Examination of mares and fillies for breeding purposes

The pre-breeding or ‘fillies’ examination is a common procedure in broodmare practice, performed either pre-breeding or before purchase or sale at public auction. The examination is designed to assess whether the filly or mare has the potential to become pregnant, carry and successfully deliver a foal at term (Pycock, 2004). In the authors' experience, clients think that this should be a quick and simple ‘check’; however, in reality, this can be challenging as true fertility is only demonstrated when a viable foal is born. The veterinary surgeon should be aware of the entire range of techniques that can be used to investigate the reproductive potential of a mare, and be clear what the client's expectations are, before performing the examination. It is also important to establish what the intended breeding strategy may be: for example, is this a Thoroughbred mare that will be bred by natural cover or is this a sports horse that will be bred via artificial insemination with foals by embryo transfer? The budget the client has allowed for the future veterinary management of the mare may also have a bearing on the veterinary surgeon's opinion. Regardless of this, the examination needs to be thorough and methodical, with the results recorded in a systematic and accurate manner.