Do babies kick? And an udder question.

When a human gets pregnant at some point the baby starts kciking. Is this true for horses as well? There's a very real possibility that my mare is pregnant. She's HUGE. I was feeling her belly and felt something that I could only describe as a baby kick. Another person felt the same thing.

If a mare is pregnant how soon before foaling will their udders start to swell and leak milk?

Yes, sometimes you can feel the baby move. (and it is so cute). Just be careful the mare doesn't kick back and hit you.

And mares differ on when they start making a bag. If she is a Maiden mare(first baby ever) she may not even make one until after she foals. My maiden mare was not like this, but it is common.

As for full to leaking, usually not until they are VERY close to foaling.

Your best bet to know for sure would be to have a vet out to look at her.

Now it is near impossible to tell by pictures, but do you have any? From the side, from the back, and from underneath of her bag are the "best" ways to tell, though it is highly inaccurate most of the time.

Babies kick, yes.
And as LadyDreamer said, it depends on when they'll get some milk. Usally, there will be a lot more only a little bit before she foals.

Apparently they are very active earlier on to the point of making the mare quite uncomfortable sometimes. Later in pregnancy the foal is too big to move around much. BUT, today, I brought one of my lesson students out to see our mare, and her belly was visibly being moved...it was cute - she has about 3 weeks to go.

What makes you think your mare might be pregnant? Do you know when she was exposed?

My foal has kicked Cami several times that I have seen from a few feet away. I would seriously suggest having your mare vetted if you think she's pregnant so you can adjust her feed, exercise, and living conditions accordingly! It's not good when you just wake up one morning and SURPRIZE there is a baby in your field. It's better to know ahead of time. ;)

Jenn

We had that happen once. Not exactly a surprise, but the person we got her from swore up and down that the mare had "never been exposed" to a stallion. We watched her, and she foaled two days after her best bud in the pasture. Luckily we had an idea who the sire was(DNA confirmed it) and were able to register him. And now I wouldn't say no to another colt by that stallion. Don't you love when things work out.

A foal will definitely kick while in the womb,
I have felt it and seen it myself!

Babies will kick, yes.

We have had this happen. We bought a mare that the people told us the vet said didn't take. The mare was underweight badly when we got her. We thought we were just doing a great job with feeding until surprise one morning. Luckily nothing was wrong and we got an Arabian/Holsteiner cross!