Flames due early September :)

[Flame]

Hi all, I'm from country victoria in Australia so it's been pretty dry here this summer, just wanting to know

Is my horse pregnant or is it just a grass belly? She only came to live with me just over a month ago, so I know very little about her, she was paddocked next to a stallion back in October but that's all I know.

She is upto date with worming etc

Please help!

 

[AnnaC]

Hi and welcome! That certainly looks as though it could be a pregnant tummy to me - sort of well rounded and not the 'droop style' tummy of a hay belly. How old is she - pretty girl by the way - and do you know or can you find out if she has had foals before? Is she registered, if so maybe you could trace some of her past history via your registration society?

It would help for us to get a better picture of her tummy if you could get down on your knees alongside her and take a pic from side down at her level rather than one with you standing looking down at her (hope this makes sense!). Also one taken from directly behind her so we can view her tummy from the back to see how the foal (if it is there) is lying.

If there is any chance she might be in foal, please scroll through the forums on here and locate the Mare/foal Watchers forum and come and join us - lots of useful info on foaling mares and many new babies arriving.

 

[Flame]

Thank u AnnaC,

She is only 2 years young

she hasn't been in foal before to my knowledge anyway.

I will try and up load some more images just as soon as I can work out how I did it to begin with

 

[Flame]

Why are my pics coming up sideways?

How can I fix it?

 

[Tremor]

I apologize if I offend anybody, but we need to be proactive about being knowledgeable to our members and those who ask for advice and at this moment in time the best advice that the OP needs is to go to her vet and seek advice and treatment there.

Especially when it comes to young mares from iffy pasts. The OP mentions her being wormed, but a fecal ought to be done so that they can set up an in depth program.

Either way if the mare is pregnant or not they need to discuss her diet. This is a growing young horse, who needs a diet that will promote her growth and possibly the growth of a fetus.

 

[AnnaC]

Hey, no offence taken! As soon as I read that she is possibly only 2 years old, I would have suggested a vet visit to not only test for pregnancy, but to give her a general once over and advice to Flame re a continuing programme for her. From the pictures shown the mare/filly looks quite mature for a 2 year old, but perhaps the vet could also confirm this. But she is in a good, healthy looking condition for a youngster so I dont think the vet will find any general 'problems'.

Sorry Flame, but being not very computer literate, I cannot tell you how to correct your pictures into the upright position, but I'm sure someone else will know and explain. This forum is a great place for anything to do with minis, lots of very experienced folk on here, so please continue to ask your questions, however silly they may seem to you, we are here to help!

 

[MountainWoman]

She's a lovely mare and I agree with Anna that from the photos, they make her look pregnant but we aren't there with you and as Tremor said best to get the vet out for a full physical especially since you don't know her history and haven't had her that long and she's very young as well.

If she is pregnant, I hope you'll join us over on the MareStare board as it's a most wonderful place to be if you have a foal due. Best of luck to you and glad you found the boards.

 

[Flame]

Good morning all, I have an appointment booked for Friday for the vet to come out so I will keep u informed to what they do and say, I have had the vet out to check both my hores health about 4 weeks ago now and she said they were in excellent health the only thing the vet said is that they need a farrier and equine dentist to come out (not that they had any problems they were perfect so that's all been done now! thanks for all the advice.

I contacted the previous owner/breeder and she confirmed that she is only 2 and I should receive her reg papers shortly, she also said that 'Flame' my mini mare was always a stocky little foal. Sometime early next week I should also receive a wee foal pregnancy test that I ordered online cause I'm impatient hahaha

I just want to give flame and astro a better life and a forever home here with my family of 7 we offer plenty of hugs and kisses everyday.

 

[chandab]

What does her diet consist of? How much of each feed/hay? How big is she?

Perhaps she is missing something in her diet leading to a bigger belly appearance.

Perhaps it just her build.

 

[Flame]

Hi chandab, she gets fed hard feed twice a week

I cup of chaff and 1 cup of pellets mixed with 30 ml of of rice bran oil and a sprinkle of water and every morning she gets 1 carrot and half an apple but she is free to roam our 2 acres but saying that we haven't much grass atm but I only started this diet about 2 weeks ago when someone suggested I was over feeding her lol

she was getting the same mixture but every night, and she free to access her miniral lick.

She is 32 inches to the last hair on her mane I'm not sure what her weight is

 

[Tremor]

Keep us updated.

 

[Flame]

Will do Tremor

she's been really moody today? She won't even let me pet her, she was like this a few days ago for 2 days straight, I hope she's not moody for long this time cause I love when she's smoochy

 

[chandab]

If she's chubby, she doesn't really need the rice bran oil (very high in fat); and she should probably get her pellets and chaff everyday (even if that means giving her a little less each meal), so she doesn't get an upset tummy (horses need to be on a regular feeding schedule, meaning they get their normal ration everyday). Also, if she's chubby, she really doesn't need the carrot and apple everyday, give her the pellets and chaff everyday instead, and if you really gotta give her the carrot and apple, give her a smaller piece like once a week as a treat.

 

[Flame]

Ok thank you I'll start tonight l'll just halve her amount and cut down on her treats

as u can tell these are my first ever horses lol I thought I researched everything I possibly could but when it comes to feeding every single person has something different to say... It's all a bit confusing

 

[chandab]

That's one thing about horses... ask 100 horse owners and you are likely to get 100 answers about feeding; but one thing most can agree on is be consistent. You are in the right place to learn; there is a great search feature here on the forum, you can find out just about anything you want to know. (Top right, almost to the corner).

 

[Flame]

Thank u so much

 

[Flame]

Some new photos from this morning!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Hey Flame , Welcome to the forum, I see you are from Victoria also . Everyone is great on this forum and regarding feeding there will be many answers. If she does happen to be pregnant come join in on the marestare page its heaps of fun.

Cheers Ryan

 

[Flame]

Thanks Ryan,

Can I ask u a quick question? Sorry I'm a first time horse owner, she's been really stand offish with me lately, like she's not interested unless I have food for her, she doesn't like me touching her at all, it's not like her, is this normal mare behavior or could it men that she's not happy? And also when I do get a chance to catch her and try and feel movement under her tummy she flicks her tail and stamps her hind leg and turns her head to the hand that's touching her???? Sorry I don't know who else to ask and I'm very impatiently waiting till Friday to see the vet lol

 

[Flame]

This is what she looked like when I first got her about 6 weeks or so ago



And this is today