
28/08/2025
It’s time to get your broodmare in ship-shape before breeding season!
Breeding season can be a stressful time for many people but at Gilgandra Veterinary Clinic, we are here to help! Here are some tips to get the most out of your mare:
1. NUTRITION 🐴: Mares should be in a ‘light’ body condition prior to joining. This ensures that your mare is cycling effectively and uterine clearance mechanisms can clear potential uterine infections.
2. PREVENTATIVE HEALTH 💉: Mares can pass some worm burdens to their foal in utero. Ensure that a faecal egg count and appropriate anthelmintic treatment is performed. Tetanus vaccinations should also be up-to-date.
3. DENTAL HEALTH 🦷: the teeth play an important role in keeping a mare comfortable. Reports have found that women with periodontal disease are 7x more likely to loose a pregnancy. Although this hasn’t been proven in the horse, dental health is still an important factor that contributes to a horse’s feed conversion and weight gain. Routine ‘floating’ may help but without a thorough veterinary dental exam, you may only be dealing with a small piece of the puzzle.
4. PRE-BREEDING EVALUATION: the earlier a mare’s reproductive health can be assessed, the earlier problems can be identified and rectified. If your mare is known to have problems foaling OR wasn’t bred last season, a reproductive exam should be considered.
Fortunately, most of the items on this list can be checked with a visit to Gilgandra Veterinary Clinic. Our team are able to analyse your mares faeces, assess their teeth and reproductive health whilst providing extensive advice on broodmare management!
☎️ Call the clinic on 6847 1129 to make an appointment today!