65mm follicle that won't go away

[allanglos]

My mare has had a large follicle since last July. We drew blood and tested for tumors and it was negative. Any ideas what this is and how to get rid of it? This follicle is preventing her from cycling and I would like to breed her. She is a 9 year old maiden mare.

TIA

[Reiter]

Look up Anovulatory Hemorrhagic Follicle. Here is a link to an article by equine repro:
http://www.equine-reproduction.com/articles/AHF.shtml
This could be what you are dealing with!

[TrueColours]

I second the thought that it is a "hemafollicle" as well

Those suckers grow and grow and then just sit there and no matter what you do, you cant knock them off and get them cycling normally once again. We had one mare in for breeding that developed one and it did nothing for 2 months, but yours sounds bizarre allanglos, sitting since July???

May be a dumb question but could it be a cyst instead of a follicle???

[allanglos]

I don't think its a HAF as it has been there way too long.

And I believe a cyst will not prevent ovulation.

I am just really at a loss for what is going on, as is my vet.

Her other ovary is of normal size (another indication that it is not a tumor)

[allanglos]

Follow-up and another question.

It turns out, the mare has a steady stream of anovulatory follicles on the one ovary. One big one after another, with the uterus never looking ready to go into heat. The other ovary is normal sized.

We are going to start a treatment of Progesterone, followed by estradiol. We hope the first hormone will shut her down completely and stop the weird large anovulatory follicles. Then we will start her cycling back up with the estradiol and hope for a normal follicle.

Question: if we remove the ovary with the bad follicles, will the other ovary then make normal ones? Has anyone had experience with this?

TIA

[Equine Reproduction]

Follow-up and another question.

Question: if we remove the ovary with the bad follicles, will the other ovary then make normal ones? Has anyone had experience with this?

TIA

Yes. It is quite common for mares that have granulosa theca cell tumors to have the "offending" ovary removed and they go on quite happily to reproduce with no issues.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[allanglos]

Yes. It is quite common for mares that have granulosa theca cell tumors to have the "offending" ovary removed and they go on quite happily to reproduce with no issues.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

But since she doesn't have a tumor (all tests negative), then I worry that whatever is causing the anovulatory follicle on the one ovary, will then cause the same thing on the other ovary if we remove the bad one. Since I don't know what causes these types of follicles, I am worried the problem will affect the other ovary if the one is removed.

So, has anyone had a mare with repeated HAFs? And has anyone with such mares tried ovary removal?

Or, has anyone with a mare with a non-stop supply of HAFs ever found a way to control them, resulting in a bred mare?

[Equine Reproduction]

But since she doesn't have a tumor (all tests negative), then I worry that whatever is causing the anovulatory follicle on the one ovary, will then cause the same thing on the other ovary if we remove the bad one. Since I don't know what causes these types of follicles, I am worried the problem will affect the other ovary if the one is removed.

Ahh, but that wasn't what you originally asked <smile>. No way to know. I'd be more inclined personally, to try and determine exactly what is going on.

So, has anyone had a mare with repeated HAFs? And has anyone with such mares tried ovary removal?

FWIW, and a bit more info on HAF, although hopefully you read the article on our website. They are more common during transitional heats. Hence, the term Autumn follicles (they're more common during the fall transitional period). And, mares that have had one HAF, are much more likely to repeat the problem in the same breeding season.

Or, has anyone with a mare with a non-stop supply of HAFs ever found a way to control them, resulting in a bred mare?

I had a mare that produced three in a row one breeding season. Well..."row" is relative. She'd develop a HAF, I'd hit her with repeated low doses of prostaglandin, it would finally regress, she'd finally return to estrus, only to wash, rinse and repeat <rolling eyes>. I finally gave up breeding her that year. Following year we placed her on P&E, bred her and used her as an ET donor mare.

This time of year is when mares typically are still transitional in many (most?) parts of the country - consequently more likely to have HAF. Has the mare ovulated at all this year? I'd discuss running a progesterone assay to determine if the mare has truly ovulated yet this season. She may surprise you <smile>.

Good luck!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

[allanglos]

They are more common during transitional heats. Hence, the term Autumn follicles (they're more common during the fall transitional period). And, mares that have had one HAF, are much more likely to repeat the problem in the same breeding season.

