ADVICE NEEDED - IS MY MARE IN FOAL!?

[Camel]

I reckon an 'Up the Duff v Down the duff' Poll is needed, I'm going for UP!!!


xxx

 

[staceyryder]

Yes i agree

She better had be after all this, i cant decide i keep doing the hokey cokey! she is she isnt she is she isnt, may aswell have just flipped a coin

 

[elumpshie]

hey i agree i say a yes have you tried placing your hand just down from her udders you should be able to feel foaly moving about xx

 

[staceyryder]

hey i agree i say a yes have you tried placing your hand just down from her udders you should be able to feel foaly moving about xx

She wont let me touch under her tummy for long and definitely wont tolerate any pressure on it, as ive tried she just moves away from me and tries to kick, also cant get near her udder region! i sat an watched tonight for a while and although i can see some movement its not very much - if there is a foal in there, the only way to explain it is to relate it to a cramping movement?

She seems very aggitated tonight she keeps tossing at her hayledge and moving away from it only to go back to it again, shes also started having frequent but short wees!

we may not have to wait for these blood tests to come back

 

[SusannaF]

Maybe we should work on names...

Peekaboo?

If she gives birth this week, that vet student will never live it down...

 

[staceyryder]

I am livid with this vets, ive just rang to be told that it will be no sooner than monday before i have any results!





I may aswel of not bothered with the vet atall!! Not a happy girl

 

[emlybob]

You don't seem to be having much luck with your vets. What's their reason for not having the results today?

 

[Allover]

God the suspense is killing me here!!!!

Is there not a repo vet in the area you could get out?! WE need to know!!!

 

[staceyryder]

I give up on this vet - bloods were taken wednesday morning and sent off straight away - i know it does take a few days but was led to beleive i would have a result today, now i have the weekend to wait and still no gaurentee that by monday i will have results.

There is another vet i could take her too ive now been reccommended towards but its not pay day until 28th and by that time i would expect to see a foal or not

Completely give up on the whole guessing game now never the less i will keep you all updated, ive had more help off everyone on here than a vet practice that has just done the hokey cokey wasting my time money and putting my horse through irrelevant stress to come back to the 'inconclusive' result.

Thank you for everyones concern xxx

 

[domane]

Perhaps you should just try the old-fashioned ring test whilst waiting for the official result.......

 

[staceyryder]

Blood tests have come back negitive, been told to put her on a strict diet for a month and if there is still concerns to get in touch..

The 'abnormal growth' that was found during the rectal examination has completely been fobbed off

 

[Thistle]

I would now be looking for a full rectal scan, to check out uterus, abnormalities etc. Refuse to pay call out, after all that's what you asked for the first time when they brought the leg scanner.

 

[BallyshanHorses]

Have you got a reputable equine reproduction vet that you could use that will be able to scan for foal and check out the abnormality at the same time.Our vet was telling us about a mare that had a haematoma next to the uterus caused by the trauma of foaling but they kept an eye on it and it healed over time.Could be something as simple as that or nothing at all.Either way I would be getting a professional.

 

[staceyryder]

She is booked into see a reproduction specialiast at the end of the month, although im still not convinced there is no foal in her tummy...


Discharge from her vulva and wax like beads (small) have formed on her teats

until october is here i would not be atall surprised if i go to the yard and see two in her stable!

 

[Alec Swan]

She is booked into see a reproduction specialiast at the end of the month, although im still not convinced there is no foal in her tummy...


Discharge from her vulva and wax like beads (small) have formed on her teats

until october is here i would not be atall surprised if i go to the yard and see two in her stable!

If there are wax like beads on her teats, now, then your reproduction expert will almost certainly be a bit late.

Could you take an up to date pic of her bag, and vulva? From what you say, your mare's very close to foaling.

Alec.

 

[staceyryder]

Alec yes i will upload shortly, dont have any from today with the small bead like waxing that has just appeared on her teats but do have some from a few days ago where there is white dots you may recognise if you have had mares in foal before?

Will upload shortly for you all to see, i feel like a paranoid wreck!

 

[Alec Swan]

White crystallised dots, aren't wax. They're a natural occurrence, and tend to be around the neck of the teat itself.

Wax tends to hang as drips, and from the milk exit holes. CURRENT pics of her bag would help.

Alec.

 

[staceyryder]

These are pictures from 2 days ago, her teats have changed in appearance since will get some more tomorrow - She hasn't developed a bag although as previously stated she has had two foals in the past, unfortunate i do not know her foaling history.

 

[emlybob]

Sounds and looks like u may be right. I expect she is in foal and as Alec says possibly not far off, although i would expect her bag to get bigger yet

 

[Apercrumbie]

Well from the more recent pictures of her belly I would say she is pregnant.
If not, she is extremely fat with very little reason to be as you said. Whatever happens raise hell with your vets for displaying complete incompetence and a lack of professionalism.

