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Equine Breeders Forum
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The Breeder's Discussion Area has been developed to assist the patrons of Exodus Breeders Corporation with various situations that may occur in the day to day management of their breeding operation. The Breeder's Discussion Area is comprised of a group of equine reproductive professionals and specialists, both Veterinarians and Breeding Farm Managers. In general, these professionals view on a daily basis a large cross section of the entire equine reproductive and management picture. Through these valuable resources anyone can access their knowledge on almost any farm management and/or equine reproductive breeding situation that may occur.
If you have questions or comments, please email us and address your subject line to the Equine Breeder's Forum. Question I was wondering if you have had any experience with a mare that will not get in foal while she is nursing a baby. She does cycle and ovulate normally but just will not settle. We have bred her severy cycles while nursing and nothing. As soon as we wean and breed she is in foal. The strange thing that she does when she is in foal is she acts like a stud and will even tease the other mares and have even seen her mount. Thanks for you input. Jerry Bracken | www.sophisticationonly.com Answer: Dear Jerry, Many questions must be asked before I go into depth as far as an answer on your mare; I believe she has a hormonal disorder that may be originating from a granulosis ovarian tumor that would be indicative of the more aggressive behavior. Some mares ever get pregnant when they are nursing a foal; I guess it is Mother Nature's way of protecting her get as their body goes into lactational anestrus immediately post foaling. When I was in Kentucky, and this situation occurred, we would wean the foal and the mare would come right into season/heat, although, no one wins in that situation, the foal becomes a "pet" as you have no place to properly raise it, when this decision is rendered to satisfied the need to get the mare pregnant. I just heard of a therapy of administering P/E as soon as the mare foals to offset the onset of their foal heat; I personally have experienced this and if the P/E is not given 12 hours post partum, the drug protocol defeats the purpose. My I have a few questions to anyone that acknowledges this protocol:
Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question My question is about AV longevity... Is there anything to be done when the AV become stuck (I mean the place where the water goes) together? It looks slightly translucent in the places where it has stuck. Also WHY does this happen? How can I stop this from happening in the future? Also once an AV gets a hole in the rubber part, can it be repaired? I'm using only the Nasco Missouri AV. Thanks for the help! Saret Answer: Dear Saret, I advocate to thoroughly remove as much water as possible at the end of the breeding season by removing the pin and laying the AV in the bottom of your sink for a couple of days so that as much of the water can drain out. I then hang the AV in our AV Hanger for a few days with the pin still removed; replace the pin and add a few pumps of air, from a ball pump so that the sides do not touch, without hyper-extending the gum rubber. I then dust the AV both inside and out with Baby Powder, place in a plastic bag and place in the freezer until the next breeding season. Most of the time, AV's are laid in a drawer during the breeding season, anytime the sides touch you establish an anaerobic environment and the opportunity to allow bacteria to grow and rotting from the inside out begins. You can try to save/salvage your AV bladder by taking two caps full of Bleach in a gallon of hot water and filling the AV several times letting the AV hold the solution for 5 - 10 minutes then release the water. This will kill any bacteria that may be causing the bladder to "rot" from the inside out. As mentioned above, you may be too late; my recommendation is after you have treated the inside bladder with the diluted bleach and water, repair any holes with a bike patch kit (we sell the fill hole patch kit) use it as long as you can and take care of it by hanging it up with the pin out when not in use through the 2009 breeding season. Make sure you learn from your mistakes so that it doesn?t happen again as these AV?s are very expensive; we have AV care in our download section of our website. Some people have advocated using Miner Oil on the AV, although, it may be a great idea, the oil will destroy the gum rubber. Thank you again for your question! Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hello, I found your site via Google, and would like to ask about Isoxsuprine. My mare is on it for navicular-like syndrome (likely a bloodflow issue due to altitude, she lives in Denver). Should I take her off Isox before breeding? Is there any connection with Isox and her fertility? When she is bred, I expect to do an ET into a recip mare. Thank you for any information. I have had very little luck with my own searches. Paula Answer: Dear Paula, As far as an altitude situation and poor blood flow, that is a bit over my head as I live at 680 above sea level! I have been using Isoxsuprine as a reproductive aid in some mares for over 12 years and as far as a reproductive aid, I believe there is no published research, although, if you look at the activity of the drug it makes absolute sense. As you know, Isoxsuprine is a vasodilator, which increases blood flow, and for foundered mares, there are tremendous amounts of capillaries in the coffin bone and when a diminished blood occurs, a vasodilator improves this situation. As far as a reproductive aid, the uterus is made up of a tremendous amount of capillaries and as we know, older mares do not feed a baby in utero as well as a young mare so this theory has a solid base from which to stand. In my experience using Isoxsuprine, I have found that the foals tend to have a heavier birth weight and the foal seems to have more vigor. By all means, I am not saying that every mare requires Isoxsuprine to produce good foals, although, it is an aid that from my experience has a proven track record. Please remember, I would consult your veterinarian first as Isoxsuprine is a drug that is regulated by the FDA. