.

/
' Indian Journal ofAnimal
Seiences 69 (6):39g_99,
June 1999
f'
Reproductive
performance
and disorders
in mares
c N PLIROHIT',
B S SII{RMA2
and KA cUpTA3
Rajasthan
Agricultural
Lrniversill.,
Bikaner,
Rajasthan
334 001
Received:
5 May 199g; Accepted :3 Februarv 1999
ABSTRACT
Reproductive performance
and disorders were.studied.ror
thoroughbred
mares &om r993 to 1996. The ol.erall
meanestruscyclelength@L)andestrusperiod(Ep)rvere
14.9g+1.12;d6.04+0.24gdays.BothELandEpdidnot
vary between the years'
buJ difreredsig*^nt-tiv
u.l"een the months (p<0.0j).
The overali mean coverings required
per foal born were 9'87' Ivlaximum
roatings
o..urr.o in April
1rg)
folr,oweJiy
March (lg), February (1c),
^4ay
(1 1)
and June (4'
e'6r% orthe roalings
o..Gos.u;i;rt,
to iio*reh i,"il.iii,Zr".*l11omins
and only 6.r5% during
day hours. Mares evidenced foal heat with an ;r;;i of 7 .1.8t0 .7i duv*tl., flf irrg in 56.92%o cases. 1.l'e abortion per
cent was 13
'15'
40% of the tokl abortions being due to hvinniag. rn. ,.* rutio *u s 43.[7yomarebirths.
Reproductive
flTf::il:*
uncornmon'
there were 4
'6t , 0 .;i
,;.;a a\d z .stfi, ii.r
"ipi...*"r
rerention,
vaginitis, pneumovagina
Key words : I\4ares, Reproductive
performance
Mares are one of the least studred candidates
in anima.l
reproduction.
With plenty
of breed society impositions
the
reproductive perfbrmance
in the thoroughlreOs
is expected
to be low. Data of thoroughbred
stud, Koiasar (Bikaner)
was
analysed fbr reproductive
performance
and disorders
during
1993-1996.
MATERIALS
AND METHODS
Mares were detected in estrus using a teaser during the
breedrng
season. Matings
were given trom ttre third day of
estrus and then on alternate day till the end of estrus. Mares
returning
to estrus were rebred till the end of the breeding
season. Strict daily records were kept and the esrus cycle
iength (EL)
was calculated
as the period
between disappear_
ance ofone cycle and appearance
ofsubsequent
cycle. Close
observations
were done at the time of fujin; and the ibal_
ing time recorded.
Aborting
,ar.. rv... *t iitty monitored
arrd screened. Foaling
mares were covered
at the ibal heat
except,.in
abnormal fbalings. The breeding,
lbaling
and re_
productive
disorder data were analysed as
fer
Snedecor
and
Cochran (1967).
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
The anaiysed data were grouped
into breeding, tbaling
and reproductive
disorder
caGgory.
Breeding:
The overall mean+SE
and the means for the
Present
address :
L2
Assistant
pro
fessor, C ollege o f Veterinary
and Animal Science, Bikaner.
3
Veterinary
Officer, Veterinary
Hospital, Tonk, Raiasthan.
years
and months, lbr estrus cycle length (EL)
and estrus
lT.od
(EP) (Table
l) revealed
that theil, was sf,orter
anO
EP longer
early in the breeding
season whereas the Ep was
sn11e1Tg
EL longer tate in the UreeOing seuson. Both EL
and.Ef drd not difler signiticantly
betwe;rthe years
under
study, however,
the dift-erence
beiween
the months was sig_
nificant (P<0.05)
both fbr EL
g1d Ep. Th; p..."r,
tindings
are in agreemenr
wirh those of Gintirer
1t
e?+j wfro had re_
ported
wide difl'erences
and cycle inegularities
(including
Table 1. kast-square
means and their SE for estrus cycle and
estrus period (mean +
SE)
Nfain
effect
Classification
Estrus
cycle (days)
Estrus period
(days)
Overall
mean
Year
1993
1994
1 995
Montlx
January
February
March
April
May
June
14.98+1.12(119)
6.04+0.2q222)
r7.r0*1.44 (40)
6.2Eri}.41 (62)
13..82 *t.44 (41)
6.33 *0.40
i63i
14.01 +1.62 (38)
5.51 +9.361971
8.01 +5.33
"a
13.89 +2.73
t"
15.04 +1.43
t"
15.50 +1.41
I
18.84 +1
.39
"
18.60 +1.59
"b
"
7.22 *0.99
^
6.11*j0.62b
6.28 +0.41
"b
6.62 *9.47
*
4.70 +0.45
"
5.29*0.50
t"
Figures in parentheses
represetrt
number
of olrr*utio*
frg_
fll]!]gg:
otre same superscript tetter witnn an effect did not
differ significantly.
