? How do you tell if a mare is in foal?

I bought Rosie towards the end of November. The lady I bought her from SAID she was feeding her 1 gallon of grain in the morning and 1 gallon at night, along with hay. Not to mention she had a yearling filly from Rosie in the paddock area.

My dilemma is that I'm feeding her the same amount with a comparable feed. She had her feed mixed at a co-op and I don't have one close enough to me to do that. I'm feeding her the Purina Molene 200. It doesn't have quite as much molasses in it and the corn is ground instead of whole kernal (like was in hers). I noticed a couple of weeks ago how much better she was looking since I've had her up here. But today, I noticed that her sides are starting to protrude a little...just in the stomach area. She's not putting any weight on in her hips. I mess with her every day too. Today, when I was brushing her and looking at her, I ran the brush under her stomach (as usual), she actually turned and looked at me. Not in a bad way, but normally she stands statue still when being groomed in the stall.

I emailed the lady this evening to ask her. I know for a fact that she has 3 or 4 stallions there. I also called her trainer. Neither have called me back yet. I've never personally owned a mare before...until now. And with her temperament, I had considered breeding her, but wanted to wait a couple of years just to be sure it actually was something I wanted to do. When does a mare start showing if she has been bred? Is there any way the vet can check her without going through the ultrasound? I hope I'm just being paranoid.

They can check by stickig their hand......in there..yeah..... and I think with weefoal. Also, it depends completely on the mare. Some show at 7 months, some at 10 months,depending on the mare.

I'm going to say that she would probably start showing at 7. The one the lady had wasn't the first baby of Rosie's. As a matter of fact, I think she had bred her at least 3 times. Not to mention, she was far from being in shape when I bought her. She has literally come a long way just in the 2+ months I've owned her.

Horses normally carry for 11 months? I can't remember what I was told years ago. And should I go ahead and have the vet out to check her. I mean if she is in foal, I need to change her feed to make sure both her and the baby are getting what they need...right?

Yes, on average 11 months, give or take. Defiantly have the vet out, if she is, read all you can about pregnancy and raising foals. NEVER feed the preggo mare fescue grass. Pm me and let me know once the vet is out.

Her free access hay and bale hay (for the stall) are both orchard grass. I know the guy personally and have seen the field it comes from. I guess I'll make the call in the morning. Of course it's snowing tonight...so tomorrow is probably out of the question for a non-emergency. But hopefully later in the week...before we get the 20+" that they're calling for this weekend.

I do give her 2 or 3 alfalfa cubes as a treat before I leave the barn. Is that OK?

Ok...update. The trainer just called me. There is a chance that she was bred by the barn help who wanted a baby out of her and one of the lady's studs. If so, she is bred to a black Tennessee Walker. He told me not to worry. Just to watch her as the days start getting longer. He said she'd more than likely come into season with the first stretch of pretty sunny days that she can actually be out in.

The only way to know for sure if she is in foal is to have the vet out.

Get the vet out. Some mares do show sins of estrus while in foal. Also, please don't breed her based on her temperament.

Oh gosh! Well I hope all goes well, and yes, a vet is the best idea. With all this dang snow I hope it isn't going to ice tomorrow. You know how Spotsy Schools have missed THREE DAYS this week. Ugh, hopefully everything goes back to normal tomorrow. Except for MORE frickin' snow this weekend! They're callin' for about 12 inches! Ugh! Well good luck(: