Pregnant mare showing in season to another mare

I am now confused.......my TB mare was covered July 16th last, and has been scanned positively in foal. Today I noticed that she is showing in heat to my other mare who is also in season. They are nuzzling and squirting at each other, but the TB is ignoring the gelding who is her field mate who she used to squirt at when in season before she was covered!? I am aware some people say a pregnant mare can still show signs of being in season throughout her pregnancy, but what is going on in that she is showing to my other mare and not the gelding?

It is not uncommon for mares to show heat signs to other mares.


It might be worth confirming she did not lose the foal.

Could be hormonal, could have slipped the foal, could be anything.

Getting a vet out to check her to see if she is pregnant still or not is the only way to know for sure if she is still in foal.

I would also consider having her checked to be sure she didn't slip the foal but yes, it can be totally normal behavior.

We had one broodmare when I was a kid that would throw off & squeal throughout the whole pregnancy and would mount the other mares in the pasture. Strange to see but she was normal...at least from a medical standpoint

One of three things. Your mare has slipped the pregnancy and has returned to estrus. Your mare is behaving normally and the display is simply due to hormones. Or, your mare is display submissive behavior.

Up to 20% of mares will display estrus despite being pregnant. There "is" a slightly higher incidence of mares that display estrus while pregnant producing a filly. There is absolutely no correlation to a mare displaying stallion like behavior and their chance of producing a colt ;). And, estrus display (squatting, urinating, squealing, etc.) are all forms of submission.

Hope that helps!

Kathy St.Martin
Avalon Equine
Avalon Equine - Home

And

Equine-Reproduction.com, LLC
Equine Reproduction

Our mare show'd heat to our stallion during her pregnancy and it was a colt duing all the above! It made me wonder till we re checked her again.

Thanks everyone. Reading around there seems to be a lot of mares acting strangely!! Vet says she is fine and still in foal! Its so strange how she is just acting up to the other mare, and if Megan and foal come in Ellie shouts for her for ages completely ignoring her companion. Silly girl lol

If it's a sudden change in her behavior, I would still get her preg checked by the vet.

There's a difference between normal in general for mares, and normal for *your* mare. If this behavior is a signifigant departure from her usual, I think it's worth a vet visit.