 

[JanetGeorge]

Discharge from her vulva and wax like beads (small) have formed on her teats

until october is here i would not be atall surprised if i go to the yard and see two in her stable!

Blood test aside (and the test CAN give a false negative in the last week or two before foaling) - I'm in two minds about your mare. The wax beads could suggest imminent foaling - but the lack of a decent bag in a mare that 'big' would dispute it.

A slight discharge from the vulva would suggest imminent foaling - as would the elongated vulva - but there's no real slackening off of the vulva.

What is she like either side of the spine - on the rump? A mare close to foaling will go soft on a line parallel to the spine at the back of the rump (if you get what I mean.) The best way to see (and feel) it is to stand immediately behind her, and put one hand either side of her spine - about 4-6 inches away from the spine - and run your hands back along that line towards the tail. If you feel a soft continuous 'dent' - either side - that's a pretty good sign she IS close to foaling!

 

[Magicmadge]

I have two mares that had foals in 2009. One mare, her udder never really went back small. She is a good doer and often looks like she is pregnant. Her bag looks like your mares and her teats are fat and look like they are full of milk. She also has a swollen area in front of her udder. Both my mares get the llttle crysalised secreations in the opening of their teats same as in your photo, neither are back in foal. Both have easily expressed fluid. My vet saw her recently and said it is often a symtom of being overweight. When did your mare have her last foal?

 

[MarinaBay]

My mare looked just like yours a day or so before foaling - her bag never got any bigger! Will be an interesting few weeks I imagine. Can't imagine the mixed emotions you are feeling.

 

[staceyryder]

I have two mares that had foals in 2009. One mare, her udder never really went back small. She is a good doer and often looks like she is pregnant. Her bag looks like your mares and her teats are fat and look like they are full of milk. She also has a swollen area in front of her udder. Both my mares get the llttle crysalised secreations in the opening of their teats same as in your photo, neither are back in foal. Both have easily expressed fluid. My vet saw her recently and said it is often a symtom of being overweight. When did your mare have her last foal?

MagicMadge have your mares always had this on her teats? This is not something which my mare has ever displayed before i do not know if she is expressing any fluid as she will not let me touch her teats to try her. My mare had her last foal in 2009, so if she is not in foal this will be her second year empty.

JanetGeorge- I will upload pictures of her back end for you too see, she has become really tucked around the flank in the past few days looking like she needs an extreme wormer!! She is not due, her bottom mucsels around her tail bone have not relaxed as of yet but she is quiet a nervous natured mare so as soon as you touch her she tenses, her thigh area looks sunken however.

MarinaBay - It is awful as i dont know if i am doing the right thing by her or not!!

Thankyou for everyones help... i wish october would hurry itself along so my mind can finally rest!

 

[MarinaBay]

If she is happy then I wouldn't worry to much if she has had a foal or two before she will no what is going on. What will be will be now, just keep a close eye on her which I imagine you are doing!
Is there a stud near to you that could pop up and have a look? Give you some advice?

 

[staceyryder]

Sadly not i have been keeping her in light work incase she is just fooling me with her obese apperance!!

 

[MarinaBay]

Sadly not i have been keeping her in light work incase she is just fooling me with her obese apperance!!

Don't beat yourself up about it! It is only light work - not like you have been off hunting with her. It is better that she is fitter. I hope you get an answer soon!

 

[Maesfen]

I'm very surprised that you have seen no foal movements yet if she is in foal TBH. If you look long enough when she is quiet (eating, resting or grazing) you should see something other than their normal breathing even in mares that do keep things quiet just before they're due. You might have to wait up to half hour to see movement though, are you being patient enough to wait that long?

 

[staceyryder]

I'm very surprised that you have seen no foal movements yet if she is in foal TBH. If you look long enough when she is quiet (eating, resting or grazing) you should see something other than their normal breathing even in mares that do keep things quiet just before they're due. You might have to wait up to half hour to see movement though, are you being patient enough to wait that long?

Yes maesfen i have sat and watched her and although i can see movement in the lower region of her belly - at the back end of her ribs it is not a movement which screams their is a foal in there... this would if she is carrying be my first foal so i feel i dont even know what im looking for to warrent what i see!

Spoken to the vet about the discharge she is experiencing and she has just commented that it may just be a normal factor of her cycle if she is coming into season and to monitor her tempruture, considerding she has not had a season since folaing first time round i am hessitant to believe

 

[eventrider23]

If she has not had a season since her last foal then a) there is no way she could be in foal now as would have to be in season to conceive and b) there would definitely be something very very wrong with her if not cycling which could be explained by the unknown mass the vet may have felt. If this is all the case I would honestly not be hesitating to have her looked at by a true repro specialist. As much speculation and advice as can be given on here, no one is either a vet or seen her in person and so you really need to get a specialist to come and look - even if it means travelling her to them if you are this worried.