Factors affecting gestation length in the Thoroughbred mare

Genetic study of gestation length in andalusian and arabian mares

“…In the case of the Spanish Pure Bred horse, this value is similar to the frequently quoted value of 70 days (Immegart, 1997), and slightly lower than those obtained by other authors, such as Davies-Morel et al (2002), for live foal births. In both breeds, the range is superior to the 40-day range considered acceptable by the industry, and likely to result in a viable foal (Rossdale, 1976).…”

“…The main environmental factors influencing gestation period are related to age of the mother, nutrition, sex of the foal, year and month of conception, season of conception and photoperiod (Staffe, 1935;Mauch, 1937;Howell and Rollins, 1951;Pozo-Lora, 1954;Flade and Frederich, 1963;Hevia et al, 1994;Panchal et al, 1995;Davies-Morel et al, 2002;Vassilev et al, 2002). Nevertheless, other factors have been studied, such as the colour of coat (Dring et al, 1981;Blesa et al, 1999) or the influence of moon phase (Blesa et al, 1999), even though the results were not significant.…”

“…The age of the mother is also considered an important factor by most authors, but there are discrepancies, since some authors have not found significant differences (Hintz et al, 1979b;Vivo et al, 1983;Pérez et al, 1997;Kurtz Filho et al, 1997;Sánchez et al, 1999;Davies-Morel et al, 2002).…”

Gestational length in Carthusian broodmares: effects of breeding season, foal gender, age of mare, year of parturition, parity and sire

“…Average values obtained in Carthusian mares were shorter than those obtained in different breeds such as, Thoroughbreds (Hintz et al 1992, Davies-Morel et al 2002, Kurtz Filho et al 1997, Duggan et al 2008, Sharma and Dhaliwal 2010, Freibergers (Giger et al 1997), Lipizzaners (Heidler et al 2004), Quarter Horses (Pool-Anderson et al 1994, Guay et al 2002, Duggan et al 2008), Hannoverians (Winter et al 2007), Pantaneira (Zúccari et al 2002), Andalusians (Valera et al 2006) and Arabians mares (Valera et al 2006, Cilek 2009). …”

“…Early pregnancy diagnosis was made on day 14 by ultrasonography. GL was calculated as the time from ovulation to parturition (Davies-Morel et al 2002). The influence of different factors, such as foal sex, breeding month, age of the mare, breeding year, stallion and parity are presented.…”