tshefley
Member
Is she close? this is my first go at having a pregnant mare. 324 days in and starting to bag up.
Mare at 324 Days
- Thread starter tshefley
- Start date
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
Your mare looks homozygous for tobiano so you should be getting a tobiano foal. Her rear end looks to have sunk considerably and her belly is looking like it's heading in the right direction but isn't as down and pointy as it will become. My guess is that she'll foal earlier than 343 days. My suggestion is that you get her terribly overgrown feet trimmed.
tshefley
Member
She is homozygous for tobiano, and she has a severed tendon in her right front let, with all the weight of the baby added, she cant stand long enough for the ferrier to get a trim job. Ferrier said it would be best to wait until she foals.
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
I disagree with your farrier. Those feet are way too overgrown and could cause her serious issues elsewhere.
Thistle
Well-Known Member
If you can post pics of her bag it would be helpful. Hope she foals soo so you can get those feet trimmed then!
tshefley
Member
tshefley
Member
I dont disagree. Hes been doing my horses forever now. If she were to fall while him trimming her feet because she cant hold herself up, we could loose the baby. she not on rocky land, she will be ok for another week or so.
Thistle
Well-Known Member
Her teats need to fill, the bag will become much bigger and lose the crease down the middle. The teats will point outwards towards the corners and she will most likely wax up. Chances are she has a couple of weeks to go yet.
Of course some mares foal without doing all this but keep a close eye on her. Her vulva will also elongate and either side of her tail will become so soft you could alsost sink your fist in.
Of course some mares foal without doing all this but keep a close eye on her. Her vulva will also elongate and either side of her tail will become so soft you could alsost sink your fist in.
magic104
Well-Known Member
Firstly they can bag up a good 6wks before they foal so you could still be a few weeks off yet. Secondly her feet are so long they are affecting her tendons because she is out of alignment. I am sorry but I do not believe she is going to fall over her tendons are showing no swelling so when exactly did this happen? Horses can actually stand on 2 legs diagonal & with patience there is no reason why your farrier could not trim her feet up. Either she has very good growth or her feet have not been touched in weeks, if not months, which again is no excuse as she would not have been that heavy. Who is your farrier?
eventrider23
Well-Known Member
She has a ways to go yet I would say as foal needs to drop lower and further back in her belly. If I were you though I really would get those feet seen to (have a couple extra people around for her to lean on if needed or to help support her)...I had one mare last year that went 6 wks over her EDD and was hugely bagged up throughout to extent that myself and vets genuinely thought she could go any day throughout it....so can you imagine when she has approx 20 days till her EDD and adding 6 wks on top of that??? She will be crippled and it will only be worse. End of the day she is likely still to be able to lie down and get up on her own but especially if she has a severed tendon and is now so heavy with foal then she NEEDS to have those feet seen to.
Sportznight
Well-Known Member
Completely agree. Must say, I would be seeking a second opinion from another farrier...
Who is she in-foal to?
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
She's more likely to fall due to ghastly hoof imbalance and excess strain on those tendons than she is from the farrier trimming one hoof at a time and presumably your farrier would know to put the foot down should the mare start to wobble at any time
It doesn't look like your farrier has tended to her feet in many months but if you find those feet acceptable then it sounds like you're not going to take helpful advice on board. I find the sight pitiful to be quite honest 
magic104
Well-Known Member
I find the sight pitiful to be quite honest
You and me both, I feel sorry for this mare as she is at risk of more damage. The risk of her "falling over" is minimal & just a sorry excuse to neglect a basic horse care routine. If you cannot look after the mares requirements, what hope the foal. I showed my farrier this photio and he confirmed that these feet have been allowed to get in this state over a long period of time. So poster please get them sorted, it is not good enough & you are putting her at risk, this could end up a welfare case.
Cherrygarden
Well-Known Member
If the farrier was thinking clearly he could also lift the foot, put a notch in the wall to show the excess length then carefully take a small hacksaw or the edge of a rasp and cut the excess toe while her foot was on the floor(I had to last year on a 5 yr old Suffolk mare who had been bought in foal and had never had her feet lifted or trimmed due to living on a hill in Northumberland her new owners were desperate several months into pregnancy and local farrier was not a big help), it is then easy to get the foot up momentarily to see to each heel. If she was closer for sure I might wait but at 324 she could have a long way to go. My daughters pony is a terror for not wanting her feet done when heavy in foal but sometimes you have to the maths and overrule them.
Lovely mare by the way, stunning colour.
Lovely mare by the way, stunning colour.
amy_b
Well-Known Member
I have to add that sometimes we all get misinformed from people we trust and in this case I think alot of people will agree that you have been misinformed.
If the injury is since she has been put in foal, chances are her foot conformation has a large part to play, if it was before she was put in foal chances are the tendon will not recover, what (in my opinion) you are risking is the mare not being able to walk and personally I would make it my priority to keep the mare healthy for the future over her unborn foal, you have to keep her sound enough to raise this foal at the end of the day.
that said, as somebody else pointed out the chances of her falling over are very slim!!
do you have acces to some stocks? if you are worried to the point of not risking it I would suggest you think of a way round it to get her feet seen to for her welfare. If you have access to stocks this may be an option otherwise why not stand her against a wall, one person at the front end, one at the back end, farrier in the middle
and this way if she is starting to lose her balance (presuming farrier keeps hold of her foot while she is falling over 
) you can push her upright.
above all else, I cant imagine this is at all comfortable for her when carrying the extra weight and she is yet to get bigger and heavier - imagine wearing high heels all day and carrying a rucksack, I would imagine this is the level of discomfort she is in.
had she had odd pairs seen to? she seems to have matching diagonal pairs, but not equal on all four feet. I would imagine this would cause considerable mechanical issues, particularly spinal long term with the unnatural balance between four feet.
