Reproductive Services

We are now offering stud and brood mare programs at a brand new reproduction center located at North Star Farms in Arlington, WA. In partnership with North Star owner, Judy Hedreen, we can provide a la carte or a full menu of services in a state-of-the-art facility — a clean controlled comfortable environment for the collection, fresh and frozen storing, shipping and management of equine sperm and artificial insemination.

We take great pride in our clients' success and believe that good client communication, compassionate handling of the horses and scientific rigor are a winning combination. To ensure that we meet your needs, please be ready to provide us with the following information:

• What time of year do you want to breed your mare?
  
  
• Will we be breeding her at your farm or a breeding center?
  
  
• Has she had a pre-breeding work-up?
  
  
• Have you selected a stallion? If so, do you know the type and availability of semen (fresh, cooled, frozen) you are getting?
  
  
• Will she be carrying her foal or will we be doing an embryo transfer?
  
  
• Finally, let’s consider the costs.

On average, your mare’s pregnancy will last for approximately 11 months, 11 days, and 11 hours, or 340 days. During this time her foal will have grown from a microscopic embryo to a 75-125lb foal. That’s the easy part. Your success in this process will depend largely on the planning and preparations that you have made the year before.

• Once your mare is pregnant, what’s next?

Pre-breeding Considerations:

Time of year:

Mares tend to be most fertile in the months of June and July. During this time their cycles are most predictable and conception rates are at their highest. With early planning and artificial lighting (16 hours a day starting December 1) it is possible to get your mare to cycle regularly as early as mid February.

Pre-breeding:

This examination entails gathering a thorough reproductive/health history of your mare. We perform physical and ultrasonic exams of the reproductive tract. Under certain circumstances we may then elect to take a uterine culture, cytology, and/or biopsy. Depending on the results, we may further elect to evaluate her hormone levels as well as look at a complete blood count.

Fresh, cooled, and frozen semen:

There can be a great deal of variability in pregnancy rates and the amount of veterinary work needed when using fresh, cooled, and frozen semen. Success rates tend to be highest with fresh and lowest with frozen, and inversely the amount of work tends to be greatest with frozen and least with fresh. It is very important to learn your prospective stallion’s previous success rates before making your selection.

Embryo Transfer:

An embryo transfer is the process of using a surrogate mare to carry your foal to term. Reasons for taking this action include aged mares that have proven to be infertile for various reasons, lame or otherwise unhealthy mares, and performance mares that have a demanding show schedule.

Pregnant Mare Care

Pregnancy exams

After breeding, we perform exams to ensure the presence and viability of an embryo or fetus and to monitor uterine and placental health.

These exams are needed at the following times:

• 14-16 days post breeding: Confirm pregnancy, check for twins, and examine the health of the uterus.
  
  
• 25-30 days post breeding: Check for a viable fetus and heartbeat.
  
  
• 45-60 days post breeding: Confirm that the fetus is alive and healthy, and examine the uterus and placenta.
  
  
• Late/pre-winter final exam: Confirm whether it is a late-term pregnancy and discuss nutrition.

Vaccinations

Vaccinating pregnant mares against rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) disease throughout their pregnancy is very important to prevent abortion. We administer the rhino vaccine (inactivated product) at 3, 5, 7 and 9 months of gestation. One month prior to birth, we give the mare vaccine boosters to ensure a high level of antibodies in the colostrum. For more information, click here.

Deworming

It is important to deworm mares regularly throughout their pregnancy and with an ivermectin product within 24-hours of giving birth to prevent parasite migration in the milk.

Foaling

An average gestation lasts 340-360 days in most horses. Preparation for the foal is crucial to prevent complications with birth, neonatal illness, and death. The following articles are a good resource for foaling information.

Evaluation and Care of Newborn Foals
Neonatal Care

Post Foaling Exam

We perform a veterinary exam on the mare and foal within the first 12-24 hours of life. This consists of a complete physical exam to ensure both mother and baby are healthy and have no complications from birthing.
A simple blood test is performed to measure the level of immunoglobulins (IgG) in the foal. These critical antibodies are found in the colostrum of the mare and will become the foal’s immune system for the first few months of life. Make sure you save the placenta after birth so we can examine it for abnormalities.

Foal Care

Foals are much more susceptible to parasites than older horses. Deworm your foal at one month of age and continue every one to two months until age one. We recommend alternating between products such as Panacur, Strongid, and Ivermectin. Click here for more information.
If the mare received proper vaccinations during pregnancy, the foal should have its series of vaccinations at four to six months, five to seven months, and again at 10-12 months of age. Vaccinations start at a younger age if the foal was born to a mare that was not vaccinated regularly. For more information, click here.

Contact us for a full consultation on your breeding interests and program.