Premium
Embryo recovery from Polish pony mares and preliminary observations on foal size after transfer of embryos to large mares
Author(s) -
TISCHNER M.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1985.tb04605.x
Subject(s) - pony , foal , horse , embryo , embryo transfer , ovulation , biology , zoology , offspring , andrology , pregnancy , body weight , medicine , endocrinology , paleontology , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary A total of 264 non‐surgical embryo recovery attempts, performed at Day 6 to 10 after ovulation on 11 Polish pony donor mares (350 to 420 kg body weight), yielded 152 embryos (58 per cent). Recovery rate per mare over a six‐year period averaged 15 embryos with a range of six to 24 embryos. Non‐surgical transfer of 19 Polish pony embryos to heavy‐type recipient mares (620 to 800 kg body weight) resulted in five live foals, all of which were appreciably taller and heavier at birth than equivalent control foals born to Polish pony mares. The transferred foals grew much faster during the period of suckling than the control foals and they have remained bigger to the present time, when the two oldest foals are 2.5 years of age. These preliminary findings indicate that the size of the recipient mare may significantly influence the final size of its offspring achieved by embryo transfer.