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- Author or Editor: Gordon L. Woods x
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Abstract
Objective—To determine the effect on fertility of large-volume uterine lavage with lactated Ringer’s solution (LRS) performed immediately prior to insemination in mares.
Design—Prospective randomized controlled study.
Animals—20 mares.
Procedure—Control mares (n = 10) were inseminated with 1 billion (estimated before cooling) progressively motile spermatozoa that had been cooled in a passive cooling unit for 24 hours. Mares (n = 10) in the treatment group were inseminated with 1 billion progressively motile spermatozoa (cooled as described for control mares) immediately after uterine lavage with 4 L of sterile LRS.
Results—There were no significant differences in pregnancy rates or size of the embryonic vesicle on days 12, 13, and 14 after ovulation between control and treated mares.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicate that uterine lavage with LRS can be performed immediately prior to insemination without adversely affecting fertility in mares. This is clinically important, because insemination may be necessary when a mare has inflammation-associated fluid (detectable ultrasonographically) in the uterus; removal of the fluid is desirable, because it adversely affects spermatozoal motility and fertility. This situation typically arises when mares require rebreeding after they have developed persistent mating-induced endometritis or are inseminated multiple times in a 24-hour period (during the period of physiologic mating-induced inflammation), which is a common practice when using cooled or frozen-thawed semen. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2003;222:1108–1110)
Abstract
Objective—To determine whether performance of transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicle aspiration (TVUFA) repeatedly in mares adversely affects their fertility.
Design—Historical prospective study.
Animals—23 mares that had never undergone TVUFA and 59 mares that had undergone TVUFA on 1 to 11 occasions.
Procedure—Mares were classified into 4 groups according to the number of TVUFA procedures previously performed on the ovary in which ovulation occurred at the time of insemination as follows: group 1, 0 TVUFAs (control group, n = 23 mares); group 2, 1 or 2 TVUFAs (40 mare-cycles); group 3, 3 or 4 TVUFAs (21 mare-cycles); and group 4, 5 to 11 TVUFAs (13 mare-cycles). Each ovary and its associated number of TVUFAs were considered separately; therefore, some of the mares that underwent TVUFA were represented in > 1 group (1 mare was included in group 2 twice [once for each ovary]), and the sample size in groups 2, 3, and 4 was denoted as mare-cycles. Fertility was assessed as pregnancy rates in cycles in which mares were inseminated with fresh or cooled semen from 1 fertile stallion.
Results—There were no significant differences in pregnancy rates among groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 (83%, 90%, 81%, and 85%, respectively).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that repeated performance of TVUFA (as many as 11 times) had no detectable adverse effect on fertility in mares. This finding is clinically important for situations when TVUFA is performed on fertile mares, whether for oocyte collection or other purposes.
Abstract
Objective—To determine whether IM administration of exogenous oxytocin twice daily on days 7 to 14 after ovulation blocks luteolysis and causes prolonged function of corpora lutea (CL) in mares.
Design—Prospective study.
Animals—12 mares.
Procedures—Beginning on the day of ovulation (day 0), jugular blood samples were collected every other day until day 40 for determination of progesterone concentration. On day 7, mares (n = 6/group) were treated with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (control group) or oxytocin. Beginning on day 7, control mares received 3 mL of sterile saline solution every 12 hours, IM, and oxytocin-treated mares received 60 units of oxytocin every 12 hours, IM, through day 14. Mares were considered to have prolonged CL function if progesterone concentration remained > 1.0 ng/mL continuously through day 30.
Results—The proportion of mares with prolonged CL function was significantly higher in the oxytocin-treated group (6/6), compared with the control group (0/6). All control mares underwent luteolysis by day 16, at which time their progesterone concentrations were < 1.0 ng/mL. In contrast, all 6 oxytocin-treated mares maintained progesterone concentrations > 1.0 ng/mL continuously through day 30.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—IM administration of 60 units of oxytocin twice daily on days 7 to 14 after ovulation was an efficacious method of inhibiting luteolysis and extending CL function in mares. Disrupting luteolysis by administering exogenous oxytocin during diestrus appears to be a plausible and practical method of long-term suppression of estrus in mares.
