Please Help- Mare purchased 4 weeks ago is Pregnant?

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I hope you lovely, experienced people in here can help me!
(also in Breeding)

My friend bought a mare at York Sales last month. Her history is very basic but we know she has had 3 foals in the past. We are not certain when the last one was, possibly last year. She is 14 ish.
She arrived at my friends house and has spent the last few weeks grazing and hacking about.

Fast forward to yesterday and I had a call from my friend. I went over to her place and she'd got the mare out of the field, tied her up and then realised that there was milk dripping out of her teats. On closer inspection, she is very tender around her backend and tummy- which is huge and hangs to one side. Her teats are warm, but not hard or sore. At one point the milk was streaming out of her, like a tap.
As I am not at all experienced in this area I called my vet out. The vet could not feel alot inside her, but did mention that it is sometimes harder to feel alot in such a large mare?? (she's 16.3hh hunter type) He ran a blood test that has come back as pregnant.

Please, can you give me any advice? I live 20 mins away but have said to ring me if they want me there, but to call the vet first- and they are checking on her every hour. She is in, this is her normal routine but she is restless.

My main concern is that it is October and our complete lack of knowledge on this!!


Please help!
 
If shes already had foals i expect shell be able to do unassisted as shell know the job inside out. Best advice, biggest stable possible and straw bedding, as you said shes going to call the vet when things start to happen so youll have the best care and keep checking on her. Best of luck and it will be amazing to watch. :D
 
To be honest, if everything goes to plan, it will be all done by the time the vet arrives.
Tell her to go out and put a tail bandage on the mare when the waters break. Keeps tail out the way of birth.

Once waters have broken, mare may go down, get up, go down, etc to move foalie. Birthing should happen within 30 mins/next hour.

Once nose and legs are presented, your friend should check she has two feet (one further back than the other) and then a nose.
Careful not to break the placenta until foalie is out (should happen naturally)

Vet should check foalie, placenta and mare to make sure she isnt torn.

The placenta will probably not be right out. Get string to tie it up. V important the mare doesnt stand on it and rip it.
Will maybe take a few hours to come out completely.

Foalie may take a while to get up (very comical to watch) but if mum has had foals before, she will know what she is doing.

Once vet has checked that all is ok, leave mum to get to know her new baby...

Make sure EVERYTHING vaguely dangerous (haynets etc) are out of the stable or foalie will be swinging from them!
 
How exciting! This happened to a friend of mine many years ago. She bought Rosie and as she was so overweight, did loads of work with her and gave her minimal feed. Then one night was really cross with her as she kept refusing to jump. Imagine how bad she felt (and shocked) when she found Rosie had a foal with her in the morning :-)
 
CeeBee said:
How exciting! This happened to a friend of mine many years ago. She bought Rosie and as she was so overweight, did loads of work with her and gave her minimal feed. Then one night was really cross with her as she kept refusing to jump. Imagine how bad she felt (and shocked) when she found Rosie had a foal with her in the morning :-)
Click to expand...

:p The thought of being nine months pregnant with someone trying to make you go over hurdles!
 
Guido's advice is good but please remember if the placenta isn't passed completely within six hours then you do need the vet out to give her a jab and help it on the way as if it is left inside her, the poor mare could be dead within hours. It also helps (if she foals overnight) to have the vet out to check the mare and foal over and to give them both a tetenus jab as it's possible the mare is out of date and it's necessary to give the foal as much protection as possible.
It sounds like all you'll be doing is call the vet out but it's not usually that bad, honestly!
Best of luck and would love to see pics later. Don't suppose you'll have any idea of the sire?
 
Oooo a BOGOF :)

The only thing I'd add to what the others have added is to make sure you spread the placenta out to make sure all of it has been passed - spreading it out lets you check it's intact.

As for how soon - feed the top of her rump around the top of the tail. If it's gone all slack and putty like then she has 24 hours tops. That's the sign she's slackening up to eject the bubba :)

Also make sure the hooves are pointing this way

62782_472645420780_745240780_7231901_595316_n.jpg


And don't let the mare get in this position as it's a b*tch to pull the foal ;) Also make sure both legs are at the same point - if you look at this pic one is further back. They had to be pulled to make them level to make it easier for the head to follow.

63309_472644910780_745240780_7231878_5870648_n.jpg


Then soon you will have one of these :) :) :)

62248_472644865780_745240780_7231876_7242837_n.jpg


33439_472644990780_745240780_7231882_6024363_n.jpg
 
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When my mare was due to have her first foal earlier this year I watched loads of foaling videos on you tube. Some of them might not have been perfect and lots offered much more assistance in the foaling process than I intended to do ideally or is recommended but it did give me a good feel for normal timescales of progress and how I could expect her to behave.

Good luck! I was terrified that I would do something wrong but it all went like clockwork and was a fantastic experience.
 
[Also make sure the hooves are pointing this way

62782_472645420780_745240780_7231901_595316_n.jpg


And don't let the mare get in this position as it's a b*tch to pull the foal ;) Also make sure both legs are at the same point - if you look at this pic one is further back. They had to be pulled to make them level to make it easier for the head to follow.

No! Don't make sure the hooves are at the same level - they are one in front of the other for a reason and that is so the shoulders can pass through the pelvis.

Did the vet say how pregnant she was? It is not good for the milk to be running like that as she will lose the colustrum (v important first milk).

Don't panic though - mare will be fine. I also bought a pregnant mare last September - went up at 6pm fed, checked no waxing no nothing - 8am following morning - foal cantering round field...

Good luck!
 
If she has milk running then foal is coming very soon, just keep a very close watch on her and call the vet at the first sign of labour, he'll be able to check the placenta and the foal once he arrives.

Usually (but not always) the mare will be irritable or unsettled, box walking etc before she starts. Once the waters break (you can't miss that if your there as just keep going and going and going) birth is usually between 15 and 30 mins away.

Hope it goes well and call the vet out as soon as her waters break. I wouldn't be at all concerned about the time of year, foals quickly adjust, your vet will be able to adviseyou on turnout etc.
 
How exciting. Good luck. Please keep us updated. Don't worry about the riding because a. You can't undo it and b. I was following the hunt for ten miles until eight months and still running down platforms to catch trains days before I gave birth! Much to oh and midwifes disapproval. Active pregnancy means a healthy baby and quicker recovery.
I'm excited for you.
 
I bought a shetland mare a few years ago for my little boy. A few months later I realised that she was carrying more than just a grass belly!!!
I decided that as soon as she "waxed up" etc etc I'd start checking her hourly. Oh no, she caught me out, no waxing up, no nothing. she foaled overnight on her own in the stable and then they both wondered outside into their little paddock (I always leave the door open so she can be free range). It then appears that they escaped from their paddock into join my 17.2 hunter. Imagine my horror to find in the morning the foalie lying "dead" with my hunter standing leg astride of him!!! As I went running up towards them fearing the worse foalie jumped up and off they all galloped!! The strangest sight - 17.2 heavyweight, shetland and foal, who didnt come up past my knee, galloping flat out around the field. All ended happily after all. :)
 
How exciting!. I had a BOGOF; still have mum and daughter now.

My mare had milk squirting out of her teats one evening as I lead her into her stable, she then displayed colicky signs and within 5 minutes her waters broke.

Please let us know whether the foal was born last night, or keep us updated! Good luck, it's a very rewarding experience.
 
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