Bought a mini and apparently she’s pregnant :)

Lea2017 · Mar 31, 2022

We bought an approximately 5 yr old mini named Paisley 116 days ago. We noticed she was gaining a belly (but belly only) at a rapid pace. The vet did a blood test and she’s definitely pregnant. Being that we have no idea how many days into her gestation she is, anything aside from watching her bag we should know or look for? I’ve read lots of threads about being on foal watch but I’m not sure when that should start for us.

Thanks in advance!

elizabeth.conder · Mar 31, 2022

Those mares can be difficult because you truly don’t even have a ballpark date. Do you know if she’s a maiden or if she’s had foals before? Some mares get a big belly very quickly after pregnancy begins. Best time to check for changes is in the morning. Because they move less at night, any start to an udder is more noticeable then and hasn’t to had a chance to go down. Checking daily for change and taking pictures weekly may be a good start until she starts to change. He thing is she could be just 4-5 months along. So you may have a while. Of course it’s also possible for her to be ready to start an udder any day. Keep an eye on the area around her tail head. Once she starts getting closer it should become super mushy. To the point you tap it and her show hindquarters jiggle. Watch her lady parts for elongation. You can also keep an eye on belly shape. You may see the traditional v or when they get close you may see the foal shift forward of center. You should also see her go from being a rather wide load to narrow. As if the foal is lining up along her spine.

elizabeth.conder · Mar 31, 2022

One thing to know, with blood tests there is a window of accuracy. It’s about 120-270 days or so. Because the blood test is for specific hormone and that hormone disappears on either side of those dates. It can vary of course but it gives me the idea she’s not due any moment anyway.

Lea2017 · Mar 31, 2022

elizabeth.conder said:
One thing to know, with blood tests there is a window of accuracy. It’s about 120-270 days or so. Because the blood test is for specific hormone and that hormone disappears on either side of those dates. It can vary of course but it gives me the idea she’s not due any moment anyway.

Thank you!The blood test was done on March 9th. I noticed last weekend she was getting a bag. But haven’t taken any pictures of it so I will start to do that. The only thing we know about her is she was with a horse trader for about 5-6 months. We don’t know if she’s a maiden or not aside from her approximate age and temperament, we didn’t get a ton of info on her. Should I limit how far into our pasture she can go and keep her close to the barn? We have 2 gelding mini’s as well, I assume they are all ok to just stick together until she foals? Thank you again for all your advice! I will attach some pics of her from when we got her until now.

elizabeth.conder · Mar 31, 2022

I would definitely separate when she gets close. Some people never have a problem but I’ve seen lots of foals killed because the dam accidentally kicked them or stepped on them in efforts to keep other horses away. After the foal is strong and sticks close to the dam then they should be fine. How big is your pasture. Until she’s progressing for sure I wouldn’t be too concerned about her going to a pasture. But I definitely get the desire to bring them close to the barn! I usually bring mine up at about 290 days. It’s always a guessing game to some degree. Even more si when you don’t have dates.

Lea2017 · Mar 31, 2022

elizabeth.conder said:
I would definitely separate when she gets close. Some people never have a problem but I’ve seen lots of foals killed because the dam accidentally kicked them or stepped on them in efforts to keep other horses away. After the foal is strong and sticks close to the dam then they should be fine. How big is your pasture. Until she’s progressing for sure I wouldn’t be too concerned about her going to a pasture. But I definitely get the desire to bring them close to the barn! I usually bring mine up at about 290 days. It’s always a guessing game to some degree. Even more si when you don’t have dates.

We don’t have a large pasture, it’s about 4 acres but I have an acre I can keep her limited to when the time comes. I’ll just watch her from here on out since I don’t have any idea how far along she is