Identification of periparturient mare and foal associated predictors of post parturient immunoglobulin A concentrations in Thoroughbred foals.

The research investigates how maternal and foal-related factors just before and after birth can predict the level of an essential protective antibody, immunoglobulin A (IgA), in newborn Thoroughbred horse foals. It finds that the level of IgA in the mother’s blood up to a month before giving birth, alongside the number of times she has previously given birth, are indicative of the concentration of IgA in the newborn horse’s blood.

Objective and Methodology

• The study objective was to understand how certain factors before, during and after the birth of a Thoroughbred horse, related to the mother and the foal, might influence the level of IgA, a type of antibody, in the foal’s blood. This is critical as IgA is important in protecting the newborn against infections before it can make its own antibodies.
• The researchers collected blood and milk samples, as well as complete veterinary records, from 84 Thoroughbred mare-foal pairs from a month before to two months after birth.
• An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the IgA concentrations in the samples. This type of test can assess the quantity of a specific protein, such as an antibody, in a blood or fluid sample.
• The authors used statistical correlation and regression modeling methods to examine relationships between the mare’s IgA levels and the foal’s IgA concentrations, and investigated potential risk factors.

Findings and Conclusion

• The study found significant relationships between the mother horse’s blood IgA levels and the IgA concentrations in her colostrum and milk.
• IgA levels in the mare’s blood up to one month before giving birth were associated with the IgA levels in the foal’s blood at all measured time points and with the IgA concentrations in the mare’s colostrum and milk.
• The mother’s blood IgA levels 28 days before giving birth, and the number of times she has given birth (parity), were associated with the level of IgA in the foal’s blood 12 hours after birth.
• These findings suggest that monitoring IgA concentrations in a pregnant mare’s blood, together with knowledge of her parity, can provide early indicators of the likely concentration of this essential antibody in the newborn horse’s blood.
• Additionally, the IgA concentrations in the mother’s blood and colostrum might be useful in predicting the newborn horse’s immune status early enough to prevent infections.