Pregnant Mare?

Hello, I believe my mare is pregnant but we aren't 100% sure..... I am attaching pictures of her and her udders. I have not been able to get the vet out to determine 100% if she is or she isn't. I am a single mom, and the tranny went out on my vehicle and I had to get it fixed. Since I am the only one paying the bills I don't have any cash to get the vet out until next month... Do you think she is pregnant? If she isn't what would cause her to develop a bag, and her stomach to drop like it has? I have only had her 4 months, she is wormed, hooves trimmed, and yes she is on sand, but she is sand cleared monthly. The picture on the right is of her udders yesterday morning, and the picture on the left is of her udders this morning. They do appear to be going down at night only to return slightly larger the next morning her personality has changed greatly, and changes greatly on almost an hourly basis, horses she likes she tries to bite, horses she doesn't like she wants to stand inches from... she will isolate herself in the pasture, then go to the fence and reach her head over to get closer to someone (people or another horse) she is not off her feed. She will eat all of her hay, but eats her grain very slowly.... I have NEVER had a pregnant mare, and any helpful advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

It is possible but the only way to know for sure is to have the vet check her. There could be other reasons why she is showing signs but I can't know for sure. You wouldn't be the first to have bought a mare that nobody knew was pregnant.

Thank you I. Would you be able to enlighten me as to what other reasons she would show signs and appear pregnant? I have heard that false pregnancies do not produce large bellys, and she is definitely larger and rounder in the belly and walks very heavy. I would not be unhappy with a baby, only that I didn't know she was pregnant and have been riding her, I would have provided her with more supplements, vitamins etc.

How old is your mare. And she seems pregnate to me from what your saying.

She is estimated at 20 and I was told never bred. She is the best mare I have ever had, and normally a very sweet mellow in your pocket kind of girl well at least until the last few weeks. I love this horse. I would buy an ultrasound machine if I had the cash. She was being boarded at a ranch that had another arabian mare that they were trying to breed to some very expensive arabian stallions and he was very dissappointed when that mare was still open. I contacted the man that boarded her and all he would say is she was around stallions Sept/Oct 2008 which I know could mean if she is pregnant that it could be in the next few days or month or more.... but he kept saying "I never bred her" over and over.... Her hind quarters have gotten much more pointy I guess. Im sorry if it doesn't make sense. He said she was a pure arab, but I suspect she is half arab half quarter. She has a very big quarter type rump. But her rump muscles appear slanted now. And she doesn't want anyone looking at her udder. She will actually pull her leg up on the side you are standing on to "hide" them. And she will pull her tail down so that you can't see if she is "relaxed". I am so new to this and I just don't want anything to happen to my mare.

Even if she is preggo, I wouldn't get too worried about it yet. Mares have been having babies for millenia with absolutely no help from humans. It sounds to me like the guy at the ranch is trying to say that there is "no way she could be bred" even though she had been exposed to a stallion. Just make an appointment with the vet and RELAX. She will be fine. If she was bred, you probably have around another month before you have to worry about it, just keep an eye on her.

I would suggest calling the local vets and get a quote for a palpation only. At this stage an Ultrasound is probably a mute point.

If she is preggo you may or may not want to vaccinate and should ask the vet. You can save a little money if they will let you haul in. Call around and tell them your situation. Don't get too upset if your story falls on deaf ears and no one works with you, but there are considerate vets that will try to help out -especially for something like a palp.

Once you know how much it will cost you will be able to get a plan of action. AKA borrow $20 from 5 friends if it will run you a $100 to get this done.

Good luck!

Keep clean towels, iodine for dipping the cord, one of those snot sucker bulbs for babies, and your camera handy. I also keep enemas on hand and to give the foal to make sure the first poop passes - it tends to be thick and sticky. Don't cut the cord - it should break when mom or the foal get up.

See if you can find someone local that has experience with foaling that can look at her and maybe let you call when the time comes to help you.

Hey just wondering if my mares are pregnant , both were in pasture with my two year old stud, one was discharging and went out and then came directly back in with in two weeks the other never showed any signs of estrus and yet it has been almost two months and now both mares are showing signs of looking drawn up in the flanks with a buldge above the flanks and one of the mares is discharging a lil and she is the one that was in season and then went out and came back ino.... can anyone give me some advise on the situation and your opinion before I go to the vet , its no big deal if they are bred that would actually be a welcomed joy to our clan .... and we are hoping , thanks Donnie

So it has been 2 months seen you think you saw signs of heat?
Mares don't really show any major weight change until 9 months along.

I would look at you feed protocol, look at your pasture condition, check teeth, deworm, and have a vet palpate for pregnancy. More than likely they were covered by the stud within a month of being turned out with him - even if you hadn't seen him paying much attention to the mares.

You need to know if they are bred so that you can give the appropriate vaccines on schedule, adjust the diet as needed and be ready for the foal instead of guessing when that might be.

Good luck with the vet.

I think I had to pay around $150 to an ultrasound on my mare, just so you have an idea of price.

Honestly, I am not sure. It really is hard to tell until the last little bit just from looking at them.

I had a shetland pony we bought, told she was in foal, and everytime we'd look at her through that spring, checking udders and all, we'd think, she is pregnant for sure. . .the month would pass, nothing, and eventually, she passed the point she could have been since we'd had her an entire year - lol.