During 11 breeding seasons, 351 7- to 10-day-old horse embryos were nonsurgically transferred into recipients that ovulated between 3 and 10 days earlier. Pregnancy rates at 14 and 40 days and foaling rates were 77.8% (273/351), 69.2% (243/351), and 64.4% (226/351), respectively. Pregnancy loss between 14 and 40 days was 11% and between 40 days and delivery was 7%. The transfer of quality grade 3 to 4 embryos resulted in a significantly lower pregnancy rate at 14 days compared with the transfer of grade 1 to 2 embryos (46.2% vs. 79%; P < .05). Eight-day-old embryos resulted in significantly lower pregnancy losses than day 9 or 10 embryos, as occurred for embryos between 400 and 1200 μm compared with embryos 20 years resulted in a significantly higher pregnancy loss rate than those recovered from younger mares. The same happened for embryos coming from mares affected by reproductive pathologies compared with healthy mares performing sport activity. None of the evaluated parameters influenced recipients' foaling rate significantly

Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for developing breast cancer in post‐menopausal period in humans and has been suspected to be associated with a worse prognosis also in the bitch. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between body condition score (BCS) and the prognosis of canine mammary carcinomas (CMCs) and the relationships between adiponectin expression and tumour behaviour. Seventy‐three bitches with tubular, tubulopapillary, solid or complex carcinomas were included in the present study. For each dog, evaluation of BCS was conducted using a nine‐point BCS system and the study population was divided into normal weight (4–5/9 points;n = 42), overweight (6–7/9 points;n = 19) and obese (8–9/9 points;n = 12). Type of diet (commercial, homemade or mixed) was recorded. After surgical excision, histological type, tumour size and nodal status were assessed and adiponectin expression was determined and quantified by immunohistochemistry and morphometric analysis. CMC histotype was not correlated with BCS, while a positive correlation between BCS and histological grade (p < .01) was observed. Overweight and obese bitches combined showed a shorter cancer‐specific survival than normal weighted bitches (p < .01). Bitches fed with a homemade diet had a higher BCS than dogs fed with a commercial one, although no relationship was observed between diet and cancer‐specific survival. Thirty‐six CMCs scored positive for adiponectin expression (49%), but no correlation was found between the hormone expression and either CMC characteristics or prognosis. In conclusion, a higher BCS seems to be related with a higher prevalence of more aggressive CMCs and negatively affects the survival time in bitches with these mammary tumours.