Road Transport of Late-Pregnant Mares Advances the Onset of Foaling |
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| Institution: | 1. Graf Lehndorff Institute for Equine Science, Vetmeduni Vienna, Neustadt (Dosse), Germany;2. Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Vienna, Austria;3. Gynecology, Obstetrics and Andrology, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Vienna, Austria;1. Núcleo de Células Tronco e Terapia Celular Animal (NCT-TCA) da Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;2. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária do CCA/Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre, Espírito Santo, Brazil;1. UMR BDR, INRA, ENVA, Université Paris Saclay, 78350, Jouy en Josas, France;2. IFCE, Station Expérimentale, Chamberet, France;3. Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, EA2608, OeReCa, USC-INRA, Caen, France;4. INRA, UMR Toxalim, Research Center in Food Toxicology, Toulouse, France;1. Gynecology, Obstetrics and Andrology, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria;2. Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria;3. Graf Lehndorff Institute, Vetmeduni Vienna, 16845 Neustadt (Dosse), Germany;1. Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Kentucky, USA;2. Department of Clinical Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA;3. Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, USA;4. Theriogenology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mansoura, Egypt;5. Department of Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil;6. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium;7. Division of Comparative Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA;1. Platform Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria;2. Section for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Andrology, Department for Small Animals and Horses, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria;3. Institute of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Department of Pathobiology, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria;4. Institut Kuhlmann GmbH, Hedwig-Laudien-Ring 3, 67071, Ludwigshafen, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Cortisol is involved in the initiation of parturition and we hypothesized that increased maternal cortisol release advances the onset of foaling. Transport is a stressor for horses and induces an increase in cortisol release. To determine stress effects on the time of foaling, late-pregnant mares were transported by road for 3 hours (n = 12) or remained in their stable as controls (n = 4). Starting on day 325 of gestation, saliva and blood samples were taken for cortisol and progestin analysis, respectively. Fetomaternal electrocardiograms were recorded repeatedly. Mares were checked for impending parturition and changes in precolostrum pH. When pH decreased to 6.5, mares were either transported or left untreated. After birth, saliva was collected repeatedly from mares and their foals and heart rate (HR) was recorded. Foals were checked for maturity and health. Gestation length was 337 ± 2 days in stressed and 336 ± 2 days in control mares. Cortisol concentration increased from 3.3 ± 0.9 to 8.4 ± 0.8 ng/mL in transported mares (P < .001) and remained constant in controls. Maternal HR and heart rate variability (HRV) did not differ between groups and neither fetal HR nor HRV changed in response to transport. In transported mares, time from precolostrum decrease to parturition was shorter (40 ± 10 hours) than the respective time in controls (134 ± 49 hours, P < .01). Neither duration of foaling nor times to first standing and suckling of foals or the postnatum increase in HR and decrease in HRV differed between groups. In conclusion, transport-induced maternal cortisol release may have advanced the onset of foaling. |
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| Keywords: | Horse Transport Stress Parturition |
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