Bred...or not?

[LindaL]

Last year we bred our mare Seq to our now gelding Dollar. We both pasture and hand bred and the last breeding date would be late April. We never had her ultrasounded or preg-checked in any way, but after that time she never came back into heat (that we saw). Over the winter she seemed to swell in her belly and we would check for foal movement...and it was always either "no foal movement" or I "think" I felt movement...

We also started checking her bag development, which has never gotten big but has been anywhere from no bag at all to a little tiny bit there. Our Pony mare has really started to bag up and so while we have been expressing some fluid from the pony to test we decided to see if we could express some fluid from Seq's udders as well...and yes, she has a clear fluid coming from her udders. So, you would assume she is pregnant, right?

Well, a few weeks ago we brought home our newly gelding boy Dollar (the supposed sire to Seq's baby). At this point he had been gelded about 2 weeks. Since then, she and other mares have shown heat signs...altho we did not actually see Dollar breed any mares...until today, he bred Seq! This is 2 weeks after he had come back,...so 4 weeks since he was gelded.

OK, so with a bigger belly, possible foal movement, being able to express fluid from her udders...can she still be in heat and let a "stallion" (gelding) breed her??

She would be at approx. 330ish days pregnant (don't have an exact date) at last breeding date if she is indeed in foal.

Just in case she is NOT pregnant...what are the chances of her catching now??

Edited to add that she is not a maiden mare. She is 16 yrs old and has had foals in the past.

 

[chandab]

Your newly gelded boy, while unable to produce more sperm from the moment of gelding on (its like 1-3 days after gelding that all existing sperm are gone), he'll still have stallion behaviors for several weeks or months after gelding (I once read, it takes a month for each year of age at time of gelding, so if 5 years old, it'll take at least 5 months for those stallion-like behaviors to subside, and some never lose it). [My husband's saddle gelding has been a gelding for years, and he still thinks to highly of my APHA mare.]

I've also had a couple mares, that even bred would still act like they were in heat and accept a stallion.

When all else fails, call the vet. [Last year, I finally had the vet out and USd my mares, and the ones in question were open, despite looking pregnant.]

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

She may very well be open. None of the signs you saw are definitive. Chances of pregnancy however are almost nil, if she was bred by a gelding of four weeks.

 

[Miniv]

Pictures would help, Linda. Is she "showing" when you look at her from either front to back or back to front? One side should be sticking out more than the other.

Getting some liquid from her teats doesn't always mean anything from an experienced broodmare because some mares will have something to express year round.

But if the liquid is feeling a little sticky, I'd pay attention. Some mares will show a false heat toward the last part of the pregnancy too.

 

[LindaL]

I can get pics tomorrow..we took one today, but it isn't that good. lol

BTW, the ph test we have been doing on her shows on the least ready color...