Kitty B
Well-Known Member
I've read these threads over and over, never thought I'd be posting one myself. I know what you're probably saying already; call the vet and find out! Trust me, we'll get to that.
Towards the end of last June, I bought myself my beautiful now rising 4 piebald filly, Magpie. She came off Dartmoor, her mother was a Dartmoor Hill Pony, but her sire is in question. The mare just came in with Mags at foot, and while there are guesses, nobody knows for sure where exactly she sprang from. I loved her straight away and knew she was my girl so that was that. She came home to me and I've been teaching her everything from scratch as she'd never been handled, and we have a fantastic relationship. A piebald mare was the exact opposite of what I'd set out to buy, but when you know, you know... you know?
Flash forward to the end of January. We came onto the yard one evening to have the lovely girl who owns the place ask if there was any chance that Magpie could be pregnant. There had been some shifts in behavior, mostly looking rather rounded, lopsided, laying down a lot when she usually doesn't during the day... looking like a beach ball was sitting on her ribs when she did... I took some photos of her udder and vulva, and I determined to keep an eye on it, because it didn't seem likely to me. I did, however, get to thinking, and I can't honestly say I've ever seen her come into season once since I've had her. Still, not every mare is a hormonal rage demon in season, so perhaps she is simply subtle about it.
That said, I'm paranoid, and this pony is just my wish come true, so I called the vet. An internal check was done, and the vet said that she couldn't locate the uterus, which could be a sign of pregnancy as the foal would be pulling it down and forward. She also said it felt like there was a lot of fluid in there, which could also indicate pregnancy. She said she couldn't be certain after her exam, so bloods were taken and sent away. Several days later, I got a call and the woman I spoke to said they were going with not pregnant as there were markers that they look for that were low. She went on to say that low markers are also an indication of a mare in her final weeks of pregnancy, but she wouldn't expect them to be as low as Magpie's, so said again the verdict was not pregnant. Basically, with the aforementioned paranoia and all, I was left not feeling I had a definite answer after that second comment about low markers in the final weeks, but she seemed pretty confident so I got back to dreaming about backing Mags this summer and starting our adventures together.
Another fast forward, and we arrive at tonight. Our 9-month-old New Forest colt decided he wasn't coming in tonight, so since Mags is his best friend and lives in the stable beside his, I used her as bait to convince him to come in because it was rapidly getting dark, I was cold, and Magpie was impatiently pawing because she knew her dinner was waiting for her inside. They have interacted together since we got him in December, and he's never done anything to suggest he thinks she's a mom replacement, but tonight he tried to nurse her three times and she didn't stop him so I had to. When we've had them together for exercise in the school, she spent weeks driving him away every time he got remotely close, then one day just started to groom him. She grooms him or she is driving him away. There is no middle ground in that relationship.
So, I decided to have another look at her in case he got hold of her trying to nurse etc, and found that she was looking a bit swollen. I took more photos, then to have the whole set I did another vulva shot (I pray nobody ever wants to look at my phone, they'll think I'm a crazy person), brought them home and got a look at them all side by side on my computer. There are very significant changes. Messaged the yard owner, who has had mares in foal before, and she had a look and said it looked like the start of bagging up to her, and she went away to ask someone else. That person said that there can be swelling while a mare is in season, but again she is showing zero signs of being in heat, so I'm right back where I started... wait and see.
Now, at the end of my novella, which I apologise for, but I do think detailed information is important in these situations... I'm bringing it to you. What do you think? Does this look like the bagging up of a pregnant mare, or is she just very subtly in season? Poor Magpie, here go the final threads of her tattered dignity on an equine forum. Sorry, Pie...
Towards the end of last June, I bought myself my beautiful now rising 4 piebald filly, Magpie. She came off Dartmoor, her mother was a Dartmoor Hill Pony, but her sire is in question. The mare just came in with Mags at foot, and while there are guesses, nobody knows for sure where exactly she sprang from. I loved her straight away and knew she was my girl so that was that. She came home to me and I've been teaching her everything from scratch as she'd never been handled, and we have a fantastic relationship. A piebald mare was the exact opposite of what I'd set out to buy, but when you know, you know... you know?
Flash forward to the end of January. We came onto the yard one evening to have the lovely girl who owns the place ask if there was any chance that Magpie could be pregnant. There had been some shifts in behavior, mostly looking rather rounded, lopsided, laying down a lot when she usually doesn't during the day... looking like a beach ball was sitting on her ribs when she did... I took some photos of her udder and vulva, and I determined to keep an eye on it, because it didn't seem likely to me. I did, however, get to thinking, and I can't honestly say I've ever seen her come into season once since I've had her. Still, not every mare is a hormonal rage demon in season, so perhaps she is simply subtle about it.
That said, I'm paranoid, and this pony is just my wish come true, so I called the vet. An internal check was done, and the vet said that she couldn't locate the uterus, which could be a sign of pregnancy as the foal would be pulling it down and forward. She also said it felt like there was a lot of fluid in there, which could also indicate pregnancy. She said she couldn't be certain after her exam, so bloods were taken and sent away. Several days later, I got a call and the woman I spoke to said they were going with not pregnant as there were markers that they look for that were low. She went on to say that low markers are also an indication of a mare in her final weeks of pregnancy, but she wouldn't expect them to be as low as Magpie's, so said again the verdict was not pregnant. Basically, with the aforementioned paranoia and all, I was left not feeling I had a definite answer after that second comment about low markers in the final weeks, but she seemed pretty confident so I got back to dreaming about backing Mags this summer and starting our adventures together.
Another fast forward, and we arrive at tonight. Our 9-month-old New Forest colt decided he wasn't coming in tonight, so since Mags is his best friend and lives in the stable beside his, I used her as bait to convince him to come in because it was rapidly getting dark, I was cold, and Magpie was impatiently pawing because she knew her dinner was waiting for her inside. They have interacted together since we got him in December, and he's never done anything to suggest he thinks she's a mom replacement, but tonight he tried to nurse her three times and she didn't stop him so I had to. When we've had them together for exercise in the school, she spent weeks driving him away every time he got remotely close, then one day just started to groom him. She grooms him or she is driving him away. There is no middle ground in that relationship.
So, I decided to have another look at her in case he got hold of her trying to nurse etc, and found that she was looking a bit swollen. I took more photos, then to have the whole set I did another vulva shot (I pray nobody ever wants to look at my phone, they'll think I'm a crazy person), brought them home and got a look at them all side by side on my computer. There are very significant changes. Messaged the yard owner, who has had mares in foal before, and she had a look and said it looked like the start of bagging up to her, and she went away to ask someone else. That person said that there can be swelling while a mare is in season, but again she is showing zero signs of being in heat, so I'm right back where I started... wait and see.
Now, at the end of my novella, which I apologise for, but I do think detailed information is important in these situations... I'm bringing it to you. What do you think? Does this look like the bagging up of a pregnant mare, or is she just very subtly in season? Poor Magpie, here go the final threads of her tattered dignity on an equine forum. Sorry, Pie...