June 1)991
spiit estrus) during early and iate breeding season in thor-
oughbred mares.
The overall mean coverings required per lbal born (in-
cluding abortions) was 9.87 (76 tbals iiom 760 coverings to
140 mares). For thoroughbred horses Badi er a/. (1981) had
reported that out of total services 32o/otvere inf-ertile. in26%
embryonic loss occurs and only 40Vo mares lba1 normal1y.
Foaling: Year and month-wise lbaling data analysis over
the penod showed that out of total 64 fbalings, maximurn
foalings occurred in April (19) and March (18) lbilou,ed by
February (14), May (11) and.Iune (2). Highest (61.61%)
fbalings occurred at night to mid-night, 21.53oA at early
moming, and only 6.15% of the mares lbaled during day
hours. Only 56.92% ofthe tbaling mares evidenced foal heat
with a mean interval of 7.78+A.72 days liom fbating, iurd a
mean 2.56 coverings were given per fbal heat. Nishikarva
(1959) and Daels et al. (1991) have reported similar lind-
ings. The abortion at the stud was 13.15% (10 out of 76)
abortions occurring between 4 and 10 months of gestation,
40% (4 out of l0) of the aborting mare carried twin tbetuses.
Robefts ( I 987) have reported similar findings. The sex ratio
(male birth) wx 43.07%,.
Reproduc tiv e dis orders : Reproductive disorders rvere
rare, the percentages of placental retention, vaginitis,
pnuemovagin4 anestru.s during the period were 4.61
,
t\.71
,
4.28 and3 .57
o/o,
respectively. Repeat breeding rvas only seen
during early or late breeding season when the cyclicity was
abnormal. There was no ca-se of dystocr4 prolapse, nym-
phomania or abnormality in the mares. The iow incidence
REPRODUCTI\,E PERFORMA#.E IN MARES
399
of reproductive disorders could be because the thorough-
bred horse being valuable is the most cared species and hence
reproductive abnormalities are seldom t-ound (Gordon I99T).
For reproductive management hCG, LH and PGF"cr were
the most commoniy used drugs at the stud.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The grace observed by the owners and the manager,
Ram Deo Vishwa Nath Stud Farm, Kola^sar (Bikaner), is
gratetully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Badi A MO, Byrne TMandCunningham EP. 1981. An analysis
of reproductive performance in thoroughb,red m arcs. Iish Vet-
erinan, Joutnal 35 : 1-12.
Daels P F, Hughes J P and Stabenfeldt G H. i 991. Reproduction in
horses. Reprodrrction in Do:mestic Anitnals. 4th edn, pp 413-
44.Academic Press, New York.
Ginther O J. 1974. Occurrence of anestrus. estrus. diestrus and
or",rlation over a 12-month period in mares. American Jour-
nal o.f Veterinary Research 35 z ll73 .
Gordon l. 1997. Controlled Reproduction in Horses, Deer and
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Nishikawa Y. 1 959. Studies on reproduction in horses. Japan Rac-
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Roberls S J. 1987. Abortion and gestatiinal diseaseirn mares.
Curent Therapy in Therioge.nolog. g. 705.(Ed.) Morrow
D A. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, USA.
Snedecor G W and Cochran W G. 1 967. Statistieal Methods. 6lh
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