Placental function and structure at term is altered in broodmares fed with cereals from mid-gestation.

Introduction: Feeding pregnant broodmares with cereal concentrates has been shown to increase maternal insulin resistance and affect foal metabolism in the short and long-term. These effects are likely to be mediated by the placenta. Here, we investigated feto-placental biometry and placental structure and function at term in mares fed with or without cereals concentrates.

Placental structure and function in different breeds in horses.

Ponies and sometimes draft horses are often used as experimental models for horses although size and metabolic parameters are known to vary between horse breeds. So far, there is little information about differences of placental structure and no information about differences of placental function between breeds. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in placental size, structure and function at birth in relation to foal size and weight in ponies, Saddlebred and draft horses.

Placental alterations in structure and function in intra-uterine growth-retarded horses.

Background: Following embryo transfer (ET), the size and breed of the recipient mare can affect fetal development and subsequent post natal growth rate and insulin sensitivity in foals.

Objectives: To investigate placental adaptation in pregnancies where increased or restricted fetal growth was induced through ET between Pony, Saddlebred and Draught horses.

Study Design: In vivo experiment.

Correction: Effects of Moderate Amounts of Barley in Late Pregnancy on Growth, Glucose Metabolism and Osteoarticular Status of Pre-Weaning Horses.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Management of the pregnant mare and long-term consequences on the offspring.

The study of early developmental conditioning of health and disease in adulthood is particularly relevant in the horse, which is bred mainly to perform in demanding sport challenges. On the basis of this concept, the management of the broodmare could be considered an effective means to produce animals with the desired features. Knowledge on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease in the equine species remains relatively scarce, with some experimental studies and one single epidemiologic study.

Effects of moderate amounts of barley in late pregnancy on growth, glucose metabolism and osteoarticular status of pre-weaning horses.

In stud management, broodmares are commonly fed concentrates in late pregnancy. This practice, however, was shown to correlate with an increased incidence of osteochondrosis in foals, which may be related to insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that supplementation of the mare with barley in the last trimester of pregnancy alters the pre-weaning foal growth, glucose metabolism and osteoarticular status.

IFPA meeting 2014 workshop report: Animal models to study pregnancy pathologies; new approaches to study human placental exposure to xenobiotics; biomarkers of pregnancy pathologies; placental genetics and epigenetics; the placenta and stillbirth and fetal growth restriction.

Workshops are an important part of the IFPA annual meeting as they allow for discussion of specialized topics. At IFPA meeting 2014 there were six themed workshops, five of which are summarized in this report. These workshops related to various aspects of placental biology but collectively covered areas of animal models, xenobiotics, pathological biomarkers, genetics and epigenetics, and stillbirth and fetal growth restriction.