Pregnancy loss in horses is often caused by chromosomal abnormalities. This is what scientific research conducted by the Royal Veterinary College has proven. The researchers analyzed 256 samples from naturally bred mares to understand how chromosome abnormalities affect early pregnancy loss.
The study found that having three sets of a particular type of chromosome, rather than two in a healthy fetus, was the most common chromosomal abnormality contributing to pregnancy loss. Other abnormalities included having one extra chromosome or one fewer chromosome. This accounted for 12 percent of losses.
More research is still needed.
“The most important thing is that we now know that this is the first thing you think about when your mare loses a pregnancy, in the first two months. We still need to investigate how to prevent this, and how we can develop treatments or make mating choices that reduce the chance of this happening,” said lead researcher Mandy De Mestre.
source: Horse and Hound/Horses.nl
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