PREGNANCY DIAGNOSIS IN

MARE

DR. B.N.Suthar
professor,
Department Of Gynaecology and
Obstetrics
Veterinary College
SDAU, Sardarkrushinagar
Mare Anatomy
 Vulva
Vagina
Left Ovary

Cervix Vagina
Cervix
Oviduct


 Uterus
 Oviducts
 Ovaries Left Uterine
Horn

Uterine Body
Normal uterus
 External signs of pregnancy

 Although abdominal enlargement is characteristic of

pregnancy, it is unreliable as a diagnostic sign. 
 Ballotment or observed movements of the fetus can often
be seen late in gestation. 
 Mammary changes are quite variable. 
 Pelvic changes (relaxation of the pelvic ligaments) occur
late in gestation but are often difficult to detect. 
 Cessation of estrus behavior is variable and unreliable. 
o Some mares will continue to show estrus even when
pregnant.
 Methods of diagnosis

 Palpation per rectum  

 Vaginal Examination
 Ultrasound
 Indirect pregnancy tests  
Technique of P/R Examination

Precautions
The rectum of mare is drier than that of
the cow and required frequent liberal
lubrication
Trauma to rectum is more easily produced
and has more serious results.
Restrain
 Locate the ovary: Bean shaped below the lumbar
vertebra
 Pass the hand down for the utero-ovarian
ligament
 Cup the uterus between finger and thumb
 Palpate the cranial border, ventral and dorsal
portion of the uterus
 Uterus is pliable, soft , flat and flaccid
Another method :
-The mare’s uterus is ‘T’ Shaped, with two short -Insert the
hand 45 to 50 cm into the rectum at 20to30 0 downward
slope
- Close the figure , flex them and withdrawn the arm
slowly.
- Band of tissue can be felt running through the palm of the
hand from left to right.
- This is either a body of the uterus or small colon
- If colon, slide out of the hand and withdrawn the arm little
further.
-Uterus:will curve upward towards the ovaries
 Uterine changes
 Palpation of Chorionic or Blastodermic vesicle

 At about 30 days –Circumscribed ventral

bulge

 Uterine wall: Tubular in shape, tonic and

Thinner
 The chorionic vesicle is distinct and
spherical and approximate sizes are:  
28 d (4 wks) Key lime (pullet egg)  
35 d (5 wks) lemon  
42 d (6 wks) orange  
49 d (7 wks) grapefruit  
56 d (8 wks) cantaloupe  
By 90 d it is hard to delineate the cranial margin of uterus.  
 Location of Uterus
 Upto 3-4 months : Above or on the level of
pelvis
 4th Months : Drops to abdominal floor
 5-6 months : well forward in abdominal
cavity with stretched broad ligament.
 Ovaries : 20-25 cm below the lumbar
vertebra
 Palpation of fetus : From 3rd months onwards.
Vaginal Examination
 Less tendency of vagina to balloon on
speculum examination
 At 30 days : White and pale resembling
vagina of anoestrus mare
 60-90 days : Very dry, sticky and gummy
 The cervix is tightly closed with external os
pulled downwards and to one side.
 External os of cervix covered with gummy
sticky mucus.
Differential Diagnosis

 Distended bladder

 Pneumovagina

 Enlarged or distended right colon

 Other pathological conditions of

uterus/fetus
 Pregnancy Evaluation
 Ultrasound, 14-18 days
 ID twins

 ID placental
development
 Re-evaluate, 40 days
 Monitor Placental
function & fetal growth
 Ultrasound Examination
 Diagnostic ultrasound plays a pivotal
role in the reproductive management
of the mare and no deleterious effects
of ultrasonography have been
reported in man nor in the equine.
 A thorough understanding of normal
ultrasonographic anatomy is vital for
veterinarians involved in broodmare
work.
 Principles of diagnostic ultrasound
 • Diagnostic ultrasound utilises sound frequencies between 2 and
10 MHz.
 • Ultrasound is produced by application of an alternating voltage to
piezoelectric crystals which change in size and produce a pressure or
ultrasound wave. Returning echoes deform the same crystals which
generate a surface voltage.
 • Most diagnostic ultrasound machines use the principle of brightness
modulation (B-mode) where the returning echoes are displayed as
dots, the brightness of which is proportional to their amplitude.
 • Real-time B-mode ultrasound is a dynamic imaging system where
information is continually updated and displayed on a monitor.
 • Ultrasound is attenuated within tissues and attenuation is related to
the density of the tissue, the heterogeneity of the tissue and the
number and type of echo interfaces.
 • Bright (specular) echoes are produced when a large proportion of
the beam is reflected back to the transducer; these echoes are
displayed as white areas on the ultrasound machine screen.
 • No echoes are produced when the sound is transmitted and not
reflected; these areas are displayed as black on the ultrasound
machine screen.
Ultrasound

