Equine Reproduction Services

Veterinary Services

Whether you are considering breeding from your mare for the first time or you are an experienced Stud Manager, Shotter & Byers Equine Vets can provide pragmatic and tailored equine reproductive services. Our Vets provide services to a large number of stud yards as well as to individual clients. We have several packages available to help keep costs down. For more information, please call the Practice on 01306 627706 for available packages and helpful advice.

Putting a Mare in Foal – The Foaling Process

These are as follows:

  • Your mare will require a pre-breeding examination to look for any obvious issues that may prevent breeding. This will include an ultrasonographic examination of her reproductive tract.
  • A collection of samples (bloods and swabs) are usually required to be taken at this stage to rule out any infectious disease which could prevent breeding from your mare.
  • Stallion selection is important and the method of insemination chosen.
  • Before insemination, regular ultrasound scans will be needed to assess the mares position in the reproduction cycle. Timing is crucial and several scans may be needed to ensure the mare is inseminated at the correct time.
  • For equine artificial insemination to go ahead, you must choose your AI and semen provider and be sure they can courier semen at the appropriate time and potentially at short notice and/or at weekends.
  • Make sure you have budgeted correctly for semen, veterinary fees and stud fees.
  • Before insemination, regular ultrasound scans will be needed to assess the mares position in the reproduction cycle. Timing is crucial and several scans may be needed to ensure the mare is inseminated at the correct time.
  • Select your artificial insemination and semen provider and be sure they can courier semen at the appropriate time and potentially at short notice and/or at weekends.
  • Make sure you have budgeted correctly for semen, veterinary fees and stud fees.

Equine Foaling

As well as assisting you with breeding from your mare, we at Shotter & Byers Equine Vets are also able to offer our post foaling veterinary services. Foaling a mare for the first time and looking after a newborn foal can be quite daunting. We advise making your preparations well in advance;

When foaling is approaching, we advise speaking to experienced professionals in the field as well as to your Vet. Consider whether or not you are happy to keep your mare at home, in a livery yard or whether you would prefer to use the services of a stud. If you decide to use a stud farm for foaling, we recommend you book in with them, well in advance. If you are considering foaling at home, we advise you have a plan in place in case of an emergency, when you may need someone experienced to assist you. We also advise using a foaling alarm and/or CCTV to monitor the mare.

At Shotter & Byers Equine Vets, we operate at a number of stud farms around Surrey, Kent and across the UK. All of our Vets are equipped with tracking systems in their 4×4 vehicles allowing us to give you the quickest response time. Outside of normal working hours, we always have two Vets on call in case of an emergency. If you have any concerns about the foaling or if you require some reassurance, please do not hesitate to contact the office on 01306 627706 to advise us off your expected foaling. The Duty Vet will be made aware and will keep in touch with you. If you suspect any problems, please call us as soon as possible as time is a critical factor.

If you have any further questions about artificial insemination, the equine gestation period or the foaling process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team. Our staff are experts when it comes to equine breeding and our reproduction services can help you to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.

 

Equine Artificial Insemination

We are able to perform artificial insemination using fresh, chilled or frozen semen. This will need to be decided well in advance of breeding so that preparations can be made and timings considered. Make sure your semen provider can cater to your needs at short notice.

Hormones can be used to control and change the reproductive cycle to make successful fertilisation more likely. The cost of scans can be expensive so we have put together a ‘Reproductive Package’ to make these costs more effective. Please call the office on 01306 627706 for more information on our packages.