Reproductive considerations: mare and stallion

This article describes the occurrence and pathophysiology of conditions that occur with increased incidence in the geriatric patient. The aim is to provide a guide for the clinician faced with a client wanting advice on breeding a geriatric animal. Aside from brief comments, the reader is referred to standard texts and more focused reviews for treatment options. It becomes readily apparent that there is far more information available on the effects of aging on reproductive function for the mare than there is for the stallion. This is probably in keeping with the tendency in many species for the effects of reproductive senescence to be more dramatic and to occur earlier in females than in males. With this is in mind, the sexes are dealt with separately, starting with the mare. One area that affects the reproductive competence of both sexes and is often of greater import to the stallion is degeneration of the musculoskeletal system. Because this is dealt with in other articles in this issue, it is not covered in depth here. In many instances, however, problems of musculoskeletal origin are what ultimately limits the reproductive ability of the geriatric patient.