21 day pregnancy scan with the heart beat visible on Doppler. Note here how the regular rounding has completely deteriorated, and the conceptus is appearing oval, and without โsmoothโ edges.
This horse was found wrapped up in a fence. These photographs show the slow progression of the healing by primary closure and then secondary intention and we will follow this horse in a series including the skin graft.
Alpha2EQ is a biological orthopaedic treatment processed from your horseโs blood. Alpha 2 macroglobulin naturally occurs in the horse and is a potent anti-inflammatory, as well as reducing cartilage breakdown and pain. We can isolate and concentrate A2M before delivering it back into a joint or soft tissue injury. Pros of this treatment include no competition withdrawal, no laminitic risk and the ability to freeze and store excess product for use at a later date.
Ultrasound of lungs. A very simple technique we use in combination with bloods to monitor foals who are at risk of Rhodococcus equi.
R equi is a gram-positive, facultative intracellular pathogen in soil. Inhalation of dust particles especially in hot, dry weather is the main route of infection. This ultrasound shows what we commonly call โComet tailsโ arising from the pleural lining, which are an ultrasound artifacts caused by the reflecting of fluid or cellular infiltration on the lung surface.
Clinical signs of disease (fever, cough, lethargy, high respiratory rate, nasal discharge) can be difficult to detect until pulmonary infection reaches a critical mass, resulting in decompensation of the foal, hence the need for screening. Diarrhea can seen in foals with R equi, caused by colonic microabscessation, as can subcutaneous skin abscesses.
Foetal sexing. My preferred time is 62 to 68 days after ovulation. We identify an embryonic sex structure called the genital tubercleโwhich has a different position in female foetuses than in male foetuses. In males it is seen to be close to the umbilicus and in females it has migrated away from this position and is found under the tail.
After this time period, the tubercle is more difficult to visualize due to the volume of the fetal fluids compared to the small foetus and the foetus is often then out of arms reach as it drops over the pelvic rim of the mare.
There is a second window for sex determination mid to late gestation (120 to 270 days). We use transrectal ultrasounds up to Day 150 and transabdominal ultrasound on mares after, as the foetus moves out of the rectum-based viewing range at about 150 days.
The key is to look for two or ideally three specific sex characteristics that can be seen at that age. In males, the easiest traits to identify are the pen*s and a line that runs inside the testicles. In females, the most obvious ones are the udder and the vascular ring in the ovaries. One thing not to look for is the size, shape, or location of the gonads (fetal ovaries and testicles), because these traits arenโt distinguishable between males and females at that age. Both are placed directly behind the kidneys in the foetus.
Iโve been waiting all year for one of these! Thank you @rosiefry and @charlie_bradleyhole for the video. This placenta has an yolk sac remnant (YSR). Horses are the only animal species known to exhibit large and/or ossified YSR. The one in this video is ossified and can often be mistaken for a twin pregnancy that has died. At a closer view, the mass consists of a thin fibrotic sac, containing bloody fluid and surrounding a hard, ossified core. On cut section, the mass consists of bony trabeculae which border multiple, interconnected cavities. A bloody fluid also filled those cavities. In horses, the transition from the yolk sac to the allantoic sac occurs between the 21st and 40th days of gestation, and the yolk sac obliteration is complete at the 3rd-4th month of pregnancy. The persistence of a yolk sac remnant is considered an uncommon, idiopathic (unknown) condition of unknown origin. In a large study carried out in Italy by Morini et al. (2009), the yolk sac remnant was detected in 8 out of 336 equine afterbirths, its prevalence being of 2.3%.
An unusual/less than perfect 14 day pregnancy. Whilst the pregnancy itself looks good it can been seen to be in fluid. I doubt this pregnancy will survive but as re breeding is not an option we will administer Regumate and keep our fingers crossed. Not very scientific.
Plasma Collection. Both blood and plasma are used for treating critically ill horses. We would mainly use blood for horses having a severe haemorrhage (bleeding), for example a post foaling mare with a ruptured artery. Plasma is used for horses with colitis and youngsters with Lawsonia intracellularis.
Unlike human blood, which can be frozen, equine blood is collected and used immediately because it cannot be stored. However, plasma can be frozen.
The best blood donors are gelding over 550kg. Mares which have had foals should not be used as they are increased risk of having extra antibodies are more likely to induce a transfusion reaction.
Horses have two main blood groups: A and Q, so the ideal donor is AQ negative. In an emergency blood group matching is not critical, and rarely done as time is of the essence. We have 4 blood and plasma donors.
Triplets! Obviously we are not going to allow the mare to try and carry these to term, so we pinch two, and leave a single pregnancy for her to carry. Apologies as always to my twin sister
Semen!
The use of the ISperm allows us to instantly check the semen after collection. We analyse it immediately after collection and again after processing it before sending it out to the mares.
Unique, portable and very easy to use the iSperm provides you with accurate results within a few seconds. Also used on chilled and frozen semen that we receive, this excellent tool gives you Sperm Concentration (million per ml) and sperm motility too. Thank you to @elite_reproduction_supplies for this excellent product.
Twin pinching.
Mares have a twin pregnancy rate of between 3 and 30% depending on the breed of the horse. A commonly accepted rate in Thoroughbred mares is 10 โ 15%. Mares that are allowed to carry twin pregnancies are likely to suffer complications as a result, such as abortion, mummification of a twin,ruptured prepubic tendons.
Natural twin reduction does not occur before Day 11, and it is negligible between Days 11 and 15. Therefore, twin pregnancies that are detected during the mobility phase (Days 9 to 15) are best managed by manually crushing one embryonic vesicle as seen in this video.
The vesicle that needs the least amount of uterine manipulation is preferentially destroyed, which in this case, is the larger vesicle. Survival rates of the remaining vesicle exceed 90%.
Beyond excited! Probably my favourite ever mare! What a champion. And Piglet is a beauty. Thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve this
@budgettcharlie
@oxfordpolo
@blackb2544
@izzytalbotprice
@nikipillar
45day pregnancy diagnosis. The internal blood-flow of the fetus is clearly visible, as well as umbilical flow. The remnant of the yolk sac can be seen still attached above it.
Around Day 36, the endometrial cups will have formed in the region of the chorionic girdle which forms where the allantoic and yolk sacs meet. The endometrial cups are responsible for the secretion of the hormone equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) which in turn is responsible for promotion of the production of secondary CLs which will increase progesterone to assist pregnancy maintenance until around 100 days of pregnancy. At 40 days the term for the developing foal will change from โembryoโ to โfetusโ in recognition in part of the changed state of nutritional source as the umbilicus is formed, and the allantochorion commences attachment to the endometrium, becoming the placenta โ a process which is not completed until around 140 days of pregnancy.
When a gelding is pretending to be a stallion! It is actually a
Hydrocele formation
A hydrocele, which may also be referred to as a vaginocele, is a painless accumulation of fluid within the vaginal cavity in stallions; however, it may also be seen in geldings up to months or years following Castration.They occur uncommonly. They are more likely to form after castration is performed using the open method as the parietal tunic is not removed using this technique. The swelling that develops may resemble a scrotal testis or hernia and on aspiration a clear, amber coloured fluid will be obtained. On palpation the swelling may be reduced by squeezing the fluid into the abdominal cavity. Drainage of the fluid will only temporarily relieve the condition. Treatment involves the removal of the parietal tunic under general anaesthesia with the horse placed in dorsal recumbency. However, this is only usually necessary when the swelling interferes with functionality of the animal or for cosmetic purposes.
