Repro question regarding mare with tight cervix

[Daventry]

Not sure what to do here. We have a lovely older mare (15 years) we purchased as a broodmare. She previously had a foal at 4 years old and has been a performance mare ever since.

Have tried multiple cycles with no pregnancies Semen has been stellar, so that is not the problem. Have done the complete oxytocin protocol as well…still no luck.

Her only problem is, her cervix is beyond tight! Inseminating has been a HUGE problem - it takes me forever to work the cervix enough to get a finger in there - and I have extremely slender fingers! So my worry is that we are basically dealing with the anatomy of a “maiden mare” and possibly getting some uterine clearance issues…which is why I was hoping the oxytocin would have done the trick.

She has been ultrasounded right before inseminating, and no fluid was present. No, we have not ultrasounded her after insemination or ovulation, as we are out in the middle of nowhere and getting a vet out here is difficult. She will be going in for a biopsy and culture tomorrow - thought at this point, I really don’t want to invest any more money in this.

It is getting late in the season, and we’ve pretty much given up for this year. My simple question is, is there any point in putting her out to pasture with the stallion for the fall and hoping maybe they will get the job done on their own? If I’m unable to get a finger into the cervix, I’m assuming the stallion isn’t going to have any better luck! :no:

Has anyone else had a difficult broodmare like this?

[SarahKing]

[QUOTE=Daventry;5798893]
My simple question is, is there any point in putting her out to pasture with the stallion for the fall and hoping maybe they will get the job done on their own? If I’m unable to get a finger into the cervix, I’m assuming the stallion isn’t going to have any better luck! :no:

Has anyone else had a difficult broodmare like this?[/QUOTE]

AFAIK, stallions don’t actually penetrate the cervix, just the semen.

[Equine_Reproduction]

[QUOTE=Daventry;5798893]
Not sure what to do here. We have a lovely older mare (15 years) we purchased as a broodmare. She previously had a foal at 4 years old and has been a performance mare ever since.

Have tried multiple cycles with no pregnancies Semen has been stellar, so that is not the problem. Have done the complete oxytocin protocol as well…still no luck.

Her only problem is, her cervix is beyond tight! Inseminating has been a HUGE problem - it takes me forever to work the cervix enough to get a finger in there - and I have extremely slender fingers! So my worry is that we are basically dealing with the anatomy of a “maiden mare” and possibly getting some uterine clearance issues…which is why I was hoping the oxytocin would have done the trick.

She has been ultrasounded right before inseminating, and no fluid was present. No, we have not ultrasounded her after insemination or ovulation, as we are out in the middle of nowhere and getting a vet out here is difficult. She will be going in for a biopsy and culture tomorrow - thought at this point, I really don’t want to invest any more money in this.

It is getting late in the season, and we’ve pretty much given up for this year. My simple question is, is there any point in putting her out to pasture with the stallion for the fall and hoping maybe they will get the job done on their own? If I’m unable to get a finger into the cervix, I’m assuming the stallion isn’t going to have any better luck! :no:

Has anyone else had a difficult broodmare like this?[/QUOTE]

No amount of oxytocin is going to help if the cervix isn’t going to dilate enough to allow for the excess semen to be expelled. So, you can try a couple things. First, manually dilating the cervix is one option which can be done slowly and repeatedly. You can also use a Misoprostol cream applied to the cervix can also help to get the cervix to relax. Getting that cervix to relax is paramount. Once she has a foal, usually the problem resolves itself and subsequent breedings will typically not have the issue.

@Sarah King

AFAIK, stallions don’t actually penetrate the cervix, just the semen.

Not true, especially with multiparous mares. The cervix can and does relax sufficiently that the penis does actually penetrate through the cervix and thereby semen is deposited directly into the uterus.

Hope the above helps!

[Daventry]

@Equine Reproduction;5800072

No amount of oxytocin is going to help if the cervix isn’t going to dilate enough to allow for the excess semen to be expelled.

lol So I was getting up in the middle of the night for nothing.

Is there an article on how and when to use the Misoprostol cream? I assume I can get it compounded in Canada.