polyurethane sponges containing .75 g of melatonin on December 16; fresh sponges containing melatonin were inserted weekly until February 3. These mares also received daily injections of saline. Five other mares received daily im injections of 100 micrograms of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH...
Rose RJ, Hodgson DR, Leadon DP, Rossdale PD.The effect of intranasal administration of oxygen at a flow rate of 10 litres per minute for 10 minutes, was studied in a total of 19 foals (thoroughbred and pony) aged between 0.5 and 12 hours. Arterial blood samples were collected before and after oxygen administration for the determination of paO2, paCO2, pHa and base excess. The foals were divided into three groups: five spontaneously delivered thoroughbred and pony foals (group 1), seven term induced thoroughbred foals (group 2) and seven induced premature pony foals (group 3). To examine the effect of duration of oxygen administration on...
Carson RL, Ganjam VK, Hudson RS, McLeod C, Kwapien R.Intact and ovariectomized pony mares were treated with either progesterone in-oil or repositol progesterone. Serum progesterone, endometrial progesterone and endometrial histology were examined. There were no differences in serum or tissue progesterone between intact and ovariectomized mares. Serum and tissue progesterone were greater for progesterone in-oil treated mares than for repositol treated mares. Both progesterone in-oil and repositol progesterone initiated endometrial gland proliferation with no difference in response observed between the two preparations.
Townsend HG, Tabel H, Bristol FM.Parturition was induced in 11 mares, using a synthetic prostaglandin. Eight mares, not treated, were used as controls. There was no significant difference between the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations of the treated and control mares. The concentration of IgG in the colostrum of treated mares compared favorably with that reported for naturally foaling mares. Four foals from treated mares died or were euthanatized because of weakness during the 1st 24 hours after birth. The mean IgG concentration in the surviving foals from treated mares at 24 to 36 hours of age was 1,561 mg/100 ml, w...
Bailey E.336 Standardbred mares and 334 Thoroughbred mares in the vicinity of Lexington, Kentucky, were lymphocyte typed for 11 allelic antigenic specificities of the equine lymphocyte antigen (ELA) system. The Standardbred mares were divided into a population of pacers and a population of trotters. Substantial differences in ELA gene frequencies were found between the 3 groups. When the distribution of antigens within populations were compared to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations, relatively good agreement was found.
Gidley-Baird AA, Teisner B, Hau J, Grudzinskas JG.An antiserum against the serum of a pregnant mare was absorbed with stallion serum. This antiserum then gave two precipitates in crossed immunoelectrophoresis with serum from pregnant mares as the antigen. The two precipitates exhibited beta-1 and alpha-2 electrophoretic mobility. Identity was demonstrated between the alpha-2 mobile protein and PMSG. The absorbed antiserum inhibited the biological action of the PMSG preparation when tested in mouse ovarian weight assays. The beta-1 mobile protein was not detected in the serum from non-pregnant mares, stallions or geldings and was detected earl...
Driancourt MA, Prunier A, Palmer E, Mariana JC.To define ovarian follicular kinetics in the equine ovary during anestrus and the breeding season, the follicular population of pony mares was investigated at mid-anestrus and at the beginning and end of the breeding season. There was a clear effect of season on the exit of reserve (primordial and initiated) follicles since at the beginning of the breeding season we noticed a higher mitotic index for the smaller preantral follicles, leading to an accumulation of small and medium antral follicles. In contrast, the ovaries sampled during anestrus or at the end of the breeding season were very si...
Pascoe RR.Within a group of 130 mares which, in the event, carried twin pregnancies, 29 (22.3 per cent) produced their twins following diagnosis of a single palpable follicle at service and a single pregnancy 42 days later. The whole group of 130 twin-pregnant mares gave birth to only 17 live foals (13 per cent). Breeding results for the following season were available for 102 of these mares, when 38 (37 per cent) produced live foals. Thus over the two seasons an average 23 per cent of this group produced live foals. In a second group, comprising 70 mares, twin pregnancy had been diagnosed in all of the...
Timoney PJ, Dillon PB, Geraghty VP, McArdle JF.Aspects of experimental transmission of the causal bacterium of contagious equine metritis (CEM) to albino Swiss mice were investigated. Whereas infection was established in the majority of female mice, the organism was recovered from only a limited number of male mice after challenge. No clinical evidence of infection was observed in the experimental mice. There was only one instance of presumptive venereal transmission of the CEM bacterium. One third of infected females conceived and had normal litters.
Bailey E.The sera of 390 pregnant Standardbred mares and 409 pregnant Thoroughbred mares were tested for anti-red blood cell (RBC) antibodies. Of the Standardbred mares and Thoroughbred mares, 20% and 10%, respectively, had anti-RBC antibodies detectable in hemolytic or saline agglutination tests. Most of the antibodies were specific for the CA blood-group antigen of horses. Other antibodies were specific for the Aa, Ab, Aa, Ab, Da, Df, Ka, Ua, or Qa blood-group antigens. The occurrence of these antibodies in the serum and colostrum was compared for 268 mares. With 3 exceptions, whenever antibodies wer...
