Equine Reproduction

What this page covers

The resources follow the breeding mare and stallion from start to finish. Flashcard decks ask about the breeding season, spring transition, the ovaries and the follicle, and the questions a client should answer before breeding a foal. Others look at the stallion, surgical problems of the male, castration techniques and surgery of the female tract.

Where to start

Begin with the flashcard deck Equine Reproduction. It defines basic terms such as filly, colt and nomination, and asks what seasonally polyoestrus means. Then try Repro 1: getting the mare pregnant, followed by Repro 2: pregnancy diagnose in the mare.

Next, move to the later stages of the cycle:

1. The Oestrous Cycle mind map.
2. The R12 - Fertilisation & Establishment of Pregnancy 2 mind map, which covers blastocyst hatching to implantation.
3. The Managing the pregnant mare mind map.
4. The Equine Parturition & Associated Problems mind map, which includes high-risk foaling, gestation length and prolonged pregnancy.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a mind map first to see how a topic fits together. Then take a quiz on the same topic. The quiz Pregnancy and Parturition of the Horse pairs well with the parturition map. Dystocia + Abortion Equids pairs with the Equine Abortion map, which sets out placentitis, viral abortions, non-infectious causes, twin fetuses and umbilical torsion.

Other quizzes cover Breeding methods, Breeding Management - Horses, Urogenital Tract of the Horse and stallion repro test. When a question goes wrong, go back to the matching flashcard deck and work through it again.

Practical examination topics

The Horse BSE deck asks what BSE stands for, who may perform the swabbing and what signs point to early embryonic death or abortion. The slide set Reproductive Horse Swabbing sits alongside it.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Reproduction strand of Veterinary medicine. Pick one deck today, test yourself with a quiz, and then sketch a map of your own to fill any gaps.