Signs that my mare might be pregnant?

[Alfie&Milo]

I bought my mare in mid-may this year looking a little underweight but in good health. She had a foal 18months ago and was sold to me as a riding pony but over this summer she has acquired quite a belly. She has been on good grass and she could just be fat but the belly seems quite far back and I'm not sure what to even look for if she was to be pregnant because I've only got geldings! There is a chance she may be as there were stallions where she came from but I'm not sure whether she was run with them after she had her foal

I've had opinions that it's too late in the year but people do keep commenting that she looks pregnant and I don't want to make her lose weight if she's carrying a foal!

Any advice would be much appreciated !

 

[sheep]

Pics?

There was a thread on a similar topic a week or so ago, so you will probably be asked whether she's been seen by the vet to test if she is or not.

 

[Alfie&Milo]

Yeah thinking about getting the vet out, but just wondered if there was any other way!

Link to a picture from about a month ago, she's a bit bigger now
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...43243374336.2123345.1043764276&type=1&theater

 

[Mare Stare]

I have a friend that swears that human pregnancy tests work. It means you'll have to try and catch her wee in a bucket though.

I've never tried it. Might be worth a try.

 

[The_snoopster]

I am pretty sure that the human pregnancy test used on horses does not work as it tests fr the human pregnancy hormone, the best way for you to find out if your mare is pregnant is to have a blood test done or manual examination by your vet.

 

[crellow4]

There are really only 2 options - wait and see or get the vet out!!

 

[Mare Stare]

I am pretty sure that the human pregnancy test used on horses does not work as it tests fr the human pregnancy hormone, the best way for you to find out if your mare is pregnant is to have a blood test done or manual examination by your vet.

I'm pretty sure that all mammals have the same hormones. Horses have oestrogen and testosterone. So do we. So I'm guessing (though not a vet) that the pregnancy hormone would be the same too. However, there might be a problem with dilution e.g horses are much bigger than us and wee a lot more than us, so maybe it wouldn't show up for several months.

I may do an experiment with this and buy a bunch of pregnancy tests from poundland (that will worry hubby. lol!!) and get people to test them out on their mares (pregnant, not pregnant and possibly pregnant). Could be interesting.

 

[The_snoopster]

I'm pretty sure that all mammals have the same hormones. Horses have oestrogen and testosterone. So do we. So I'm guessing (though not a vet) that the pregnancy hormone would be the same too. However, there might be a problem with dilution e.g horses are much bigger than us and wee a lot more than us, so maybe it wouldn't show up for several months.

I may do an experiment with this and buy a bunch of pregnancy tests from poundland (that will worry hubby. lol!!) and get people to test them out on their mares (pregnant, not pregnant and possibly pregnant). Could be interesting.

I can remember the human pregnancy test question being asked in the breeding section of the forum several times, I had at the time put my mare in foal so spent lots of time in that section during my mares pregnancy. I am sure that quite a few experienced breeders in there stated they did not work on mares, so I never used one myself and had the 100 day pregnancy blood test done on my mare because at the time I was sure my mare had slipped her foal even though I had had two good infoal scans done earlier. If they do work it would of been a hell of a lot cheaper, I would also be interested in knowing if it was fact or fiction.

 

[samlf]

Human pregnancy tests do NOT work on horses - the human hormone (called human pregnancy hormone or something like that) is a very different length to the equine version, so no it doesnt show up. You can however buy horsey ones online! called wee foal pregnancy test i think

 

[Sparkles]

Ditto get her scanned or wait and see! It's slightly less common, but not unheard of having foals this late on in the year. Know of a few mares still due!

 

[samlf]

Oh also, a friend of mine's horse is very likely pregnant and due to drop next month (accidentally) so it is possible. If you kind of push her belly sometimes the foal pushes back, and if she's late on then you can often see them kick. You can get the vet to do a blood test as often scans cant be used this late on.