Equine pregnancy test kit

Wee-Foal-Checker

Wee-Foal-Checker is the latest product from AgResearch to assist in determining equine pregnancy status.  Wee-Foal-Checker uses urine to rapidly determine the pregnancy status of mares from 120 days after mating through to 300 days. Wee-Foal-Checker can be used to diagnose and monitor pregnancy status in all breeds of horses. It is particularly appropriate for small horses where palpation per rectum or internal ultrasound scanning is not an option.

The Wee-Foal-Checker test kit consists of a cassette, 2 plastic pipettes, tube of urine diluent and a detailed instruction sheet. The test is easy to run and involves just 2 simple steps. Firstly, dilute a few drops of the mare's urine with the diluting solution provided. Secondly, add a few drops of the diluted urine to the test membrane enclosed in the plastic cassette. Wait 5 to 10 minutes. If a single red line forms on the test membrane, this indicates that the mare is pregnant. If 2 red lines form, this indicates that the mare is not pregnant.

The test is best performed on freshly collected urine which may be obtained at any time of the day. Collected urine may be stored for up to 4 hours, preferably refrigerated, prior to testing if necessary. The test can also be performed on collected urine which has been stored frozen for up to a month.

Many mares will urinate predictably, for example after exercise or feeding, or being put on or taken off a float, and so collecting a urine sample is easy. It is not necessary to collect the urine sample directly into a container as it is being voided. Urine which has been voided onto the ground can still be collected by placing absorbent material (e.g. a paper towel) onto it, and squeezing the urine out into a container.

Less co-operative mares can be urine sampled using a collection device which attaches to the mare’s cover or blanket.  One such device developed by Gill Booth of KeriKeri, NZ is inexpensive and easy to make, and generally undetected by the mare.

Some owners have also found that simply taping a sanitary pad below the vulva of their mare permits easy collection of a urine sample.

Wee-Foal-Checker provides peace of mind. Now it is easy to monitor mare pregnancy status from 120 days after breeding right through to just before the expected time of foaling. Indeed, it is prudent that mares be re-tested 5 to 7 months after first being diagnosed pregnant so that pregnancy status can be verified, and the mare managed accordingly.