conception problems in older maiden mare

Question
Hi Lisa - I have a lovely welch cob mare whom I started breeding 4 years ago when she was 13. The first two tries were via AI with frozen semen, which I have since learned has a very low conception rate. The next try (later that summer) was with fresh-chilled (shipped in from across the country) but she held on to her egg a little longer than expected and so the timing turned out not to be great. By then it was late in the season and her next heat cycle didn't look quite right. The next spring, we tried again with fresh-chilled -- the timing was better but she still didn't catch. For a variety of personal reasons that was the only attempt that year. Last year we tried live cover to an older stallion. She did not catch and her following culture was not clean. Once we got that cleared up, we tried live cover twice with another (young) stallion and she did not catch with him either. Also, by this time, it was late in the summer and she seemed to stay in heat a long time. This summer I took her to yet another vet (a specialist in breeding) who tried AI with a proven stallion collected on-site with the breeding done under very controlled conditions (adminstered HCG, inseminated once, controlled fluid, etc.). He said everything went well and she should have caught (but didn't). I am now leasing a 2-year-old cob colt (also very well bred) so that I can try pasture breeding since nothing else has worked. We did try hand-breeding them in early August - everything went great but she didn't catch. I went ahead and turned her out with him on her last heat cycle -- she was with him for a week and all seemed to go well. I brought her in yesterday and noticed some reddish discharge, which makes me a little nervous and which I will follow-up on with my vet if need be. She is now 16. Any advice? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Molly,
           It sounds as though your mare needs a full reproductive exam as there is a reason she is not catching. This is an exam that can be costly and the Vet may not even find out why she is not getting pregnant. While sixteen is not too old, but she might be harder to get in foal and the risks will be higher. If you really want a foal out of her then you  should look into Embryo transfer. But check with your reproduction specialist first.

Lisa