Dystocia Management in Mares Govaere J.1, Hoogewijs M., Schauwer C. De, Aert M. Van, Kruif A. de Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Ghent University, (Belgium) 1 Corresponding Author E-mail: Jan.govaere@ugent.be
Online published on 24 January, 2012. Abstract Equine obstetrics represents a complex and challenging knowledge domain to both breeders and veterinarians. The foaling process is usually swift and smooth. A dystocia however, requires efficient diagnosing, the mastery of a broad knowledge base and interventions skills to handle emergency situations. Due to the seasonality in equine breeding management, obtaining experience without a good initial insight into the different possibilities of dystocia is difficult. Previous experience in bovine obstetrics is very helpful to get sufficient skills in intra-uterine manipulations especially since only small numbers of obstetrical cases in horses impedes winning experience. Nonetheless, the need exists to gain more experience and an increased exposure to routine cases in theriogenology work. Since this represents a significant portion of practice activities and has, especially in large animal species, a great economic impact and might become an emotionally charged event to the owner. Especially dystocia management in horses is always an emergency and has a high priority in a day to day large animal practice. In this article, some important principles of equine obstetrics are emphasised and discussed. Top Keywords Dystocia, foaling, mare, peripartum. Top |