Medical induction of maternal behavior in nurse mares and foal-rejecting mares undergoing foal grafting: a retrospective study of 140 cases.

A hormone-based protocol using NSAIDs, dinoprost, and oxytocin achieved 71% foal-grafting success with minimal restraint needed.

This retrospective case series evaluated a hormone-based foal grafting protocol in 140 mares (113 nurse mares and 27 foal-rejecting mares) across a nationwide veterinary field practice and one equine referral hospital in Sweden. The protocol combined nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, dinoprost tromethamine (a prostaglandin F2α analogue), and oxytocin to medically induce maternal behavior, offering an alternative to traditional grafting methods that typically require prolonged restraint and are labor-intensive. Overall treatment success was achieved in 71% of cases. Nurse mares demonstrated a significantly higher success rate (76%) compared with mares that had rejected their own foals at birth (52%). In most successful cases, mare acceptance of the foal was rapid, requiring minimal physical restraint. The only adverse effect reported was profuse sweating, consistent with the known side effects of prostaglandin administration. The protocol was characterized as time-efficient and safe, with notable animal welfare advantages due to reduced restraint requirements. This study provides the largest published dataset on medically induced maternal behavior in mares to date. The findings support incorporating this hormone-based approach into clinical practice for foal grafting, particularly for nurse mare situations, while acknowledging that mares rejecting their own foals may require additional management strategies to improve outcomes.

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