Do phantoms exist?

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Equi

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Was talking to a lady at a show who was interested in my stallion. She told me her yearling filly had gone through a phantom pregnancy this summer (meaning in her 10/11/12month of life) and it was diagnosed because her belly got HUGE while the rest of her stayed normal. I was a little dubious to be honest, but nodded and smiled and told her i would be happy to talk to her in a few years when the filly has grew up.

Something in my brain box was telling me horses don't get phantoms, but i can't remember why. I think it was someone had asked a repo vet who said they don't get them, they are more likely to have been in foal and lost it and because no live foal appears people assume its a phantom. Dunno!

Can anyone set me straight?
 
Thanks, great read. How about a filly though? I kind of got the vibe from the owner that they were of the mind "she must be very maternal and want a foal, so we will breed her next year"
 
It's certainly possible for a yearling - they start cycling very young, even before they are a year old. However, that she had a phantom pregnancy that young may be cause for concern, if it's indeed true - I certainly wouldn't consider it a sign she is particularly maternal or should be bred. If anything, I'd want to call a vet out to give her a check up.

No one should be breeding that young anyway.
 
Someone I know had a mare foal last year (she was 4 or 5 at the time) - when she got the mare back from livery this year it was huge - classic end stage pregnancy huge, owner was convinced she had been caught and the yard owner had not told her. she slacked off behind, started to bag up and even started running a milky substance from her teats... despite this she has had two internal exams and tested negative on numerous blood tests apparently... all very odd as when she arrived we were sure there was probably a month to go!!
 
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