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hi there, Do you carry any medicines for putting horses in heat for studding? Thank you. Best Regards, Max Answer: Dear Max, To date I do not sell any hormones, although, I do plan to be offering them in the near future. Please remember, it is always wise to have a reproductive status performed by your veterinarian before you start to administer any component that would alter the reproductive efficiency of an animal. This would include the use of Regumate?, Prostaglandin i.e.: Lutalase or Estramate, F.S.H. (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), H.C.G. (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). If you need any assistance or future information, feel free to contact me at your convenience, again, thank you for your interest in my company. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question My Missouri AV has developed black "spots" in between the latex layers. This is where I put the water. I always empty it as much as possible but there is always some residual water left. Is it mould? How should I clean it out? Thanks so much, Kelly Answer: Dear Kelly, Using our A.V. fill kit, I would use Alconox several times to fill your A.V., which is an anti-bacterial and an anti-fungal all in one! This may help to some extent. You may not be able to get the "Black Spots" out of the interior of your A.V., hopefully we can slow down its natural disintegration of the Gum Rubber. Once those "Black Spots" begin you will be lucky to get two more years of service out of you're A.V., although, you must always keep in mind about the possibility of seminal contamination when mold is present. Feel free to call me on Monday and I can give you a few more ideas in an attempt to rejuvenate your AV. for another year of service. Again, thank you. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hello, I ordered and watched your video on Embryo Flushing and it raises a few questions that I was hoping you could answer for me? How much would the Flush kit cost that contains everything needed for 2 flushes and implants for same day (on-the-farm) collection and implant (no embryo packing and shipping required)? Thanks, Jason Bragg P.S. -- I really liked the video, you did a wonderful job. I would be interested in more of these type videos if you have them available? (i.e. Collection and shipping from stallion, Ultrasound, Embryo Implant, etc...) Question Jon, Just wanted to follow up with the diagnosis on my mare. They are small cysts and she is not in foal with twins. Unfortunately with this past shipment, there was no scan done (different vet on call) therefore my regular vet and myself did not know the cysts were there. My regular vet scanned my mare and she was bred again 6.18. My regular vet tested the semen this time and found (which probably was the issue with the past shipment with her not being in foal) that the semen was very crowded. Not enough food/antibiotics. I am finding in my two A.I.(my mare was bred on the farm 2003) that many horse breeders/managers have issues on how to use extender. Is this a constant issue that you have experience in the past or will it get better? Just a little frustrating. Jon...Thanks Again!!!! for all your time on answering my questions. Take Care! Belinda Answer: Dear Belinda, Well you have hit upon another great question! I get thr call all the time that "Hey your semen extender is the reason my stallion is not getting any mares pregnant" or "Your semen shipper does not cool the semen properly and all of my semen was dead upon arrival" As a business owner and proud of my product line, I just shake my head. Many stallion owners do not properly prepare their stallions for the pursuing breeding season. Simple things like extender sensitivity and/or testing, extension sensitivity, concentration sensitivity, antibiotic sensitivity, and cooling protocols are easy tasks to perform. Although, most stallion owners go by the old saying, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" and with livestock anything can happen from feed and forage changes to disease and/or or minor sickness and that is the variable that no one thinks of which can be a turning point of a stallions fertility. Spermatogenesis is a 60-day cycle and if something dramatic occurs either before or during the early part of the breeding season that will rear its ugly head right in the middle of the breeding season when you are counting on him settling his mares. All of this said above adds up to the ability to properly process a stallions semen and if you fail to prepare, you prepare yourself to fail and there is no one to blame but your self. Here are a few tips for the proper processing of equine semen 25 to 30 million progressively motile sperm per milliliter 750 million progressively motile sperm per insemination dose Base extension rates of 5:1 are recommended although, some stallions may require a higher ratio Ask your stallion farm a few of the questions that I have outlined above and see exactly what they know, and answers to your barrenness and/or reproductive problems in your breeding program may become crystal clear! Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question I have a beautiful filly this year after a extensive breeding program last year. I had to switch stallions due to low motility. This is my mare's 7th foal and she is quite the broodmare (19 years old). No problems from the past breeders (I have known both breeders for a long time). I have come into something new with this year's breeding. My mare was bred on 5/29. The vet told me she had ovulated approximately one hour before being bred (through palpation). The stallion was shipping at 80% last year and was informed his motility was very high this year. This is the same stallion from my 2004 filly (she was bred AI at the stallion's farm 2003). The stallion was collected at 5pm Friday (5/28/04) evening and she was bred Saturday (5/29/04) at 8:30am. My mare was ultasounded on day 17 (Tuesday 6/15/04). I saw a few glances at the ultrasound (heaven knows I am not experienced in this, but I'm confused). Forgive my medical terms; she had two round black dots (conceptus?). Not connected. One a little larger than the other. I was told she was showing small signs of folds and her cervix was not as tight as expected. I was told possibly these were cysts? [J.P.W.] Yes, they could easily be cysts, although, you would of seen them prior to breeding her on this previous cycle, they just do not appear out of no where. She has never had any problems with cysts before. Could they possibly be twins? [J.P.W.] Very much so!; And the reason for the folds and her cervix not being tight be due to her absorbing one? [J.P.W.] No, I would think that if she had folds starting to form, she probably does not have a prominent CL and that hormone is what maintains a pregnancy through day 135, producing progesterone until it switches over to the placenta. If your veterinarian did not also scan the ovaries to eliminate this out of his diagnosis, the mare will most likely recycle herself because she has no hormone or a limited concentration in her blood to maintain the pregnancy. When ever I scan a mare and she has folds beginning to form and I have a conceptus present, I first look for a CL present on one of her ovaries so I know right off the bat if she should be placed on supplemental progesterone whether it be oral (Regumate) or injectable (BETPHARM's P+) What happens with then when the mare trys to absorb one of the twins? [J.P.W.] At this stage in the game, it will have no consequence, that becomes an issue if they loose a pregnancy after day 32 when the endometrial cups have begun to form. Could she be aborting the pregnancy? [J.P.W.] Yes because she has a not enough progesterone present to keep her cervix closed and to fend off the hormone F.S.H. Could they be cysts? [J.P.W.] More than likely not if they were not present in the previous scans from this last cycle that she was bred on. Would cysts affect/risk a pregnancy. [J.P.W.] Well yes and no, I have had cysts lasered out of some older mares before and some it has helped and some, it is just at the end of their reproductive career and it is like breeding your grandmother. Have you ever experience something like this? [J.P.W.] Yes, actually this year we have had two situations with younger mares and had I not told my vet when she questioned me to double check her ovaries for a CL she would of never put the mares on injectable progesterone and Regumate and Isoxsuprine. I would so GREATLY APPRECIATE it if you could give me your opinion on this situation. Again, if you can't I will understand. Thanks again for your time!!!!! [J.P.W.] Most likely, with the age of your mare, she did not have what is called a dominant CL present in order to maintain a pregnancy. This can be induced by mother nature telling her that this one is not good or that it is time to take a year off. Although, as we all know, we tend to defy the laws of Mother Nature by using supplemental hormones that would give us the opportunity to have her produce a foal in 2005. Thank you again, your questions are always superior and it is my pleasure to assist you anyway possible. [J.P.W.] Jon Belinda Newrones Question Help, Please explain how the Leather Leg Strap works. After 30 years of breeding this one has me stumped. L. "POTTS" Kettles Answer: Dear Mr. Kettles, The leg strap has two uses in a breeding operation: 1. If you use a twitch on a mare in a breeding shed for live cover or collection using a mare with breeding hobbles, simply put the strap around the left front pastern of the mare. By standing with the twitch at a 135? angle from the mares side and the leg strap in hand, if you tug on the strap and move the mares foot only an inch or two, she will fear falling over because a horse must brace themselves with their front first before they can kick. Keep the strap taunt so she will continue to fear her loss of footing and the opportunity of her deciding to kick, will be dramatically reduced. I saw this first in use in 1979 at the old Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY 2. The other use for the leg strap is to take one of the straps and place it loosely around the mares neck and snap it into one of the holes toward the end of the strap. Then using a tail wrap and/or vet wrap, wrap the tail down 12? to 18? simply, take the loop and place it half way down the wrap and take the other end and loop it through the neck strap and hook it back to itself. This holds the tail aside the mare comfortably instead of hanging it up, the mares stays calm and comfortable and you do not have any hair in the way of your procedure. Tell me your thoughts on this breeding tool, as I would greatly appreciate your comments, Again, thank you. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question I do not understand how to use these filters with the Colorado AV and collection bottle. I do not use a filter when I collect, but pour the semen from the collected jar to another jar. How can I get these filters to work? Thanks. Ken Answer: The Next Generation? Max-Flow? Semen Gel Filters works in conjunction with any bottle configuration that you may already have in your breeding program. By this I mean, the expensive filters with the plastic ring limit you to that bottle only costing the breeder many added dollars over the of the breeding season. To use the Max Flow filters, simply fold the filter long-wise and place down in to the collection bottle of choice and the roll the edges over the top of the opening and screw the lid on as you normally would as the filter & lid will go hand in hand. In addition, for your information the bottle that I chose for my Next Generation? Semen Extenders has the widest mouth available and holds 250 ml total volume, which makes collection and extension a breeze! The 3" X 6" Max Flow? Filters work great as well because the bottle and lid have extra deep threads. If you have any other questions, feel free to call me anytime @ 877-396-3874 or just e-mail at jwiesman@exodusbreeders.com Thank you. