I’m mulling over the possibility of trying to get a foal from my mare, but due to her age (20 & a maiden mare), would only do so through either ET or oocyte collection - I don’t want her carrying a foal at this point. If anyone wants to share their experiences with trying either method with an older mare, I’d greatly appreciate it!
Thanks!
Here’s my input: do it!!!
We successfully used an almost 20 year old mare many years ago and I am sure things have gotten even better. She was not a problem mare. But I think it is really can you mentally/financially deal with possibly losing money and have a cap going in on how much you will spend to do it. Regardless of the age of the mare (but my bias) is you have to figure that ET money is “mad” money for which you may or may not see results. And go with somebody that does a lot of ETs /has a high success rates.
FWIW, I had a 20-year-old maiden carry a foal with no issues. She had another for me after that, too. Other than keeping her on ReguMate, we didn’t do anything special. Before deciding what route to go, have an experienced repro vet conduct a breeding exam and see what he/she thinks about your breeding options.
I know I am late to game here, I was moving across country, but wanted to add: DO IT!
We are now at 45 days in the recip! Our 21 year old maiden mare, BWP approved, TB we started to try an breed when she was 17 and we had just retired her from competition. After several months of trying to jumpstart her cycles, we didn’t have success. So, we hung up our hats. This year, with a new home vet, I decided to give it a try again. Must have been our year because she started double ovulating with some hormone help.
It did take three rounds of embryo flushing to get our little embryo (we opted to use fresh semen for the best chances - Diktator van de Boslandhoeve). We still have a long way to go, but the first hard part is over. Because she is quite precious to us we didn’t want to run the risk of any complications as she is older and maiden (like you are indicating). He recip has had a baby and is 7 and nice and healthy. There is obviously no guarantee and selecting a great repro vet who has a lot of successful ETs is part of the equation, but we are very excited and have all our fingers crossed!
Bumping this up because we are going to give it a shot. Anyone in the northern CA area have a repro vet they’d recommend?
Dr. Kevin Hyde in Oakdale at Pioneer. He is newer to the staff and awesome. I was having trouble finding someone in NorCal (all my friends who breed ET and ICSI use vets on the East Coast or Foss in MO), I had another vet lined up but the communication was bad and I didn’t feel comfortable after many unreturned phone calls. So I did an extensive search and found Dr. Hyde. My home vet did her initial breeding workup and hormone treatments to verify that she was cycling prior to bringing her to Oakdale. Definitely worth the 3 hour drive and 2months he had the mare. We are now in Northern VA since we moved in late June, the recip arrived earlier this week from CA and she is exactly as he described and super well behaved. He was on top of everything and sent updates. I had also asked for all scan images which he sent and sexed the foal for us. PM if you want more info.
[QUOTE=supershorty628;8793177]
Bumping this up because we are going to give it a shot. Anyone in the northern CA area have a repro vet they’d recommend?[/QUOTE]
I’ve got to add that 20 is not too old to have them carry their own, particularly if they are fit. However, if it makes someone uncomfortable, go for the ET! Best of luck & let us know who the lucky stud is.
Hi there. Did a ton of research on embryo transfer for this season for a VERY old mare who had very specific bloodlines and produced an advanced level event horse from a backyard type stallion. Mare had competed through Prix St. George’s dressage herself. Unfortunately, we discovered ovarian cancer this spring, and opted to put her down and not even attempt it. She had one breeding age daughter, and we decided to try breeding that mare instead with the same stallion.
My understanding is that success really depends on
Experienced vet. We were going to use a vet in Canada for my friend and I’s elderly “project mare” … That vet does a huge amount of repro work for the Standardbred industry, as well as cutting and reining horse breeders. So in terms of sheer numbers of horses bred each season at their clinic… Very high. I think experience really matters.
Getting a uterine biopsy on donor mare well in advance. Apparently it’s important because the embryo still needs to implant successfully prior to flushing it for donation. Even though the mare We planned on using was in her later 20s, her biopsy scored 2 something or other - a 50 to 85 percent chance for successful pregnancy. And she had 5 pregnancies already… We were just hoping for one more with a really great stallion.
Having a recipient mare that is perfectly synced with the donor mare. That’s the benefit of using a vet with a ready recipient mare herd.
One thing I will also share, is shop around for pricing with different vets. I would not have considered trying this project in my area - Northern Virginia - as between expenses at the best local clinic, feeding and maintaining a recipient mare here, planning on two cycles… Hoping for one… and stallion expense… It would have been over $10,000. But my partner had the mare at her farm in Alberta, grows all Her own hay, and when we priced things out with the vet clinic there, then factored in the exchange rate… Less than half the cost.
Can someone provide an approximate cost on ET ?
I’ve often thought of it for my mare, and it’s been recommended, but have never pursued it because of the imagined expense.
The basic cost to breed and get her pregnant I know, but after that when the flushing and ET transfer begin and recipient mare is involved, what is the approximate cost ?
Thanks.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