MacMillan AP, Baskerville A, Hambleton P, Corbel MJ.Five mares, one stallion and a colt foal were inoculated intraconjunctivally with Brucella abortus strain 544. No clinical signs of disease developed except mild pyrexia. Intermittent bacteraemia was detected in the mares but not in the stallion or foal. Antibodies to B abortus became detectable from the second week after inoculation. Titres in the serum agglutination and complement fixation tests declined substantially after six to eight weeks but reactions to the Coombs antiglobulin, 2-mercaptoethanol and immunodiffusion tests were maintained. No consistent changes in biochemical or haematol...
Thompson DL, Reville SI, Derrick DJ.Five mature Quarterhorse mares were bled every 30 min for 25 h on day 50 of pregnancy to determine the short-term mode of secretion of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). Three other mares with persistent endometrial cups after abortion were administered gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH; 1.0 mug/kg of body weight) and were bled immediately prior to and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 min after GnRH. Concentrations of eCG in plasma of pregnant mares were constant over the 24-h period; the variation of each mare's individual values was no greater (P>.05) than the predicted random...
Proctor PT.This study discusses a case of foetal abnormality resembling schistosomus reflexus in a thoroughbred mare, noting its similarity to documented instances in bovines and pointing towards the need for more […]
Ayliffe TR, Allen WE.PREVIOUS studies have shown that instillation of sodium benzylpenicillin into the uterine lumen of ponies in small volumes is followed by peak plasma concentrations of the antibiotic in 10to 15 mins (Allen 1978; Allen and Clarke 1978). However, the assumption that the circulating penicillin is absorbed only through the endometrium is questionable because Allen, Kessy and Noakes (1979) concluded that the intrauterine instillation of phenolsulphonphthalein was followed by absorption of the dye from the peritoneal cavity, after passage along the uterine tubes.
The present investigation was carri...
Kaspar B, Kähn W, Laging C, Leidl W.During macroscopic post-mortem examinations of the genital tract in 104 mares endometrial cysts occurred in 14 (13%) cases. Whereas in mares up to the age of 10 years cystic changes were absent, endometrial cysts occurred in 19% of the animals above the age of 10 years. In 6 mares only 1-2 cysts per uterus were found, and in 8 animals there were between 5 and 18 cystic changes per organ. The cysts were equally distributed in the uterus body and horns. Sporadically occurring cysts were about 11 mm in diameter with a decreasing size to a mean value of 5 mm in multiple cysts. Predominantly in the...
Treupel E, Czerwonka N, Schröder S, Böhm J, Wehrend A.Retained fetal membranes in mares is a relative frequent disease which can lead to severe complications. Two case studies are described in which mares died acutely despite intensive care. Pathological examination confirmed severe hemorrhage as the cause of death in both animals.
Vivrette SL, Irvine CH.Acyclic mare given oestradiol for 3 days to simulate the preovulatory plasma oestradiol surge showed a non-significant 37% decrease in plasma LH during treatment. When GnRH analogue injections were given with oestradiol on Days 1--3, oestradiol had no effect on each GnRH-induced LH increase, but LH increases were more prolonged following subsequent GnRH injections on Days 4--7 when oestradiol was no longer being given. A much greater prolongation of LH release occurred when the course of GnRH injections was commenced after oestradiol treatment ceased; the LH response was almost identical to th...
Coignoul FL, Bertram TA, Cheville NF.Three pony mares and 4 pony foals were inoculated with a subtype 2 strain of equine herpesvirus 1. Foals had periods of fever 12 h and 2.5 days after inoculation and leukopenia, involving both neutrophils and lymphocytes, followed by leukocytosis. Mares had transient fever and leukopenia 24 hours after inoculation that were less severe than in foals. An increase in circulating virus-neutralizing antibody was seen in 2 of 3 inoculated mares, but not in foals. Attempts to isolate virus from blood were unsuccessful. These studies show that equine herpesvirus 1 subtype 2 is a mild pathogen for pon...
Bowling AT.Accuracy of assigning foal paternity to the second serving stallion for foals whose dams had been bred to two stallions within an interval of 1 to 45 days was investigated using breeding dates from 108 equine paternity cases solved by blood typing. One hundred two of the foals were sired by the second stallion but six foals (5.5%) were excluded as being by the second sires. Thus, breeding dates are not reliable as a sole source of information to assign equine paternity accurately.
Campbell MLH, Hampshire D, Hamstead LE, Rose BV, Smith KC, de Mestre AM.Intrauterine infusion of peanut oil at Day 10 post-ovulation has been reported to prolong dioestrus in mares. However, the effects of peanut oil treatment on the endometrium and whether the technique is painful have not been assessed. The objectives of this study were, (i) to determine the effect of intrauterine infusion of peanut oil on endometrial health, (ii) to determine whether use of intrauterine peanut oil is painful and (iii) to confirm that peanut oil causes prolonged dioestrus. Six mares aged 3-12 years old were used in a cross-over design with each mare administered both 1 ml of in...