Culturing mare before live cover

Question
QUESTION: I'm a small time breeder and have only bred my own mares in the past. I
have a three outside mares coming in next month for breeding. 2 are
scheduled be be cultured, one is a maiden mare. Does the maiden mare
also need to be cultured? What exactly does a "culture" cover, STD's or
infections or both? Thanks!

ANSWER: I would suggest that you have the mare owners do both a cytology and a  culture on their mares.  The cytology will determine if the cells are in the uterus, which does indicate infection. A culture can miss an infection, so you do want both done. The culture will check to see if she has any infections. I only culture mares who have had foals before. A culture checks for any sign of infection, that the mare may have.

I usually have a Uterine cultur and a cytology done on all mares, unless they have foaled in the past 30 days. The reason for this is that even maiden mares can have an infection.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What are the tests called that check for STD's? how common are STD's
among gaited horse breeds? Thanks!

Answer
The best way to check for an STD in a horse, is to have a bacterial culture done of the mare. There are several main STDs. They are Contagious Equine Metritis, which is caused by Taylorella equigenitalis. With this bacteria, the stallion is a carrier and the mare gets the infection. She can then infect another stallion.

There is also Pseudomonas and Klebsiella which are a bacteria.

The most contagious is Equine Viral Arteritis. EVA is spread not only sexually, but also through respiratory secretions.

ECE is a viral disease tht is caused by equine herpesvirus 3. A horse can only get through breeding.

Any breed can get an SD but they are rare. If you make sure that all o the mares get examined prior to breeding then you should be fine.

Lisa