Care For The Pregnant Mare

Written by: Dr. Jay Altman

Well, now that the busy breeding season is over with, it is time to start thinking about caring for those pregnant mares throughout the rest of their pregnancies.

Putting your pregnant mare on the correct vaccination schedule is very important. She should be vaccinated for equine rhinopneumonitis (commonly referred to as EHV-1 or Rhino) at five, seven, and nine months of gestation. Since the vaccine is a killed virus, the immunity is of short duration, and that is why it needs to be repeated every two months.

The rhino virus can initially cause a respiratory infection in the mare, and from there it migrates to the uterus and causes late-term abortions, usually around the eighth month of pregnancy.

All pregnant mares should also be vaccinated approximately one month before foaling for all diseases that pose a possible threat to the foal. This ensures that the mare's colostrum is rich in maternal antibodies, as it is very important that the newborn foal receives sufficient amounts of these antibodies while their own immune system is emergent.

Along with proper vaccination, deworming also remains an important aspect in the care of a pregnant mare, and they should be dewormed every 60 days throughout pregnancy. An alternative to paste deworming is the daily dewormer Strongid-C. It is also strongly recommended to deworm the mare the day of foaling with ivermectin to reduce the severity of foal-heat diarrhea.