Early pregnancy testing and its relationship to abortion.

The research article investigates the impact of early manual pregnancy testing on the abortion rates of Standardbred and Thoroughbred mares. The findings suggest that early pregnancy testing, when performed carefully, does not increase abortion rates and allows for non-pregnant mares to be re-mated sooner within the same season.

Research Methodology

• The researchers conducted a study on a total of 487 Standardbred and Thoroughbred mares at two horse studs.
• The mares were manually tested for pregnancy at different intervals after being served: 20 to 24 days, 30 to 34 days, and more than 42 days.
• The researchers then compared the abortion rates gathered from these tests to those obtained in previous years when the mares were only tested for pregnancy more than 42 days after service.

Key Findings

• The study found that, contrary to some concerns, early manual pregnancy testing of mares does not increase the abortion rate. This conclusion is based on the comparitive analysis of the abortion rates in the mares that were tested early to those that were only tested more than 42 days after service in previous years.
• Furthermore, it was observed that early pregnancy testing enables mares that are not pregnant to be re-mated more quickly during the same breeding season. This is advantageous as it can potentially increase the breeding efficiency and productivity among the mares.

Conclusion

• In conclusion, the research proposes that early manual pregnancy testing can be a beneficial practice in horse breeding.
• Aside from posing no threat to increasing the abortion rates among mares, it can improve the re-mating timeframe within the same season for non-pregnant mares, thereby boosting overall breeding productivity.