Sex determination

[griff]

I had an offer from a Vet in KY to "sex" my pending 08 foal when they do the 30 day palpation on my mare..

Has anyone heard of this and how it is done.. Seems like puilling fluid at this early stage may pose a danger to the pregnancy.

the Vet claims a 100% success rate.

griff

[petersd]

Yes, I believe it's done by pulling fluid, and, yes, it is safe. However, I would think carefully about doing it. If you intend on selling the mare in foal and announce in the ring, the sex of the pending foal, you run the risk of losing some potential buyers.

[SymRanch]

There is a point in gestation (approximately 60 days) where the fetal development of males and females has a visible differentiation.

If your vet is experienced, s/he can certainly come close to 100% accuracy if they ultrasound the fetus during the appropriate window.

If your vet is trying to do this at 30 days, it's no better than a coin flip. Reminds me of the ebay ad I saw once... they predict the sex of your baby for $9 -- money back guaranteed!! Think about it.... (makes you admire the person who thought up THAT scam!!!)

[Roguelet]

You do know that when they predict the sex of a foal, they write the opposite sex down on the chart. Then, if the foal comes out as predicted, everyone's happy. If it doesn't, they swear that's not what they said and show the owner the chart to back them up. Either way they come out looking great!

[zinn21]

Rogue, that's hillarious....But is the human ego so fragile that it must stoop to your previous mentioned deception to uphold self worth?

[Connie]

They can very accurately determine sex of the fetus from day 59 to 68 by ultrasound.
There's a lot of very good information to be found on the website of the Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital (Australia). I found it when looking for info on twinning.

www.gvequine.com.au/ultrasonography.htm

[Rokeby Forever]

I can usually determine the sex of a foal just by looking.