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Discussion on Will placing a mare under lights during her transition period help shorten it?
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 7, 2002 - 9:23 am:
Hi Dr. O
I read the article associated with this topic and a couple of the other ones in the Reproduction Menu and I am curious about the above topic.
My mare appears to be cycling, although I haven't had her ultra sounded to check for follicles. She is 18 years old and has had 2 foals in the last 4 years.
I am planning to breed her to a young (5 years old) Saddlebred stallion by natural cover this spring. In fact, since my mare is a proven broodmare and stands very nicely for breeding, the stallion owner would like to try to train her young stallion for breeding using my mare. He's been a show horse and has been reprimanded in the past for getting too amorous with the mares, so she'd like a quiet willing mare for his first breeding experience. We would like to start the training process around the beginning of March.
Anyway my question is if my mare isn't ovulating, would placing her under lights now help shorten her transition period between anestrus and full estrus? Also is there any harm in breeding her if she isn't ovulating normally yet?
Thanks in advance for your help
Heidi
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Posted on Friday, Feb 8, 2002 - 6:49 am:
It is uncertain Heidi. I see you are at about the same latitude I am. The days are getting longer on there own...and the differential effect is not known. It could not hurt on the other hand. The article does give you some pharmaceutical regimens that will help however.
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Feb 8, 2002 - 8:49 am:
Thanks Dr O. That's pretty much what I was thinking in regards to the the light. I'm wanting to stay away from the pharmaceutical regimens because she had a problem a couple of years ago with regumate really messing up her cycle. She received the regumate and the prostaglandin (If I remember right) shot and ovulated, but then didn't cycle again for about 5 months. It was fall by the time she started cycling normally again. My vet at the time (I was still in AZ) said her system must be really sensitive and recommmended trying things naturally from then on. She was fine the next year with no pharmaceutical intervention.
Thanks again
Heidi
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Posted on Friday, Feb 8, 2002 - 8:53 am:
I just looked at my profile, I didn't realize I never updated it. I'm in Southern WI now, not in AZ. This is my 2nd spring here.
Sorry
Heidi
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 10, 2002 - 8:11 am:
That's OK, same response.
A transiently anovulatory mare is not an uncommon problem in breeding an frequently goes unexplained. There is not likely to be a relation between the drugs you mention and the problems you saw (but I cannot guarantee it). The year you had problems did you have this mare under lights then after her first ovulation did you discontinue them?
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Feb 11, 2002 - 10:20 am:
Thanks for your comments. I guess I am just leary of medically interfering now. The "once bitten twice shy" synDrOme.
My mare has never been under lights. At the time it was late March/early April and she appeared to be getting plenty of light, and had been cycling normally. In fact when she was in AZ she seemed to cycle all year round. This was accidentally confirmed when her last foal was born in November, because someone let the stallion out of his paddock. 
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 28, 2002 - 8:45 pm:
Just an update. We bred my mare on March 9 and 11 by live cover. She was ultrasounded with an 18 - 20 day vessicle today. I'm pretty excited. With all the problems she's had the last couple of years I didn't expect her to take on the first try so early in the year. I know there's a long way to go, but in the past everytime she's gotten pregnant, she's stayed pregnant.
The only problem I can see is that the foal is due on Valentine's day next year (Brrrr) for Wisconsin. Oh well, that's another discussion.
Thanks
Heidi
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