
Early detection of pregnancy in mares is strongly demanded by owners in order to maximize breeding efficiency and economic investment. The most reliable and earliest available tool for conceptus detection is ultrasonography. Other diagnostics include palpation per rectum and hormonal blood tests (i.e. estrone sulfate in serum or urine; equine chorionic gonadotropin in serum) as these methods are useful when examination by ultrasound (per rectum or transabdominally) is not possible or feasible.