Fresh as opposed to chilled

[KIMBY]

This is a question for experienced breeders out there.
Tried unsuccessfuly three times to get my mare in foal. She suffers from DUC . Age 11 years maiden mare. Very good AI vet they do everything they can. Discussed this with several people now and one of the suggestions is to use fresh semen instead of chilled as it would cause less reaction is this true ? Thoughts please

[AndyPandy]

The main cause of the immune response in the endometrium is dead sperm cells. The response is quietened by seminal plasma (the fluid part of semen), and also potentially by components within extenders that are mixed with the semen.

Therefore, in concetrated semen samples, with high numbers of dead sperm cells, and low seminal plasma content (i.e. frozen-thawed semen) the reaction can be fairly substantial and difficult to treat. So, in these mares, changing to fresh OR chilled semen should result in a lessened immune response (becuase of the lower number of dead sperm cells, and higher seminal plasma content).

Fresh vs chilled? I don't really think it makes much of a difference from the mare's point of view. If the stallion's semen does not chill well, or is being poorly handled then using fresh may make the difference. Is this stallion's chilled semen getting mares in foal consistently? What's the progressive motility like on arrival? What concentration is it being shipped at? What ratio of extender to semen is being used? Is it being handled correctly?

Your other option is that the extender that is being used contains an antibiotic that your mare is sensitive to. An expensive U/S will pick up faint signs of irritation of the endometrium in these cases, but if you also have DUC to deal with, it could easily be missed.

Also, what exactly are your vets doing to treat the DUC? How often are they giving oxytocin, and how much is being given? Are they backing it up with reprocine? Are they washing out, does it really need to be washed out, and if so, what with?

There are so many things at play here, it's very hard to say... but in general I would not say that switching from chilled to fresh is going to make the difference after 3 cycles. It sounds like something else is going on.

[shirleyno2]

Well AndyPandy you covered the lot there! Well said. The only thing I would add, is to maybe change stallion?

[Neddy13]

Interested to see you ask about whether Reprocine was used. Last season this drug was mentioned on this forum and when I approached my vet about it I was told it was not licenced for use in horses - and thus cannot be used due to the EU regulations.

Has the situation now changed and is this drug now licenced for equine use?

[KIMBY]

Thank you AP very informative. Sperm is 73% mobility coming from a long standing AI centre so should be all okay as other mares are taking first time from the stallion. I have just looked at my vet report and a cocktail of drugs on it. Washed out with Isolec Hartman solution and drugs given over three to four days are Gentamicin, Depocillin,Domidine, Reprocine, Torbugesic and Oxytocin which seems a lot to me.
I dont know if i could change Stallions as paid 1000.00 euros and have a live foal guarantee. Do not have another mare either.

[AndyPandy]

In his 2007 book: Current Therapy in Equine Reproduction, Jonathan Pycock writes:

"Recently, a long-acting analogue of oxytocin, carbetocin (Reprocine, Vetoquinol), has become available and may have an indication in situations in which a more prolonged uterine contraction is desired. My own preliminary work has shown it to be safe and effective at inducing uterine clearance..."

If the drug is being used in equines by a leading repro vet, then we can be pretty sure that it is OK to use. Of course, you should check with your vet, and they should check with RCVS/BEVA/VMD if they are unsure, but the vast majority of repro vets we work with now are using reprocine for some DUC mares they have in

[Neddy13]

AP you havent answered the question - I know JP has it down for use in 07, but did the EU rules not change in 08. I was only asking as I have a mare which is very difficult to get in foal and will foal shortly so will be back into the oxytocin every 4 hours when we try to get her back in foal so obviously if Reprocine is now readily available for equine use, it will be a plus for me.

[AndyPandy]

[ QUOTE ]
Sperm is 73% mobility

[/ QUOTE ]

73%!? That's an interesting number. Don't often see something as "accurate" as that unless they are using a computer assisted sperm analysis system

[ QUOTE ]
coming from a long standing AI centre so should be all okay as other mares are taking first time from the stallion.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that's a good sign for the potential fertility of the stallion.

[ QUOTE ]
I have just looked at my vet report and a cocktail of drugs on it. Washed out with Isolec Hartman solution and drugs given over three to four days are Gentamicin, Depocillin,Domidine, Reprocine, Torbugesic and Oxytocin which seems a lot to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Likewise. Why are they giving those antibiotics? Is she prone to infection? If it is an antibiotic sensitivity, then those may not be helping. It would be worth switching extender to one with different antibiotics, and avoiding antibiotic treatment completely on the next cycle.

If that doesn't eliminate the problem, then you might want to consider stallion-mare incompatibility as a potential issue... in which case switching stallions will probably get you a pregnancy first time.

[AndyPandy]

[ QUOTE ]
I have a mare which is very difficult to get in foal and will foal shortly so will be back into the oxytocin every 4 hours when we try to get her back in foal so obviously if Reprocine is now readily available for equine use, it will be a plus for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Current EU legislation states:

(1) A veterinary surgeon acting under this paragraph who prescribes a veterinary medicinal product may either administer it personally or may direct another person to do so under the responsibility of the veterinary surgeon.

(2) If there is no authorised veterinary medicinal product in the United Kingdom for a condition the veterinary surgeon responsible for the animal may, in particular to avoid unacceptable suffering, treat the animal concerned with the following (“the cascade”), cascaded in the following order—

(a) a veterinary medicinal product authorised in the United Kingdom for use with another animal species, or for another condition in the same species; or

(b) if there is no such product that is suitable, either—

(i) a human medicinal product authorised in the United Kingdom; or

(ii) a veterinary medicinal product not authorised in the United Kingdom but authorised in another member State for use with any animal species (in the case of a food-producing animal, it must be a food-producing species); or

(c) if there is no such product that is suitable, a veterinary medicinal product prepared extemporaneously by a pharmacist, a veterinary surgeon or a person holding a manufacturing authorisation authorising the manufacture of that type of product.

So, as there are no other long-acting oxytocin analogues licensed for use in horses in the UK, then as I understand the legislation, your vet can use Reprocine, and you can administer it under their guidance.

Full legislation for this is available here: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uks...297_en_19#sch4

[Neddy13]

Thank you AP

Just one other question - does JP still use this drug? Or was it this drug which was used IV and a mare died? Or am I confusing it with another drug? I do realise all drugs can sometimes result it a death of an animal - obviously you have to balance the positives against the negatives!