 14 days is the earliest that a vesicle is

visible on ultrasound examination
 There may be as much as 10 days
diference in the ages of two vesicle
 All observations must be made and
confirm. Action must be known prior to the
formation of endometrial cups.
 Day 11
pregnancy
A 14 day
conceptus viewed
by ultrasound.
Note the
regularity of the
circular shape.
 By 17 days the
regularity of shape
is starting to
deteriorate - note
the "ragged"
edges now seen on
the 17-day
pregnancy
compared to the
16-day.
 By 23 days the embryo
itself can be seen with
ultrasound - here it is
visible between the red
calliper marks on the
image. The heartbeat
can also start to be
detected at this stage.
Note here how the
regular rounding has
completely
deteriorated, and the
conceptus is appearing
oval, and without
"smooth" edges.
 At 33 days, the developing
allantois (the outgrowth of
the embryo's hindgut which
forms the bladder, carries
blood vessels in the
umbilical cord, and later
combines with the chorion
to form the placenta) is
visible, and the yolk sac
(visible here as the upper
portion of the dark section)
is regressing. The apparent
"division" in the conceptus
at this stage is not to be
mistaken for twin embryos
- of which clearly only one
is visible.
 A different view of
a 35 day
pregnancy shows
that there can be
differences of
embryo position
and yolk/allantoic
sac size.
 By day 39 the yolk
sac has almost
completely
regressed and is
visible here only as
the dark circular
area immediately
above the embryo
(compare this with
the 33 day image).
Examination on day 19 and 20 :

 Determine that failure to return to estrus

is due to pregnancy and not due to
prolonged luteal function.

 Twins may not be detected

 Examination on days 25-30

 Visualize the second vesicle that may be

undetected at 19-21 days
 Examine suspected twins of first examination
for continued enlargement
 Eliminate one vesicle by crushing
Examination on day 35-36

 Clarify any unusual observation made on

the first two examination

 Demonstrate the maintenance of single

viable embryo
Indirect pregnancy test :

 Progesterone assay

By radioimmunoassay(RIA) or ELISA at 20
days after service to determine whether
conception possible occurred.
 Plasma progesterone
 Progesterone concentrations in plasma can be measured by radio-
immunoassay, in which samples are sent to a laboratory and results
take two or more days to obtain. Alternatively the enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests can be used in a veterinary practice
laboratory giving the results more rapidly.
 At 17 to 22 days post-ovulation, pregnant mares should have
progesterone levels above 2 ng/ml . However an incorrect diagnosis of
pregnancy can occur in cases of:
 1.    prolonged luteal phase,
 2.    early embryonic death or
 3.    mares with a short luteal phase.
 Not all mares with high progesterone concentrations are pregnant and
high progesterone levels only indicate that luteal tissue is present
in the ovary. In addition, mis-timing of samples will give wrong
results.
 ·        Some pregnant mares may have low progesterone concentrations
for periods of time.
 ·        There is a marked random variation in circulating serum
progesterone concentrations throughout the day. This makes
interpretation of single samples difficult if not impossible.
  
 Mare immunologic pregnancy test
(MIP)
 Most widely used test in the USA
 Reliability : Between 40-120 days
 It is a hemaggutination inhibition test
 PMSG inhibit the agglutination of sheep
erythrocyte coated with PMSG in the
presence of PMSG antiserum from rabbit.
A.Z.Test ( Ascheim-Zondek test)

 Detect pregnance of eCG

 Accuracy : Between 50-80 days
 2ml of pregnant mare’s serum, Injected
I/P to female immature rat,Kill rat 72 hrs.,
 Findings : Corpus haemorrhagic on the
ovaries
 Ovarian size : 2-4 times greater
Cuboni test
 Detect : estrogenic hormone( Fetal
placenta/Gonad)
 Accuracy :Between 120-250 days
 Procedure: 15 ml of urine, Add 3 ml. Of conc.
HCL.,Heated in a boiling water bath for 10
minutes, cool under tap.
 Add 18 ml of Benzene- shake vigorously –
supernatant is poured off.
 Add 3-10 ml of Conc,H2SO4 supernatant and
heated in water bath at 800 for 5 minutes,cool it
 Oily green fluorescent color indicate pregnancy.
 Brownish color indicate non-pregnancy.