Pregnant???

[Jodie]

Hi there, I’m new to the forum! Last September I picked up a little filly at auction. I contacted the previous owner and was told that she was born in 2018, and that she had pulled her stud out when she got bigger so she was not exposed. After looking at her teeth I didn’t believe that she was as young as I was told. I then had a vet check her out who said that she was actually 3. As for the “not being around a stud”, she was in a pen at the auction with a stud from the same place... The vet tried to give her an ultrasound back in September but was unable to see anything as she was so fluffy.
Recently I had noticed some movements in her tummy that I hadn’t seen before. I also read that comparing heart girth to flank girth could indicate whether or not a horse was in foal so I measured and there was a 5 inch difference. My mother in law and I both pushed on her belly and swear we felt something push back. I’m wondering whether there is a chance she got bred late and whether it would be worth getting a vet out again to do an ultrasound? (and maybe bring some clippers this time to cut through the fluff lol) I have added some pictures of her when we got her and what she looks like now, though I know the winter coat can be deceiving. Compared to my chubby Shetland gelding her belly seems to hang very low rather than wide like he is. There is a picture of him looking at the camera and her with her butt to the camera. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[chandab]

Not completely doubting your vet, but do you have teeth pictures you can share? I'm curious, and sometimes these little ones are a bit different than their full-size cousins.
The one picture looks suspicious. There is a pregnancy pee test for mares, called WeeFoal, get the WeeFoal 120 test (supposed to use it after 120 days gestation, which she should be, if she is, based on when you bought her), it's reported to be more accurate than the earlier test.

 

[elizabeth.conder]

Not completely doubting your vet, but do you have teeth pictures you can share? I'm curious, and sometimes these little ones are a bit different than their full-size cousins.
The one picture looks suspicious. There is a pregnancy pee test for mares, called WeeFoal, get the WeeFoal 120 test (supposed to use it after 120 days gestation, which she should be, if she is, based on when you bought her), it's reported to be more accurate than the earlier test.

I was wondering the same thing! Obviously it doesn't for sure mean anything but her mane and tail look typical of a yearling in the sale photos. I know a lot can factor into that though. It would be interesting to test her and definitely the safest route as opposed to assuming she isn't in foal.

 

[Jodie]

It was the mane and tail at the auction that made me think I was buying a yearling lol I have a 14 month old daughter that I was thinking could grow up with her. As you can see from the pics it’s grown a lot in the just over 5 months we have had her. I don’t have any teeth pics but I can get some. I had a few other knowledgeable people say they figured she was 3-4 by her teeth. What made me question what I had been told about her age is, when looking at her teeth they were the same as our gelding who we know for a fact was 3 at that time. That and the previous owner told me two different months for when she said she was born in 2018. Thank you for the Wee Foal suggestion!

 

[Jodie]

After looking into Wee Foal, I was sure I would manage to screw it up somehow lol so the vet is coming out next Tuesday to do an ultrasound.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Welcome to the forum Jodie. I agree winter coats are very deceiving. Let us know what the ultrasound shows. She looks a little round in one of the pics and if she was in a yard with a stallion at any stage, anything is possible.

 

[Jodie]

Thank you, Ryan! Yes I will definitely let you know the outcome

 

[Jodie]

Here’s a picture of Rosie today, standing square on, down at her level. She looks lopsided to me? Tuesday can’t come soon enough lol the “Is she? Isn’t she” is driving me crazy!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Looking forward to the results from the vet. Thats one thick winter coat she has

 

[Jodie]

Well the verdict is in, and we’re having a baby!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Congratulations

 

[Jodie]

Congratulations

Thank you Ryan! Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated as this is my first time having a mare in foal.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Did the vet give you any indication when she might be due ?

 

[Jodie]

She said that while she is great at dating full sized horses, she isn’t very experienced when it comes to minis. But she said she thinks she was possibly bred late. We got her on September 20th so she was definitely bred prior to then as we only have mares and one gelding. She said at a VERY rough guess it could be around June/July. She’s not bagging up or anything yet. So I guess we will just have to keep a close eye on her and separate her at some point in the coming months with our little welsh mare for company (her best friend).

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Cool, well we can work off that

At this stage, theres some really good pinned threads at the top of this section of the forum, strongly advise having a read.

Ask away any questions you have , everyone on here will be happy to help answer them

 

[Jodie]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! No doubt closer to the time I’ll be asking lots of questions!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Try and grab some pics every couple of weeks, have a good look at her udder now, her nipples should be up high pointing towards each other. Once you can see them starting to separate and notice filling , its roughly ( harder to guess for maiden mares) 4-6 weeks.

 

[karadoskocil]

Hello, I am also new. My story is almost identical to the Hawaii story. I had many people check the rescue mini; from vets to PRCA cowboys. Well, guess what! The mini was castrated on April 22nd. My lil mare mini seems to be pregnant. We can't get a decent vet out here during coronavirus to save our lives, so I'm on my own. If she is bred, then she would have been bred before April 20, 2019. Here are some pics. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. I cannot lose this sweet mini. Please help this Texas Teacher

 

[Jodie]

Try and grab some pics every couple of weeks, have a good look at her udder now, her nipples should be up high pointing towards each other. Once you can see them starting to separate and notice filling , its roughly ( harder to guess for maiden mares) 4-6 weeks.

I tried to take a look at Rosie’s udder so that I had a starting point to compare it to, and...well..I’m sure you’ll get a chuckle out of the picture! My goodness that girl is fluffy! My eldest daughter (7 years old) got to feel movement yesterday and was very excited about it!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Lol that is one thick winter coat. Keep an eye on her udder development. Can you try and grab a pic from standing behind her, down at her level and a few meters back?

She looks pregnant to me