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hello, I would like to know if you have any video tapes on artificial insemination, stallion collection, and preparation of semen for shipping? Thank you. Regards Ted Answer: Dear Ted, I have an Insemination and ET video that I offer to my clients, they are very clear for the lay person to understand and I think they may work for you. I do not have any videos for stallion collection and semen preparation as of yet, although, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime as to any questions that you may have as technical support is always free! Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hi, I am looking for a quality AV cleaner and noticed the AV Scrubber Gel you have for sale. Since it is a disenfectant is it spermicidal? Obviously I don't want to use anything whose residue could kill sperm Thank you. Suzy Answer: Yes, the AV scrubber Gel is spermicidal. Although, provided you wash out the AV with warm not hot water until all of the soap is gone, it will do a super job keeping your AV in excellent condition. Nasco ask us to produce a cleaner that would not destroy their AV because the AV's were being returned in horrible condition by people who had no knowledge of how to clean and care for their AV.. This AV scrubber gel was tested not to damage the soft gum rubber after prolonged use, but like any other type of soap or disinfectant, it needs to be thoroughly rinsed out and hung up to dry in a dark cabinet. We also sell our AV hangers that properly hold the AV in place, which all works in conjunction with each other to prolong the life of your investment. It is not recommended to soak your AV in Alcohol as once was suggested; reason being is that it opens up the pours of the gum rubber and begins to dry rot the rubber almost instantaneously. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Do you have any information on collection training for the young stud? Our young stud (as a 2YO) is hesitant to use the dummy. He will jump it and start, but does not finish the job and backs off. We've tried various temps of the artificial vagina to be sure he's comfortable, but still are not having much consistent luck. Got any ideas? Thank you, J.H.F. Answer: Dear J.H.F. Due to his age, you may want to try natural cover in order to bring him into his own. Remember to use only a clean cultured mare so you do not open the door to future problems. You have several situations to consider and from my eyes they are as follows:
Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Hi, I am curious about the INRA 96 semen extender and its protocals for proper use. First off, is 8 degrees centigrade the temperature that an Equitainer ships at? Second, why does the cooled transported semen need to have 100% of the air eliminated from the syringe, when the on-the-farm breeding calls for 50% air in the syringe? I have copied and pasted the protocols below. --------------------------------------------- Anaerobic: Fresh cooled transport only at 8 degrees centigrade. Process the dose syringe without air present, eliminate 100% of the air from inside of the syringe. Aerobic: On farm and/or immediate use at 15 degrees centrigrade. Process the syringe with 50% of the extended semen & 50% air present inside of the syringe. --------------------------------------------- Thank you. I look forward to hearing back from you. Have a great day! Sincerely, Tina Answer: Dear Tina; It is my pleasure to answer any questions that you may have as we pride our selves on customer service! As far as an Equitainer, I cannot answer that question as I developed and manufacture the Equine Express II and my unit does cool to 8.4c although, please remember it is not the cooling rate as much as how you process your semen that counts. The air is what causes the extender to ferment which will kill your semen, so this would be considered a anaerobic environment and as your stallion's semen cools it requires less and less oxygen to survive until it warms back up to body temperature. Does your stallion really need INRA 96? INRA 96 is a great extender but only about 10% of the stallions really need this quality of extender and that is why I go back to the processing of the semen. On farm, insemination will not be cooled so the dose will require oxygen in order to survive the trauma of fermentation, which again goes back to the extender and proper processing methods. Feel free to call me if you would like to go over current recommendations in stallion semen preservation. Again, thank you. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation Question Mr. Wiesman, I just have a quick question for you. I was just wondering if it would be better to use a mueller hinton plate or a universal bi-plate that you sell. We are currently using a 5% sheep blood plate. The only thing we culture is mare's uteruses and sometimes a chronic ear on a dog. Also if you have any suggestions on a good way to take samples (on mare's uterus) for a cytology. right now when the doctors take a culture swab, they roll the swab on a sterile slide and give it to me to stain. But it doesn't seem like there are very many cells if any at all. If you could answer any questions for me I would apprecaite it. Thanks. Sincerely, Beth Answer: Beth, Here we use the universal bi-plates because it give us two types of medium from which to grow a culture, which broadens your opportunity to get a bug! They are a bit more expensive but cheaper if you were to purchase two types of culture plates. Thank you again for your business. Sincerely, Jon P. Wiesman, President Exodus Breeders Corporation If you have questions or comments, please email us and address your subject line to the Breeder's Forum.
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