If you had a chance to buy a nice mare, that had EPM, that is now keeping her from being a performance horse.

Would you buy her to breed?  

Can they breed and carry ok?

Bump

I probably wouldn't, but thats just me. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, some people won't mind the risks. The baby should be fine, but I've heard of the protozoa being passed through the colostrum before. The mare isn't EPM free, the protozoa will always be there. If she's stressed enough or an issue arises during the pregnancy to weaken her immune system enough for them to take back contorl, essentially, you could end up dealing with having to treat her while pregnant. It's just a matter of how willing you are to take the risks I think. There's been successful breedings & not successful breedings. I'd just put in a call to your vet and discuss the risks and see what they have to say about it. 

I have been told the mare is the end host to it, that it is not transferred to foals... 

This was a topic of conversation yesterday so I said let me post and ask what other peoples experience has been with it...

I am not looking at one, I am not breeding, I currently have no need for a foal... but it's been interesting to get success stories...

I do understand what you are saying on the stress stuff... I know that is a big factor....

I was also told all horses have it, it's just to what extent.. 

Its all pretty interesting...

Thanks for your thoughts!

Our vets have always told us the horse is the end host. It can't transfer from horse to horse. We have also been told by several vets that almost every horse over a year or 2 old will test positive to it through a blood test. Once they have been exposed to it they test positive. To really tell if they are suffering from EPM you have to do a spinal tap & see if the parasite is in their spinal fluid. For me it would depend on how much it is bothering her. Also you have to remember that at anytime they can have a relaps.

I would also ask if they had a spinal tap done so you would be sure that is what is really wrong with her. EPM is way over diagnosed.     

University of Kentucky found foals test positive after drinking the colostrum of an infected mare, however it cannot pass en vitro. This was many years ago, but we were also told this in my college equine reproduction class a couple years ago. They can test positive their whole lives & never be affected, it's just up to the breeder to decide if thats a risk they're ok with taking. 

I just read this lengthy article on The Horse ... so in 2000 they had a vaccine but stopped producing it because it was interfering with studying EPM ? That's the way I interpreted it. 

https://thehorse.com/features/epm-in-horses/