# False Pregnancy



## Crabtree Farm (Oct 15, 2008)

I have a question hoping someone can spread some light on the subject. I have a MP (3 yr old maiden mare) that I have had since March, she has been stalled/pastured separetely from my stallion since I have had her. And the breeder I purchased her has also confirmed that she has not been turned out with a stallion (she was pature/stall rotated with her 1/2 brother). So no two have been out at the same time.

Well . . . this little gal is giving me lots of fluid. Nice warm clear sticky fluid. In fact you could confuse her with a milking cow. I had noticed this several months ago when I was finding her ichy spot between her teets. Well I thought maybe she liked the scratching so much that she got excited. Then just the other night I was scratching and pulling on her teets just to get her use to my messing under there and low and behold I got myself squirted pretty good.

So is this a false pregnancy or something I should be concerned with. She does not have a bag, just a little pooch and two tiny flabby teets. When she came to my place my stallion would call to her and she would do her winking and peeing, but I have not seen her doing that for some time. There are no other horses in my area, so I doubt anyone "got" her.

Any suggestions or thoughts.

Tina Ferro


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## kaykay (Oct 16, 2008)

Years ago my MP mare had a false pregnancy. WE could express tons of sticky yellow fluid etc. Everyone thought she was in foal. Then we finally figured out she wasnt and umm she was fat LOL. So its quite possible


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## muffntuf (Oct 16, 2008)

Tina,

It happens. I would not express anymore fluid out of her teets though. When they cycle sometimes their bags get a bit of fluid in them. Also mares are most about to visibly cycle in the warmer months (summer), but then you loose the visible signs of them coming into heet as the seasons change.

Stallions pick up on the phermone changes, they are very sensitive, so your stallion may just be reacting now to the 'lack of'.

Hope this helps.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Oct 16, 2008)

There is no such thing as a false pregnancy in the mare. It is very common however to have lactation issues. It is even possible for a mare who never even saw a stallion (or an AI tech) in their lives to bag up and produce milk. I would not take this sign as a problem or in any way related to any other issue. If you are worried about the mare have your vet out to ultrasound to verify the health of the pregnancy.


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## Matt73 (Oct 16, 2008)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> There is no such thing as a false pregnancy in the mare. It is very common however to have lactation issues. It is even possible for a mare who never even saw a stallion (or an AI tech) in their lives to bag up and produce milk. I would not take this sign as a problem or in any way related to any other issue. If you are worried about the mare have your vet out to ultrasound to verify the health of the pregnancy.



Yes, there is: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=173


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## Nathan Luszcz (Oct 16, 2008)

There is no such thing as false pregnancy in the mare




She can BE pregnant, loose it, but not come back in to heat because of endometrial cups, but there is no such thing as false pregnancy.


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## muffntuf (Oct 17, 2008)

Beg to differ Nathan - A mare can have a false pregnancy, her hormones can go wacko and fake her body into a false pregnancy. I have had to use Regumate to get a mare to cycle again.


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## Crabtree Farm (Oct 17, 2008)

I don't think I need a vet to do an ultra sound or else this is a miracle conception. And having 50 yards between pastures, I doubt my stallion is that well endowed.

Thanks for your help.

Tina


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## Nathan Luszcz (Oct 17, 2008)

The few cases that can sorta-kinda be called a false pregnancy can not be treated with Regumate. Regumate just fools the mare into thinking she's pregnant, shuts down her overies, then "reboots" them when you remove the drug. If she already thought she was pregnant, adding Regumate would just reinforce that "belief", not fix it. Your mare had an issue with her ovulatory process, most commonly seen in spring transition. But it can happen year round. Regumate, hCG, or Deslorelin can all help with that paticular issue.

In this case, Crabtree, I'd ask what she is eating. Diets high in clover or other plants high in phytoestrogens (plant compounds which trigger the same cell receptors that estrodiol does) can cause lactational issues as well as odd heat cycles. Mastitis, an infection of the mammary glands, can also cause that type of fluid. It is also completely normal for any mare, pregnant, maiden, or barren, to have SOME fluid in their teats at any given time. You would not normally expect them to milk like a cow, however.

Sounds to me like your best bet would be to have a veterinarian out to take a sample of the milk-like substance and have it tested. If its infection it'll be really easy to detect.

Again, there is no such thing as false pregnancy, especially in a mare that was not pregnant to begin with.


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## kaykay (Oct 19, 2008)

Heck I dont know call it what you want. My vet at the time called it a false pregnancy so thats what I called it. Lewella even came by the farm and also thought Patches was in foal. Afterwards it was actually kinda funny. Patches doesnt have any repro issues and gave us a foal this year with no problems.


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## minih (Oct 20, 2008)

We bought a mare that we had been told she had been exposed to a stallion, come spring no baby and we were getting milk! Enough that I had even tested her to see if I could get a reading.....long story short, she foundered on us that summer. Put her on thyro L, had her flushed in the spring and she got pregnant that next spring. She had milk all the way thru all of this, her feet are doing great, you can't even tell she is a founder horse unless you look at her feet. She has had a baby for us the past two years and no problems. Don't know what you can get out of this, except yes they can have fluid there and it not be a problem.


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