The importance of ultrasound is easy to ascertain. The confirmation of pregnancies, the identification of abnormalities during pregnancy and identification of ovulation are just some of the ways in which ultrasound can be beneficial to veterinarians and animal breeders alike. Ultrasound returns two different kinds of ‘images’ – white images are due to the detection of gas-filled structures such as lungs or bowels, and dark images that are due to fluid-like structures including the bladder, heart and eyes. Consequently, the ultrasound images we are all familiar with are formed. The website has a few images like these – take a look.

Ultrasound can be used across species, including dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, cattle, alpacas, llamas and horses. With a specific focus on equine pregnancy, there are a number of ‘milestones’ during pregnancy that would be advantageous to be able to detect. The equine vesicular embryo can be detected at day 10 of gestation using a SonoScape S6v, confirming pregnancy at the very early stages of a 340 day gestation period. In addition, ultrasound images detecting the fixing of the embryo to the base of the uterine horn at day 16 of gestation, and the formation of endometrial cups following invasion of trophoblast cells may help to further confirm the presence of an equine embryo. Importantly, ultrasound detection of an unviable pregnancy such as where the mare is carrying twins is crucial. For both veterinarians and horse breeders, this information could be vital, ensuring the pregnant mare is kept in the correct conditions to ensure the maintenance of pregnancy.

Consequently, it is easy to see how ultrasound can help, and the numerous applications it could have across a whole range of species. It is likely that the list above is by no means exhaustive. In accordance with advances in technology, the use of ultrasound will become more widespread, and will be used for a number of applications.