If the injury is since she has been put in foal, chances are her foot conformation has a large part to play, if it was before she was put in foal chances are the tendon will not recover, what (in my opinion) you are risking is the mare not being able to walk and personally I would make it my priority to keep the mare healthy for the future over her unborn foal, you have to keep her sound enough to raise this foal at the end of the day.
that said, as somebody else pointed out the chances of her falling over are very slim!!
do you have acces to some stocks? if you are worried to the point of not risking it I would suggest you think of a way round it to get her feet seen to for her welfare. If you have access to stocks this may be an option otherwise why not stand her against a wall, one person at the front end, one at the back end, farrier in the middle
and this way if she is starting to lose her balance (presuming farrier keeps hold of her foot while she is falling over ) you can push her upright. above all else, I cant imagine this is at all comfortable for her when carrying the extra weight and she is yet to get bigger and heavier - imagine wearing high heels all day and carrying a rucksack, I would imagine this is the level of discomfort she is in.
had she had odd pairs seen to? she seems to have matching diagonal pairs, but not equal on all four feet. I would imagine this would cause considerable mechanical issues, particularly spinal long term with the unnatural balance between four feet.
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forestfantasy
Well-Known Member
Agree with everyone about her feet - they are shocking and that is months of growth.
Any horse with previous/current tendon injuries should have their feet looked at religiously to make sure no strain is put on the tendon - in fact thats regardless of injury or not!
Its just basic hoof care - please do not let the foals feet ever get like that or you could be in for serious problems.
Also what are you feeding?
I suspect without that foal belly she would look pretty poor, looking at her weak neck & the grazing that we can see.
Any horse with previous/current tendon injuries should have their feet looked at religiously to make sure no strain is put on the tendon - in fact thats regardless of injury or not!
Its just basic hoof care - please do not let the foals feet ever get like that or you could be in for serious problems.
Also what are you feeding?
I suspect without that foal belly she would look pretty poor, looking at her weak neck & the grazing that we can see.
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emlybob
Well-Known Member
I am afraid i completely agree with all the comments about her feet and farrier.
I however am in a similar position to you. My mare broke down on her off fore 7 weeks ago. I had the farrier to her last week to put a bar shoe on the foot with the injury. She was obviously fine to have that foot shod due to the weight being on her good leg. However when i cam to trimming her good leg, he just picked it up and put it down the whole time. The trim took longer than normal and he didn't do it to perfection but she managed to let him do it. This is a horse who laid down for a week shaking in pain and when she got up couldn't put her foot down, so she is/was seriously injured.
The worry is that the longer the feet are left like that the more chance of the tendon injury reccuring or not healing properly. Those feet look like months of not being trimmed not weeks.
The other thing you could do if she is in a lot of pain is put a robert jones bandage on the injured leg. Support bandages are a pain relief on their own, providing comfort and support for the injury
The other option is to put her on bute Although not advised for mares in foal it is thought that bute does not pass through the placenta so no damage to the foal. Many people have to put their mares on bute for many reasons and foals always seem ok.
P.S my mare is also in foal so bad news for me and her!
I however am in a similar position to you. My mare broke down on her off fore 7 weeks ago. I had the farrier to her last week to put a bar shoe on the foot with the injury. She was obviously fine to have that foot shod due to the weight being on her good leg. However when i cam to trimming her good leg, he just picked it up and put it down the whole time. The trim took longer than normal and he didn't do it to perfection but she managed to let him do it. This is a horse who laid down for a week shaking in pain and when she got up couldn't put her foot down, so she is/was seriously injured.
The worry is that the longer the feet are left like that the more chance of the tendon injury reccuring or not healing properly. Those feet look like months of not being trimmed not weeks.
The other thing you could do if she is in a lot of pain is put a robert jones bandage on the injured leg. Support bandages are a pain relief on their own, providing comfort and support for the injury
The other option is to put her on bute Although not advised for mares in foal it is thought that bute does not pass through the placenta so no damage to the foal. Many people have to put their mares on bute for many reasons and foals always seem ok.
P.S my mare is also in foal so bad news for me and her!
Laafet
Well-Known Member
She looks like she has a way to go yet, I've got one a week over due who's been running milk for two weeks! As for the feet. OMG! I can understand that some farriers don't like to be too aggressive in trimming feet at this later stage in pregnancy BUT these are so long that they have been clearly been left too long for more than 4-8 weeks.
Rosehip
Well-Known Member
Im of the same oppinion, although your mare has get down over her top line and rump, her bag is saying she is a way off yet. Her feet havent been done for months by the looks of the picture, and I wouldnt be supprised if there wasnt some laminitic changes looking at the event lines.
When my mare was heavily pregnant last year she went 12 weeks without a trim as my farrier, and then I, went down with a lurgy, and then she was in her last week or so and we didnt want to upset her, and her feet were no where near as long as your mares.
My old mare hadnt had her feet done for 18 months/2 years when I bought her.........
When my mare was heavily pregnant last year she went 12 weeks without a trim as my farrier, and then I, went down with a lurgy, and then she was in her last week or so and we didnt want to upset her, and her feet were no where near as long as your mares.
My old mare hadnt had her feet done for 18 months/2 years when I bought her.........