Mares vetting - pregnancy test

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Polos Mum

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Following todays big thread, is it/ should it be standard practice to include a pregnancy test in a mares pre purchase vetting?

Has anyone done this and is it reliable/ expensive? Does it take ages? Can you do it with blood or do you have to have a clean urine sample (not so easy)

Should vets be recommending this as standard ? - there seem to be a lot of people with unexpected BOGOF experiences!
 
My friend had a mare vetted and as she had a bit of a worm belly and was underweight she looked like a mare we knew who turned out to be a BOGOF so she asked the vet to check. He basically sedated her and stuck his arm in:eek: he said something like he could feel if there were no changes she definitely wasn't. If there were she may be. He then said what else he could do to test. Basically she paid him extra to check and he came back with definitely not. She paid for the sedation and a bit extra for the check but not masses more than the vetting. It was a well respected vet. If I sound vague it's just my memory of what he explained (he explained in detail but I've forgotten :o it wasn't standard but he said he understood and it was a wise thing to do esp as she had unknown past.
 
Did when I got samba still have never in three years seen her in season. Luckily though local stud over the road was happy for me to use stalls so didn't have to use sedation. She was empty
 
weesophz said:
haha :D !

I think it should be be included in vetting of mares
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You really don't want vets sticking arms up there unless its necessary there's a risk all be it small of rupture and infection I would never allow it in a vetting for a mare in work .
If I was selling a brood mare I would probally do a blood test before sale.
 
Is there no way of testing less intrusively? They take blood in vettings for bute etc., so couldn't they take another sample for a pregnancy test?

I agree a physical exam sounds extreme especially if they need sedation and I can see why owners wouldn't want this.

Even a urine sample would be better from an owners perspective - but i guess vet could be waiting hours for that if you had dodgy people handing over a sample not from the mare in question !!!
 
correct me if I'm completely wrong but the vet we had said something about the blood test only being acurate at a certain stage of preganancy. so wasnt apropriate to have done. I presumed it would be a blood test as that is what the person I knew who had a BOGOF had done. it also took a few days
 
I would have thought hormones in the blood would be more dectable than feeling for a feotus - really intersted in some vets/ breeders knowledge.

Re waiting a few days, maybe vets could rush it or after a vetting it usually takes a couple of days to arrange transport so no real delay in the whole process (compared to 7 months not being able to ride the mare and the cost of having a foal!)
 
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