title: [Examination of the appropriateness of anamnestic and clinical parameters for the prediction of the course of pregnancy under field conditions].
abstract: In this paper, fertility relevant parameters which are routinely examined in practice were evaluated on the basis of their correlation to one another and their influence on the foaling rates and incidence of early embryonic death in 175 brood mares of the Hanover breeding stock. The aim was to evaluate the suitability of these parameters for inclusion in a scheme for increasing the precision of predicting the subsequent course of pregnancy, as compared to such prognoses based exclusively on the histological evaluation of the endometrium. After establishing the breeding history and completing a clinical examination, two swab specimens were obtained for bacteriological culture and cytologic smears and one biopsy specimen was taken from the endometrium for histological examination. The most statistically significant effect on the foaling rate (analysed by logistic regression with two variables) have biopsy grade (p = 0.0087) and mare age (p = 0.0259). A mare between two and nine years of age with a biopsy grade of 1 has a 71% probability of carrying a pregnancy to term. This probability decreases to 43% for a mare 15 years and older with the same biopsy grade. Mare age had a statistically significant effect on biopsy grade (p = 0.005) and on the frequency and degree of endometrosis (p = 0.001). The mare group was significantly correlated (p = 0.012) with the foaling rate (maiden mares 70.6%, foaling mares 60%, problem mares 36.1%). There is a difference of 24% between the foaling rates of foaling and problem mares, although the age and biopsy grade distributions are almost identical in the two groups. The number of barren years had a statistically significant effect (p = 0.0235) on the foaling rate. Mares that bore a foal in the previous breeding period had a foaling rate of 50.7% in the year of examination; mares that had been barren for one year hat a subsequent foaling rate of 40.6%. Mares that had been barren for two years or more had a foaling rate of only 22.7%. The overall impression resulting from the clinical examination was significantly correlated with the foaling rate (p = 0.018%). Mares without abnormal findings had a foaling rate of 54.2%, mares with poor vulval conformation a rate of 46.7%. Mares with a history of pregnancy loss in the current breeding period had a foaling rate of 25% and mares with clinical evidence of endometritis had one of 22.2%.
authors.affiliation: Tiergesundheitsamt, Landwirtschaftskammer Hannover.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heilkenbrinker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kossin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scherbarth
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frerking
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D004717:Endometrium / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011258:Pregnancy Tests / Q000662:veterinary*; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results