Avaliação do programa de luz artificial no manejo reprodutivo de éguas da raça Mangalarga Marchador

Abstract

Horses are positive photoperiodic animals, that is, their reproductive season depends on periods in which the days are longer (spring and summer), and in autumn and winter they are in seasonal anestrus. Furthermore, because the horse industry is growing every year, some biotechnologies have been created to assist in reproductive management, thus making animals cycle faster. Among them, one of the most used is artificial lighting, where incandescent or LED light is offered in paddocks, stalls and masks. The objective of this work was to evaluate the activity of the light program in the reproductive management of mares, taking into account the signs of the estrous cycle. This project was carried out at Rancho Conquista, located in Mairiporã - SP. Eight mares were used, which received an average of 15 hours of light per day, natural and artificial. The artificial light started at 5pm and remained on until 9pm. During the experimental period, mares were evaluated using ultrasound to check which stage of the estrous cycle they were in. Therefore, it can be observed that the use of the artificial light program accelerated the follicular growth of mares in the light group, compared to mares in the control group. The follicles present in the mares in the light group obtained an average of 21.65 mm, and the follicles present in the mares in the control group obtained an average of 14.25%. Consequently, after running the data, results of 5% significance were obtained, which shows that artificial light was positive for folicular growth.