Help! Is my loaned mare pregnant?

S

sparkle30

Member
Joined
12 April 2010
Messages
11
Visit site
Hi, ok this may sound like a silly question to all of you but i'm having a bit of a panic. I've recently aquired a 6 year old loan TB mare, i got her 10 days ago and she is getting wider by the day. I'm not feeding her anything but hi fi lite and grass (exactly what she ws on before i had her) but she looks as wide as a bus. My friend came to see her yesterday and asked me if she could possibly be pregnant. Now that i have the thought in my mind i can't seem to shake it. I've loaned her off of a girl who, due to work, has had to move away for the time being and had only had her 3 months before giving her to me. She is unaware of any supposed pregnany. The mare was displaying signs of being in season last week, ie. winking and reversing into the gelding next door. - But i just read that some mares can still show these symptoms whilst pregnant. Since i've had her i have noticed her weeing in short spurts - does this mean anything or am i just going slightly crazy?!! Any light that any of you could shine on this would be wonderful. H x
p.s - exercise wise, she is getting the same if not slightly more than before.
 
Thanks ladies, she had been wormed before coming to me and i poo pick my paddock daily - her previous owner did this too so not sure about worms but i will follow this up. Otherwise I think i may have to get her scanned. Not really what i signed up for and i'm not looking forward to the vet bill. Just another question but who would be obliged to pay for this? Me or her owner? Thanks again, H x
 
If she is getting a bigger belly that fast it is likely it is just a grass belly.

I know some mares do show season when pregnant, but I think the fact that you have seen her in season should be re-assuring.

Scans aren't stupidly expensive. My mares cost £35, so definately worth paying if you are unsure.

Good Luck
 
Hi, I suppose anything is possible if her owner has only had her 3 months.
As for who pays, my friend loaned a horse and she had a written contract which stated she had to insure the horse and pay for all upkeep, including vets fees. If you havent got an agreement, maybe you should sort something out as god forbid something bad did happen, you need to know who is responsible to pay. I would say you would be liable for vets fees but this is a difficult one as its not an accident as such. Maybe you could say to the owner you didnt want the horse if it is in foal and you need to know. If it was my horse that I had loaned out, I would pay to find out.
Good luck I hope everything works out
 
When a stallion broke into my field by bulldozing the gate down he covered one of my mares twice !!
I phoned the vet & was quoted £180 to get her scanned which is a shocking amount of money !

OP - I hope you can get this resolved without you being out of pocket.

XxX
 
When I had doubts about my mare the vet did bloods cost £25 and the vet checked bloods for worms too so bargain i thought. Yes we did have a foal long story with a happy ending :)

But saying that said mare is no longer preggers and now bigger than she ever was when heavily pregnant and that is just grass and associated gass !! If you are riding this weekend it may be worth keeping her in over the weekend just to see if not having the grass reduces the belly - even overnight you may see a difference.

Poo worm count cost £7 again cheap and gives you an idea as some worms are developing a resistance.

Good luck- keep us posted x
 
Human pregnancy kits only work on humans and primates unfortunately - not horses!! The only way to be sure is if you get her scanned - blood tests are not always very accurate, a scan isn't that much more expensive and will give you a definite yes or no. She's most likely got a big grass belly as the grass seems to have put on another flush with all this rain! - let us know how you get on anyway!:)
 
Beyond the possible pregnancy thing I just wonder if her big belly is due to the change of grass now she's grazing somewhere different? I think they say it takes about a month for the gut bacteria in horses to adapt to different grazing. Wonder if it's a load of gas and water if you have as green grass as we've got at the moment due to the rain followed by more sunshine? Obviously if she looks like this whether in or out it won't be that. My pony gets a bit of a bloated summer belly look but deflates overnight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top