Satur Vet Clinic offers a comprehensive stud farm service to a number of Studs and brood mare farms in the local area. Our farms appreciate the familiar faces of their regular vets who attend their farm and know the intricacies of the mares they treat. We individually investigate each mare, tailoring treatments and monitoring them closely, to establish the optimum time for cover. Then we carefully watch the development of their pregnancy to ensure that it is healthy, through to foaling. All foals managed by our stud vets are assessed closely for conformation and health shortly after birth and monitored as they grow, in concert with the owner or manager. This ties in well with the specialist medical/surgical advice available in the assessment and correction of any angular limb deformities and any potential perinatal problems that may develop

The following information is aimed to assist Stud managers and mare owners to better understand some of the veterinary aspects of having a mare at Stud – and to help with time management. We hope to make a normally busy time run as smoothly as possible, maximising the value of our veterinary visits and improving your farm´s overall reproductive statistics. Good communication will enable us to work most effectively together, so we want to encourage owners and stud personnel to discuss any problems or queries at any time. This includes communicating with all the connections of horses under your care and, if it can help, we are happy – even prefer – by speaking directly with mare owners.

Facilities at the stud farm: Our overall ambition is to keep everyone happy! To that end, time management is imperative during a busy stud season. In order for us to keep to all our appointment times (including other clients) as well as fitting in any sick foal examinations, post-foaling mare checks and whatever else may crop up during a day´s work, we need to be organised. The season is hard enough without a battle against inbuilt inefficiencies, so we should make every effort to be set up for efficient routine mare reproductive work.

Some factors that will increase efficiency include:

Holding Yards: It saves a significant amount of time to have all the mares that are due to be examined in yards adjacent to the crush area, rather than to be bringing each mare in from the paddock prior to her examination.

Sufficient personnel: Sufficient experienced personnel to move mares into and out of the crush plus additional staff (and facilities) to help with moving foals into the crush.

Crush: A suitable, covered crush and surrounding area helps things to run smoothly. Adequate restraint facilities to examine the mares and foals will reduce the risk of accidents or injuries occurring to the mares and foals, stud staff and veterinarians. Also, the examination can be performed quicker and with more accuracy if a mare´s movement within the crush is limited i.e. padding to reduce side-to-side movement and a bar in front of her chest. We aim to minimise handling time and danger, and maximise individual mare attention. Well designed fencing/enclosure helps with ushering foals into the crush, and limits the chance of injuries.

Facilities: The crush area needs to be adequately shaded. Not only is it greatly appreciated by all in terms of comfort but it is impossible to accurately see an ultrasound image on the screen in bright sunlight. Ideally a power source should be close-by. We can use an inverter from a car but this needs to be arranged by prior agreement and has an inherent risk of breakdown.

Hygiene:There should be adequate washing facilities at the crush area. It is important to be able to wash and disinfect the crush and surrounding area after every veterinary visit. Certainly it is imperative after attending individuals with suspected infectious diseases eg. foals with scour or profuse nasal discharge, mares with significant uterine infections, or retained placentas. We also advise that you notify us of any possibly contagious horses and we will attend these animals at the end of the visit.

Safety: Mares are unpredictable especially when placed under stress. Knowledge of individual animals with problems can prevent injury to horses and personnel. We can also use sedatives if necessary to enable safe examinations. Safety of the staff and personnel is imperative. Quick-release latches on the crush will allow us to open the doors in case of an emergency (ideally on the front and rear doors and the side of the crush too). An experienced person at the head of the mare is also important, as is a sound knowledge of all the mares´ temperaments, and a forewarning about difficult cases.

Teaser: The presence of a teaser is important in the successful management of breeding mares. Regular teasing will limit the number of veterinary examinations required and also help in clearance of uterine fluid of those mares predisposed to endometritis.