When is the best time to breed in Australia?

Many mares cycle best as daylight length increases, so planning often starts in late winter through spring, depending on your goals and breed. We can help map out a schedule based on your mare’s cycling pattern and service method.

How soon can you check for pregnancy?

Pregnancy scanning is often done early to confirm pregnancy and check for twins, then repeated later to confirm ongoing development. The exact timing depends on the mare and your breeding plan.

My mare keeps returning to heat. What are common reasons

Timing that’s just slightly off is common, especially with chilled semen or irregular cycles. Other causes include post-service uterine inflammation, uterine fluid, infection, or age-related uterine changes. A step-by-step plan usually finds the sticking point.

What should I bring to the consult?

Bring breeding dates, teasing notes, previous scan or lab results, vaccination history, and any relevant stallion paperwork. If you have none of that, don’t stress, we can still start with a practical exam and a plan.

Stud and Broodmare | Ormeau Vet

“Stud and broodmare” work is veterinary support for equine reproduction. The goal is to improve the chance of a healthy pregnancy and a healthy foal, while also protecting the mare’s long-term fertility and the stallion’s breeding performance.

In practice, this can include breeding soundness assessments, cycle tracking, reproductive ultrasound, management of uterine inflammation or infection, semen evaluation, and planning around natural cover or artificial insemination.

When to book: planning a breeding season

The best time to contact your vet is before the first planned service, even if everything looks normal. Early planning gives you time to address issues that commonly affect results, such as poor body condition, dental problems affecting feed intake, parasite burden, or a mare that is transitioning slowly into regular cycles.

It’s also worth booking in sooner if you’ve had any recent disappointments, like repeated returns to oestrus, early pregnancy loss, abnormal discharge after service, or a stallion that’s tired, sore, or producing lower semen numbers than expected.

How vets assess mares and stallions

For broodmares, we usually start with history and a practical reproductive exam. That may include ultrasound of the uterus and ovaries to assess cycling, detect fluid, and check for cysts or other changes that can affect conception. Depending on the situation, we may recommend uterine swabs or samples, especially if there’s discharge, fluid on scan, or a pattern of infertility.

For stallions, assessment can include a general health check, a breeding soundness exam, and semen evaluation. Semen testing looks at factors like motility and morphology (how sperm move and how they’re shaped), because even small changes can affect conception rates, particularly when using chilled or frozen semen.

Breeding and fertility management options

Once we know what’s happening, the plan is tailored to your mare, your stallion, and how you’re breeding. Options may include timed breeding based on ultrasound, hormone support when indicated, and treatment for uterine inflammation or infection if present. Some mares benefit from post-service uterine therapy, especially older mares or mares that retain fluid after mating.

If you’re using artificial insemination, timing and handling matter a lot, so we focus on coordinating insemination windows, ovulation timing, and follow-up checks. If you’re breeding by natural cover, we also look at practical factors like teasing routines, injury prevention, and managing stallion workload.

What to expect at your appointment

Most stud and broodmare consultations follow a straightforward flow:

A quick review of breeding goals and history (cycles, foalings, prior issues, service dates).
General health check and body condition score.
Reproductive examination and ultrasound as needed.
A timing plan (when to re-scan, when to serve or inseminate, and what to watch at home).
Clear next steps for pregnancy testing and follow-up.

If you have service certificates, past scans, lab results, or a stallion’s prior semen reports, bring them along. They can save time and reduce guesswork.

Treatment options and ongoing management

Treatment depends on the cause. Some cases are mainly timing and monitoring. Others involve managing uterine health, supporting ovulation, or addressing infection and inflammation. When medication is recommended, we’ll explain why, what outcome we’re aiming for, and how we’ll check response.

For mares with repeated infertility, we may talk through a staged plan: confirm ovulation timing, check for post-service fluid, test for infection where appropriate, then adjust breeding method or timing if needed. For stallions, we may recommend workload changes, pain management if there’s musculoskeletal soreness, or re-testing semen after a rest period.

Home care, recovery, and prevention

Good outcomes are a mix of veterinary work and day-to-day management. Keeping mares in steady body condition, minimising sudden diet changes, and maintaining a calm routine all help. Foaling preparation matters too: having a safe foaling area, monitoring late pregnancy changes, and knowing when to call for help.

We also recommend planning pregnancy checks so problems are found early, when there are more options available.

When it’s urgent

Contact a vet promptly if you notice any of the following in a pregnant mare or around foaling:

Persistent colic signs, sweating, or repeated rolling
Heavy bleeding, or abnormal discharge with a strong odour
Early udder development with milk dripping well before the due window
Prolonged straining without progress, or a foal presentation that doesn’t look normal
A weak foal that can’t stand, can’t nurse, or seems dull