Improving the Welfare of Mares Undergoing Ovum Pick-Up

SUMMARY: Researchers will study pain and discomfort in horses undergoing Ovum Pick-Up as a step toward establishing guideline to improve mare health and well-being.

THE PROBLEM: Ovum Pick-Up (OPU), also called transvaginal aspiration (TVA), is a procedure used in horse breeding to collect eggs from mares (female horses) for use in advanced breeding programs. During the process, mares are sedated and given pain relief, but they stay awake and stand. OPU has become popular in the last 5-10 years, with up to 10,000 procedures done worldwide every year. This method helps mares with fertility issues and can produce more offspring from valuable horses. While OPU can improve breeding, there are concerns about mare welfare. There is little research on how OPU affects mares during and after the procedure making it difficult for breeders and veterinarians to decide which mares can undergo OPU and how to reduce discomfort.

THE PROJECT: This study will observe mares before, during, and after OPU, looking for any changes in their behavior. The team will track their facial expressions, movements, heart rate and breathing to better understand how they feel. The aim is to create an "OPU pain monitoring tool," which is a list of behaviors that mares display during and after the procedure to show they might be in pain.

POTENTIAL IMPACT: By studying mare behavior closely, we hope to create a tool that helps assess discomfort during assisted reproduction. This could lead to better pain relief and smoother procedures with less discomfort for the mare. The goal is to improve the welfare of mares undergoing OPU and help breeders and veterinarians make better decisions about the procedure.