Pregnancy Diagnosis in Horses
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

The determination of pregnancy in a broodmare is an important aspect of any breeding program. With natural service these are fairly easy to determine, on most mares. But with the increase of artificial insemination (AI) many breeding mares today are on farms where there is no stallion on site to constantly tease mares. Even when there is a stallion and good teasing practices are used, a percentage (appx. 10%) of normal mares may be difficult to tell if they have come back into heat following breeding. Because a mare only ovulates once every 21 days the accurate timing of insemination and the early detection of non-pregnant mares helps prevent a late season foal or missed season all together. This article discusses the various techniques available, including hormonal changes for checking miniature horses, to the horseman and veterinarian for a pregnancy diagnosis in equines and their relative advantages and disadvantages. Links to related articles and scientific reports are also present.

Note: the following article discusses different ways to determine if a mare is pregnant. The techniques are presented roughly in order of how early they can detect pregnancy.

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