The best day to scan after covering?

Ravenwood

Ravenwood

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My mare was covered last Thursday, Saturday, Monday and they are going to try her again today just to make sure she has gone off, then I am collecting her on Sunday.

I think the stud recommends that I scan her 16 to 18 days after the second covering, as this will show if there are twins and it's the best time to squeeze one out with the least risk to the other.

Do you all agree with this?
 
We only do AI but the same as cruiseline scan to see where the mare is in her season then AI , and scan the next day to look for Ovulation and check for any fluid, and then at 14 days.
I know that some vets like to scan at 15,16 and even 17 days.
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We do natural cover on most of our mares (except my stallion's daughters of course!)

We cover when the mare is fully in - and then every two days from then until she goes out. Some will be covered twice - the odd one 4 times in 8 days! We work on scanning 14-16 days after last covering - the likelihood of a mare ovulating and then still standing to be covered is pretty slim - so don't know why on EARTH they would suggest timing from 2nd covering!

Basically it is ESSENTIAL you scan no more than 16 days after ovulation - as if there is twins, it becomes much more difficult in many cases to pinch one after they have implanted (at 17 days.) But scanning 16 days after 2nd covering - if the mare doesn't ovulate for another 4-5 days - means a pregnancy may be missed because it is just TOO small!
 
Yoiks.

My mares live with the stallion most of the time (unless the timing is wrong, I can't risk foals born before April) I just let them get on with it, all I do is take note of first and last covering dates. If a mare is receptive they seem to be at it like rabbits - eat, bonk, eat, bonk.

I book them in for scanning at about 14 - 16 days after the last service. Thinking of cutting off one of the Zeus's plums (that's a joke before anyone takes me seriously) as his mares ALWAYS twin and always take first time.

Hope all goes well Ravenwood.
 
Thanks for your answers - so most of you are recommending that I get her scanned 16 days after the last covering.

Not spoken to the stud today so don't know if she stood or not yet to work out exact dates for scanning.

I so hope its not twins, I was led to believe this was quite rare - but Enfys, this obviously isn't the case for you!
 
scan on the day of covering to check they are fully on.
Serve.
Oxytosin (sp?) the next morning.
Scan 3 days after serving.
Scan 14 days after.
Scan 28 days after.

Twins are not rare, just one has to be pinched and it is all fine
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Quote "the likelihood of a mare ovulating and then still standing to be covered is pretty slim"

Actually a mare will continue to show to a stallion after ovulation and will still stand although can be more fidgety. Thats why it is common practice to cover every other day giving a mare time to "go off" which is different to "ovulation". It is only in recent years studs are tending to scan mares once they start showing, during and after as they get all mares on "packages" with their vets.

Healthy breeding mares (thats the majority), fertile stallions get good fertility results without all this scanning. Nowadays mare owners pay a premium at some studs with these "packages" to get a job done which is natural. IMO stallion owners nowadays are not as knowledgable as in years gone by and need to rely on scanning for fertility results. You used to get "stallion men" who really did know there job now you get "tom dick and harry" with a stallion and they call themselves a "stud"!

Moan over ...
 
Gosh Youandyours I think you may have stepped on some toes here. I do understand what you are saying and actually I used a stud that does natural and fresh ai on the yard and the two mares I have in foal for 2010 I just had to pay for the two pregnancy scans on each the first was at 17days and the 2nd was around 35 to 40 days.

Another mare went elsewhere and had to agree to the "package" as you put it and the mare was duly tracked through her cycle and is also in foal. Now would this mare have gone in foal without veterinary intervention - I will never know that answer but I do know that it cost more to get this mare confirmed in foal than it did the other two.
 
QR:

UPDATE: She was covered again yesterday! So thats four times in seven days and apparently she is still showing signs of being in season today (they think she is going for the record!!). They are going to bring her in tomorrow and see how she acts. But I am still picking her up on Sunday.

This is sooo stressful - God knows how I will cope when it comes to foaling!

Little note to add that she wasn't scanned for being at the right time, she was fully in season the day she arrived at stud and they have been covering her in hand every other day since. It is up to me to scan her in 16 days time although they did offer this service if I wished to leave her there longer
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There is little point in repeating covering if the mare has, for example, a perisitent follicle. The only way to find that out is to scan her. the same follicle that has caused her to be in season so long may still be there when you bring her home, in which case she won't be in foal.

Unless the follicle releases the egg shortly after you bring her home that is, but without knowing that how will anyone know when 16 days are? If that happens you could be looking for a say 11 day embryo if the stallion is very super fertile, and not find it, thinking the mare is not in foal when maybe she is after all. Covering so many times can also lead to infections, so all in all I think a different approach is needed here.
 
Oh crikey - I'm a bit worried now.

They are a long established, successful stud so I must trust to them that they know what they are doing.

However, I now have absolutely no idea what date to book the scan
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I will see what they say on Sunday.
 
Ask them, on Sunday, if the mare is still standing for the stallion, why they think she is still in season, and if you left her there for another week what steps they'd be taking to establish what is actually happening. Being in season for over a week, and showing no sign of going off is not quite the normal thing.

If she was covered last Thursday, and is still in season by this Sunday that is a total of 11 days, so someone needs to be doing some finding out IMO.
 
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