Hi, everyone!! just joined the forum, and had a few questions and concerns...
first off i have a 6 yo shetland mare who i previously owned and had to sell her 2 years ago but bought her back in december. any way, i got her back knowing there was a possability she was in foal, he was with 2 stallions and they were unsure fi she was bred so we no due date, a ferrier told me she is more than likely in foal so i watched her and recorded movement , which i still do daily, took it to the vet since i do not have a way to get her there, he said by looking at the video he is going to say, yes she is pregnate, did a blood test which came back negtive,the vet said that she is too small for him to palpate or do on ultrasound so we have are not 100% sure, but she has gotten big, we had an episode of false labor about 10 days ago. pawing, rolling half way, getting up and repeating for about 3 hours then got up like nothing happened. she rubs her hind end on everything. she has saggy udders buy has had some waxy granuales. her stomch is not v shaped, her tail end feels very jiggly. she is a maiden as far as we know and the stud is a 30" mini. still a lot of fetal movement daily.
Any info would be helpful, thank you
mmmmm....you need a different vet if yours claims a Shetland mare is too small to ultrasound. I went to our vet's last week to pickup some meds for the dogs and he was using the ultrasound on a mini mare to check for pregnancy and twins at day 16 post breeding.
Just like humans, mares can have false labor, but unless you are sure she's in labor, those signs you mentioned could also be caused by colic. Rubbing her hind end can be a sign of pinworms.....have you checked for them?
i had the vet out a few weeks ago when i thought she was having colic he said it was probably just the foal repositioning its self, she was showing the same signs. she is up to date on deworming. actually he is due to be dewormed in the begning of september, but i heard they should not be dewormed in the last 30 days of gestation, but not knowing how far she is im not sure wether to deworm her or not.
You still need to ultrasound rectally most of the time, transabdominally isn't an option in most cases because of how the uterus sits in the abdomen.
You need a better vet. If the blood test came back negative, that is a pretty good indicator that she is not pregnant. Though miniature horses have a slightly different reference range than regular horses according to our reference lab for the estrone sulfate pregnancy test, so you must tell the lab such or take it into account.
Sounds like she was colicing. Many times people think they are seeing foals move and they really aren't.
We've had several mares US for pregnancy or reproductive issues including a mini and there was no need to do it rectally. Your vet's machine may be an older model that doesn't penetrate as deeply or give clear images.
Vet said he if he did the rectal US that it may cause more harm than good and may tear some tissues can cause more harm than good and since the blood test was not in the first 150 days or the last days that he wouldn't necessarily go by the result of it
I would say that the vet is right about the US. It can do more harm than good on the little ponies. I would just wait a couple of more months and do the blood test for late in pregnancy and see then. I think that at 8 to 9 months, it's hard to tell by size because they all carry so differently. When my mare was pregnant, I could definitely feel the fetus moving at about five months gestation. It was a big difference in movement than intestines.
Keep an eye on her though. She might have been rolling because she was uncomfortable from colic or, if she is pregnant, the baby pressing on her. My mare had a colic episode when she was pregnant that resolved pretty quickly on it's own. The vet thought it was either gas or baby in an uncomfortable position.
Don't forget to keep us posted on whether she in foal or not.
And as far as the movement, I sit out with my mare for several hours of the day. Everyday I see it move, and most of the time I try to record and take pics.
The pictures dont really show it too well, she looks bigger in person, but That's one thing I was wondering about also. The sire is 1 of 2 30" minis so I'm not too sure how big the foal would be any way. The least days she could be is 255.
Yes, the udder is not really anything, the only thing about them is that they have had little granules like sugar but a golds color on them like 2 different times
A moving abdomen means nothing. Horses can have incredible gas and intestine movement from digesting hay. Her udder has no development, whatsoever. And she is not anywhere near as large as I would expect an overdue miniature mare to be.
I am sorry, I read the date as 355 days. Rather than 255. She still does not look as large as I would expect for being due in nearly 2 months with a negative blood test.
I have seen tens of thousands of goats, alpacas, minis and small ponies all safely rectally ultrasounded. The vet needs to use a probe instead of his arm but it is perfectly safe with the correct technique and know how.
Mini bloodwork reference ranges needs to be tweaked because of their special makeup and read as such,but also is quite accurate.
How are mini's makeup different or special as far as blood work is concerned? It never occurred to me that they would be.
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