I had a mare that produced three in a row one breeding season. Well..."row" is relative. She'd develop a HAF, I'd hit her with repeated low doses of prostaglandin, it would finally regress, she'd finally return to estrus, only to wash, rinse and repeat <rolling eyes>. I finally gave up breeding her that year. Following year we placed her on P&E, bred her and used her as an ET donor mare.

This time of year is when mares typically are still transitional in many (most?) parts of the country - consequently more likely to have HAF. Has the mare ovulated at all this year? I'd discuss running a progesterone assay to determine if the mare has truly ovulated yet this season.

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com

When we bought this mare in July, I had her next to a stallion until November. She never came into heat and had a continuous 65+mm follicle. I finally gave up. This season, she has not cycled and has had two HAFs in a row. (She is in Florida).

When you put your mare on P&E and bred her, did it work? Or, could she not maintain a pregnancy?

Explain the progresterone assay. Is there a particular time the test should be done to determine if she has secretly cycled? I believe one of the tumor tests we ran tested progesterone, but I'll have to confirm with my vet.

Thanks for your help!

[ljshorses]

We use the drug Sulperide on a mare we have that does the same thing. We start injections (1cc 2X/day for 10days) after ultrasound shows the transitional looking phase (usually late March early April in the open mare) and by the 9th day she is teasing normally to the teaser stallion and is breedable a few days after that. This worked on this mare twice and we are doing it again this year. She also has issues maintaining pregnancy early on and is thought to be progesterone deficient (hormone imbalances can also cause those weird follicles and lingering transitional heats) and will be put on Regumate following conception for 120 days.

[allanglos]

We use the drug Sulperide on a mare we have that does the same thing. We start injections (1cc 2X/day for 10days) after ultrasound shows the transitional looking phase (usually late March early April in the open mare) and by the 9th day she is teasing normally to the teaser stallion and is breedable a few days after that. This worked on this mare twice and we are doing it again this year. She also has issues maintaining pregnancy early on and is thought to be progesterone deficient (hormone imbalances can also cause those weird follicles and lingering transitional heats) and will be put on Regumate following conception for 120 days.

Ooh, thanks for the info!!!!! You give me hope:) I will ask my vet about this.

Thanks again!

[Altamont Sport Horses]

I have one mare that has a problem with HAF. It is simply my observation but it seems that she tends to have them when we mess around with her cycle, using lutalyse to bring her in sooner. We were attempting an embryo transfer and trying to keep her from spending months on end at the clinic. But then she would produce the HAF and we'd be sitting on our hands for a couple of months. If we leave her alone to cycle normally she doesn't seem to have them.

[RoanStar]

Sulperide acts on dopamine and I don't understand what effects the drug would have on the repro tract? Does it have to do with the stimulation of daylight on the repro tract?

[ljshorses]

I am not exactly sure how it works but yes it effects hormones so as to stimulate a "normal" heat instead of staying stuck in transitional phase. It seems to be working for us again this year and our mare that won't ovulate without it will be bred Wed. We keep her on it up to breeding and then check for ovulation. We also use deslorelin once the follicle is 40 mm.

[allanglos]

Ahh, but that wasn't what you originally asked <smile>. No way to know. I'd be more inclined personally, to try and determine exactly what is going on.



FWIW, and a bit more info on HAF, although hopefully you read the article on our website. They are more common during transitional heats. Hence, the term Autumn follicles (they're more common during the fall transitional period). And, mares that have had one HAF, are much more likely to repeat the problem in the same breeding season.



I had a mare that produced three in a row one breeding season. Well..."row" is relative. She'd develop a HAF, I'd hit her with repeated low doses of prostaglandin, it would finally regress, she'd finally return to estrus, only to wash, rinse and repeat <rolling eyes>. I finally gave up breeding her that year. Following year we placed her on P&E, bred her and used her as an ET donor mare.

This time of year is when mares typically are still transitional in many (most?) parts of the country - consequently more likely to have HAF. Has the mare ovulated at all this year? I'd discuss running a progesterone assay to determine if the mare has truly ovulated yet this season. She may surprise you <smile>.

Good luck!

Kathy St.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com


OK, checked the mare today after starting her on the P&E protocol. She should currently be completely shut down, but she instead has a 45mm blood filled follicle on the other "good" ovary.

We are at a loss. No idea what is causing this or how to handle it.