Cierra's ultrasound was today. I tried to get a photo for Shirley. Do you see a baby in this ultrasound?
Nope. Neither do we. Exactly what we expected after we found out yesterday that Cierra was back in heat. It was better knowing ahead of time, then showing up to her ultrasound appointment all excited only to get a big let down. I wasn't sure why we both made the long drive (separately, we were going opposite directions after) up to the appointment, other than apparently it is possible for horses to show (false) heat and still be bred. She wasn't. It happens.
The photo above is one of Cierra's ovaries. I learned ovary measurements tell the vet where she is in her heat cycle. He said when in heat the ovaries increase 3mm a day. I assume until they ovulate. He shared some other details but I didn't catch them all. It was a bit chaotic with five people, two dogs, the employee running around etc. Cierra's ovary actually measured to 31mm, which he said was good. I snapped the photo quickly. The ultrasound machine is worn on a belt and the screen is at weird angle. Makes sense, when the vet is the one who really needs to see what is going on inside her. Poor girl, that did not look like anything close to fun. I assume the vet will share the screen when there is something more positive for us to see.
Cierra is getting rebred on Thursday, much to my surprise at our place. We had planned to bring her home after a positive ultrasound, so I re-cleaned her stall/waterer/grain bucket yesterday. Then heard the not so good news. We have a routine vet appointment scheduled at our place for Thursday. I guess Brad decided to bring her home regardless. Much to my surprise. The good news is, Cierra is coming home!! The clinic orders more semen tomorrow and she gets another shot that will make her ovulate, for take two. Fingers and toes crossed these are better swimmers! Nothing is easy.
8 comments:
Breeding by AI is so expensive. It has both widened and narrowed the gene pool. Let me explain….
Widened, in a regional aspect, because mare owners can breed to a stallion from a great distance away . Therefore regionally, there will be offspring say in Virginia to a stallion in California.
Narrowed, because so many people are breeding to the same few top stallions and the market is flooded by thousands of Metallic Cats, Dash Ta Fames, etc. (pick the flavour of the day)
I hope Cierra catches this time! Glad she will be at home.
Sorry to hear Cierra is not having a baby. Hope this next time works for you all. Glad she’s coming home. Bet Padame will miss her friend.
Yes, AI is both a blessing and a curse. Even I noticed the Metallic Cat craze. Never heard of the other mentioned stud. Brad has planned to have Cierra bred for a while now. We looked at studs locally for a couple years. Including presenting studs (and a couple friends) at Midwest Horse Fair. We just didn't find any good ranch/reining prospects in our general surrounding area. Many studs around us have done nothing to prove abilities, and that includes offspring. Doesn't guarantee anything, but is a factor for show people.
Padame will miss Cierra. She was calling to her yesterday. I think Cierra could care less. Our trainer owns a kinder young gelding that she thinks will be a good turnout friend. She is good at matching buddies up. Brad is sending me a video he took of Padame having fun playing with the mare in the turnout next to her while waiting for the vet. I miss all the good stuff!
The other stud I mentioned is big in the barrel racing world. If you look at the pedigrees of the horses who ran at the NFR the majority of them are either by Dash Ta Fame or out of one of his daughters.
So many QH breeders only do AI now. It keeps their stallion from being injured.
The QH breeder near me, McBride qh, which used to stand Chex Nu Jewel, is standing GunnaOutShinya now. They have their own ultrasound machine on-site and include the AI and the ultra sounding in the fee. You can leave your mare there. That’s what I was looking at doing for Leah.
I wonder why THoroubreds are only live cover.
Good luck this time! Fingers crossed it takes.
I'm glad Cierra is coming home. So she can be AI'd at home right?
Sunshine and Sundance were live covered but they had donkey dads. That's where our pony came in, he was our 'heat' indicator and he got the mare ready to accept the donkey. The pony stud was kept near our bred mare and would indicate heat if she returned to it... He now is our Guard Pony and yard trimmer. :)
When I used to work a second job at a dairy farm, we'd have the 'breeder' come in and AI the cattle. I dated the Breeder once and that made for awkward introductions.
Linda, that is interesting that McBrides QH does their own AI ultrasound testing. Smart package marketing. Assuming they have a deal worked out with their vet and use their own machine so it is always available. Pregnancy testing is intrusive, requiring medical knowledge best done with a reputable vet.
I was curious and googled Thoroughbreds and AI. They can't be registered unless live covered (it could dilute the breed, what Shirley wrote about above). Wow, and I thought QH had a lot of rules.
Yes Val, Cierra is getting rebred at our place. Many trailer mares to the clinic, which is what I thought he meant. Brad's decision took us all by surprise, since the original plan was to bring her home already bred. Makes sense tho. It is not Winter anymore. The main reason Cierra was at our trainers (heated barn). Our preferred vet is coming to our place. In some ways, I would think it is better to let nature take its course. Brad has experienced years of AI with cows, and mentioned it is similar with horses. No clue why they can't just ultrasound them easier/from the outside in this day and age. Like other mammals where it is not intrusive.
No foal...so sad...hope it works this time:)
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