uterine infection

Question
i have e an 11 year old mare who had a bay 3 years ago. i bred her live cover twice and after the last breeding which was 9 days i took her to the vet because she was still showing in season. it turn out she had an infection. i had her treated with two flushes and a Culture. this is the first time this stallion was ever bred. my question is could this have happen from either horse. i know neither was washed before breeding. and if a mare had an uterine infection before breeding would i have noticed it, drainage or temp sickness? thanks

Answer
Hi Terri,

Uterine infections are not necessarily caused from live breeding.  For some reason, the older a mare gets, the more likely they are to just have a uterine infection.  Unless the infection is severe, you are not likely to see any outward signs alerting you to the infection.

Believe it or not, mares can be "allergic" to the semen of certain stallions also.  I have a mare who experienced just that.... she was allergic to a specific stallion.  It isn't common, but it does happen.

Another thing that can cause uterine infection, is over-breeding.  You didn't mention how many times during her cycle that you bred her.  I'm not sure if when you said you had her covered twice meant that you only covered her twice during that 9 days, or if you bred her through two heat cycles.

But to answer your question, yes, the infection could have been caused by either horse, if it was caused because of breeding.  There is a good chance your mare could have had an infection prior to breeding also.  You should be aware that once a mare hits the age of 10 yrs, the percentage of her getting in foal and carrying a foal to term, does decrease.

At 11 years of age, you still have enough time to attempt to breed this mare again.  I would try breeding her to the same stud, if he is one that you really would like to breed to, but make sure that both mare and stallion are cleansed prior to breeding.  And when doing live cover, you really only need to breed once every other day.  If she still does not settle and again gets an infection, I would try a different stud.

Best of luck.