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Is my mare pregnant?

8K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  tealamutt 
#1 ·
Hey everyone! I am new to the forum. My dad purchased a horse back in April. He gave her to me and I have had her for about 2 months. When he bought her, there was a "possibility" that she was pregnant. I had the vet come out at the beginning of October and he said no. However, I also heard that after a horse is at a certain point in their pregnancy, a palpatation isn't accurate anyway. Everyone at the barn I board her at swears up and down that she is pregnant. She does have a big belly. How will I know for sure? Is there a way to post a pic on here to get everyone's opinion? Thanks so much!
 
#7 ·
If you don't know when/where/if the mare was bred, an U/S is a good idea anyways, pasture breeding can lead to a higher incidence of twins. Also, is she DOES turn out to be bred. with some measurements of the fetus on U/S, the vet can get you a rough gestational age and due date for the foal.
 
#9 ·
I called my vet about my preggo mare and they said an ultra-sound (if i took her there) would be about $45. Now that I have to have the vet come out for the ultrasound I am guessing it will be more,but I don't know how much...

I had another one done on a mare probably a year ago and they came to the house and I believe it was around $55-$65
 
#12 · (Edited)
It is definitely possible for the vet to miss the fetus by palpation, because that happened to my mare. I bought her at the end of October 2009. Had the vet preg. check by palpation in November 2009 and said she wasn't pregnant.

By spring she was getting a big belly even though I was riding her all the time. Had the vet palpate her at the end of April and that time he felt a foal! Bouncing baby boy was born in July 2010. :D

So that would make the fetus about 3 months along when the vet missed it the first time. Is that correct? :?

PS. Would the fact that my mare was an older broodmare have anything to do with him missing it the first time? Like her uterous was more dropped down from having a bunch of foals? Or did he just simply miss it?
 
#16 ·
She is for sure very round. It might be she just eats too much. For sure call the vet and see.

Do not know where you live but in my part of the world it is fall, time for fall shots. You can call for shots and have the US added on.
 
#18 ·
To be honest, she looks more pregnant in the earlier picture than she does in the later ones, guessing she had a pretty bad worm load when you got her?

I don't think she looks pregnant in the later pictures, but it depends on where she's at in her pregnancy. How far along would she be? You said your dad got her in april, and you got her from him later. Assuming you didn't breed her yourselves, that would make her at least in her 8th month if not later. Some horses show sooner, some later, but I'd expect her to be showing more than that at this point. I'd still go for the U/S or a second palpitation to confirm, but from the looks of her I wouldn't be inclined to think she is preggo.
 
#19 ·
I wormed her on October 2nd so she is going to be due for another worming come the beginning of December. Dad got her in April with the "possibility she could be a few months". I just don't know. She looks bigger to me now. But I don't know if that is just because she has filled out more in her ribs.
 
#21 ·
Is anyone familiar with the Wee-Foal pregnancy test? I've heard about it and thought about purchasing one to see if it is positive or not. If so, then I can spend the money on a U/S but if she isn't, then I won't have to call the vet out because other than that, she is healthy and UTD on everything.
 
#27 ·
there really is no way to tell. Maybe if you had this mare through several pregnancies and knew how she tended to carry it might mean something, but every mare is different, let alone differences between breeds and stallion size, her nutritional status/body condition going in, etc etc. The only way to know is to get in there and have a look/feel. Although I am interested in hearing more about this Weefoal, haven't used them before and would love to hear about other people's opinions.
 
#29 ·
Chey- I hadn't thought about a mini. I've palpated mini cows but they are still a lot bigger than your girls! We have a pretty good technique for doing alpacas (cause they are REALLY tiny) that I bet would work on minis too but it is nice to know there is a fairly reliable test out there too!
 
#31 ·
>>>> OP- go with an ultrasound. I do not like rectal palpations in the first place- only extremely experienced and qualified individuals should perform them, and even then the risk of injury to your mare is more than what I would want to take with my own.

I have had several mares ultrasounded by an experienced repro vet-- and he does it rectally-- in fact he will often palpate first to get "the lay of the land" and make some predictions to follow up on before inserting the US wand to "see"--- how are your vets performing the US on yours, if not rectally?
 
#32 ·
I've heard different things...that a vet can miss the foal during a palpatation and then I hear that a vet cannot miss it. He said no when he checked her on October 2nd but her belly has seemed to grow more since then. I don't want him to think I am crazy to have him out again if he already said she wasn't.
 
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