Not the usual "is she fat or in foal" question, desperate help needed please!!!

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suddenlyshamrock

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Hi some of you may have seen my thread about my mare and usual g snap testing to determine her foals father, for those of you that haven't.... I bought my mare (who I had from a foal but sold as a 6 yo and bought back after 2 1/2 years) in November. Her belly slowly grew and we started wondering in the new year whether she was pregnant. The vet visited one of our other horses in April and had a quick look at her from over the fence and said she couldn't really tell without bloods but she def looked it. She carried on growing and we are sure that fir a long while we have seen a lot of movement, both kicking and just general moving around in her belly. Until recently she was on quite poor grazing due to bad winter, but we moved her about a week ago and as we expected she has now got a little milk in her teats. She is a good doer like all our horses but is on a MUCH higher feed, twice a day rather than once and still is not overweight. She has been wormed and we poo pick everyday. So there I was merrily going along looking forward to foaly. Coming and....... for the last two days she has been showing all signs of being in season!!! She has been standing with a gelding she normally hates and letting him nibble her face while she squeals and sprays!! Help what do I do is she in foal or just having me on?!?!
 
Actually it's not unusual for pregnant mares to do this. If you're happy trundling along the blissful unknown route then that's your decision; it's not one I'd make. I'd have had the vet out a long time ago to preg check her.
 
Thanks spring feather! I should have said that we have been treating her as if she is pregnant as far as feeding I'd concerned and she is youngstock levels of benevit advance and is now on good grass in at night in a 12' x 24' stable with rubber matting and a huge straw bed covering the whole stable with as much hay as she wants and is only turnout out with her mother who is an excellent nanny mare. I have experience with pregnant mares, foals and youngstock and specially in breeding and youngsto k management in college over 10 years ago. However saying g this I know I don't have a vast experience and as this is my baby I think I am questioning and doubting everything tjs time! And it doesn't help that the lady who I bought her from is denying that she has been anywhere near a stallion so it has put doubts in my mind. I appreciate anyones advice as I don't think you ever know too much about horses!! :-)
 
we had someone with a similar situation to yours last summer at my old yard. His mare started to look in foal and movement was seen in her belly by a few people. They estimated the foal to be due sometime between March and June. Come July still no foal so they took her over to be scanned at the vets. Sadly she had lost her foal. No signs were ever found of her having foaled in the field but the vet said she was definitely in foal until recently. I don't want to worry you but if you can please try to get her scanned for peace of mind.
 
Yeah I'd agree- if at all poss,chat to the vet, just to put your mind at rest.

Like you said, it's your mare/potential foal so you're more nervous so getting vet out just helps calm those excess nerves.
 
You need her checked. Treating her as an in foal mare if she's not can be dangerous. Ie too many calories she does not need. When your vet was already out why didn't you get her to handle at least? Just bite the bullet so you know what you're dealing with.

Terri
 
Do you know when she might have been in with a colt/stallion? Take a photo of her from the side and post it here. We might be able to tell if she's quite far along.
 
My mare has recently foaled - throughout her pregnancy she was a dreadful flirt with the boys next door, squirting, winking, the works yet now the little monster is out she's back to showing no season signs at all and completely uninterested in the boys :p

If worried, have the vet come and scan
 
Get her checked out. We had one this year that simply looked like a seriously overweight horse....not looking pregnant at all. In the weeks leading up to her due date we got suspicious she had slipped or been fooling everyone as we couldn't see ANY movement or any changes to her shape at all and certainly no udder development. She was not a maiden and had had 3 foals but not with us and we had purchased her in foal. So one day about 2 wks before her due date as the vet was out scanning others we just had her put her hand in and see as she was as puzzled as us. Well she patted baby on the head !

It was almost like that was mum's catalyst! Next morning she had a HUGE filled udder and less than a week later we had the biggest, beefiest colt of the year!!!
 
Should add that the other reason we had her checked out was that she started flirting with others but nope was just a case of hormones all over the place!
 
The mare that foaled this year for me continued to show near season like behaviour on the same rota as seasons up till 6 weeks before she foaled, when she chilled out. She would wink at and obviously smell interesting to my stallion, but wouldn't squirt like when she was in season and didn't let my poor confused stallion do anything to her. Having done a quick search on horse pregnancy hormones online, this timing seems to be in line with hormone changes. I separated them at 4 weeks to due date and she only got really big and started bagging up 3 weeks before foaling (one week late) so I very nearly got the vet out to check. If in doubt, definitely get the vet to check, will save your nerves and health!
 
You really need to get her checked! Someone I know asked if I would have a look at a mare for a friend as they were beginning to think she wasn't in foal. I went to see a very pregnant looking mare and was then informed they had never had her scanned or blood tested and the pregnancy would have been a mistake due to a welsh pony that had been gelded being put out with her a few days after he had been cut. I asked for dates and it worked out she was at least 3 weeks over due! At this point I insisted the vet came out as she had bagged up and was showing signs of imminent labour. Imagine the shock they got when the vet determined she had never been pregnant and was having a phantom pregnancy and if she had been left she cold have died as she was starting to get mastitis due to milk build up. I wold hate for anything to happen to your girl. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
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