Unexpected pregnancy - advice needed please

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Are you serious?
I'm sorry, having horses and vets bills go together!
If you want anymore advice make the phone call and let us know the outcome, ONCE the vet has been.

If you keep posting responses like those you've already asked we'll start thinking we have a troll in here.

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I don't see anything trollish about the post. If I'd just paid for an emergency call out and vet treatment for my horse - I too would be bracing myself for another bill in this instance.

OP - the scan shouldn't cost a huge amount.
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I've just had a mare scanned at 4 months to be doubly sure she was in foal, and, doing an internal, the vet could already feel the foetus; he only actually scanned to show me the foal on the screen. At seven months gone, the vet, if s/he has any idea what they're doing, will be able to tell very quickly if she's in foal as they'll feel the pregnancy through the wall of the rectum. They may well not have to go the full length of their arm, but it's worth remembering that the rectum is capable of passing out droppings of a greater diameter than your average vet's arm, so it's not going to be painful - more a question of a mild battle of wills! The trickiest bit is for the vet, frankly, as the sphincter muscles are very powerful!

Please do get the vet to have a look at her. We can all spend ages telling you what you need to know about foaling etc., but the most important thing for anyone - most of all you - to know is whether or not she is pregnant or not!!!!
 
I do wish you well Beatrice and I understand the concern over vets bills but this post was started 4 days ago.

Everyone has given the same advice - to get the pregnancy checked. Are your concerns financial or the wellbeing of the mare? If the latter lots of people have attempted to put your mind at ease.
Untill this most basic of things is resolved everything else is irrelevant.
 
What nobody yet has mentioned, is that the mare should be in a foaling environment for at least six weeks before foaling to build up immunity which is passed on to the foal. Its perfectly possible for her to have been covered late in the year, I find my mares show season all year round as they are in close proximity to my stallion. You should be able to feel movement of the foal if you stand close to the mare (providing she'll let you ) and put your hand flat under her tummy about a foot in front of her bag. Be patient, it may be one side or the other.If you look at her from the front, is she equal in width both sides? Usually, they have more bulge on one side. Hope this helps.
 
Cundlegreen - scientifically it is impossible for proximity to a stallion to 'bring a mare into season' despite it often being said....check out Andypandy's breeding myths post, I think it is on there.
Many mares show different behaviour in front of stallions, much of it submissive, but it is fairly rare for mares to cycle (with good fertility too) all year round - hence me raising the question of the dates. I have been there, trying to get the TB mares to cycle as early as possible with the lights, and also been there wringing my hands doing AI late in the season, and the mares don't throw up any decent follicles because they are starting to become transitional.

I agree with you regarding feeling the movement, but we foal down a large number of mares here every year and have pregnant mares here all year round, and it is a very rare occasion we see or feel movement.
 
Having spent nearly £400 in the past two months I don't really relish more vets bills hence the post. I resent the trolling reference greatly and am sorry to have troubled you so much.

The vet is coming Friday. As I have no experience of breeding I am genuinely interested in peoples experiences but I guess that is obviously not acceptable - my apologies again.
 
I am sorry I know nothing about foaling other than being around a friends mare and foal. I would disagree on a couple of points though and say that I felt a friends foal moving around and was infact the one to confirm 'there is something in there!'
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She too was an unexpected pregnancy.

Also my previous mare never went out of season in the winter. She continued to season throughout the year. Surely this would mean she was able to conceive at any point, even if it was a little more difficult. Also at a yard near us there was a foal born last December and although I presume this is rare it is not impossible??

I would want a vet to check her out though as what if she was having twins? Surely you would need to know?

As for vet bills, well I find it quite annoying when people go with the old, have a horse expect to pay a vet bill. Yes of course we do but it doesn't stop you sometimes having to think twice and as I am sure many would agree sometimes it is simply that vet bills are often collosall and we do not have bottomless purses. My sister was recently quoted £400/£450 for an operation on her pony only to be handed a bill for £2000
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because it was ' a little worse than we thought'.

However I do think this warrants a vet just to be sure.

Good luck with your unexpected surprise when it arrives
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I think you have taken things a bit personally people on here are only doing what you said "given their advice" which mostly to me seems to be ...confirm she is in foal
please don't get upset as sometimes the written word can come across different .
Sounds like your mare is lucky to have found you and good luck with whatever the reasult
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Also is it true you cannot ride a mare for nearly a year after the birth as her ligaments are too slack and you will damage her back?



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I hope not as I started riding PF with foal at foot a month after birth! I did keep her in work until she was about 6mths old though, so she wasn't completely flabby
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I got the Janet Lorch book for her pregnancy and I found it excellent.
 
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Also my previous mare never went out of season in the winter. She continued to season throughout the year. Surely this would mean she was able to conceive at any point, even if it was a little more difficult. Also at a yard near us there was a foal born last December and although I presume this is rare it is not impossible??


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How do you know? Where you scanning her to check for follicular activity? Mares can display in season behaviour when not technically in season (a reason I love my teaser mare so much...makes my life easier!) It is not IMPOSSIBLE (as I already stated) but it is relatively uncommon.
 
Regarding your vet bill comment - would your vet no agree to monthly installments? Some vets will do this. Also 'some' will let you pay in cash and therefore not having to pay VAT.

Also, the cost of a palp - that's all you'd really need, not a scan, as at this stage of pregnancy the foal will be able to be felt - is approx £25-£30, where as a scan would probably be approx a fiver more. So that and a call out charge really.
 
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I'm sure I can see mine moving, shes 7 months. Also sure I felt a hoof yesterday - something small and hard anyway!

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Wind! And you certainly couldn't feel a hoof (and they're not hard at 7 months - they're gelatinous and squidgy.) There is a lot of mare between the outside world and the foal in-utero!
 
Quick update.

The vet came this afternoon as was out this way. She took blood and had a quick look at Beatrice but was not keen to do a PD due to the fact my mare was obviously very uncertain of her and as the blood is 90% accurate we shall wait and see.

She did put her hand on her belly and kept it there quite some time and said there is a lot of movement and some of it very jerky and sudden and she would be very suprised if she wasn't in foal which is what we all thought anyway. In her opinion having given my mare a thorough check up a foal is highly likely all things considered. She agreed the udders were enlarged and said I should be prepared that I may well come down one morning to find a little addition - not all mares bag up before delivery. She also said mares don't read the rule books and a winter foal is not unknown.

So when the blood test comes back next week I will let you know - if the foal doesn't arrive beforehand
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I am still awaiting the results from the vets and they are chasing up the blood tests today.

We now have the added complication of mud fever only a couple of small patches on my mare but my new forest seems to be more scabby as he doesn't have any feather - so I am reading up on other forum posts like crazy now!

So they are both back at home and in the Corral the the little loan pony is going home for a winter break as her owner has a lot more land then we do and not as much mud!!!!
 
Yes you guessed it definately pregnant - So another vets bill just to tell me what I already knew but hey ho!!!

Now it's just the waiting game but she does have udder development going on not turned into a dairy cow yet but definately getting a shape.

So a winter foal it is and many many more questions buzzing around my head - sorry
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