Things I Have Learned...

[CritterCountry]

Now that I have been through this twice, I have learned quite a lot... OH!

-Big bellies can also mean the mare is FAT!

-Udders can inflate and even have fluid for any number of reasons other than pregnancy (spring grass-hormones, etc)

-Weight shifting with back feet can also mean your mare is FAT! (or foundered, or in pain)

-Breathing, muscle tensing & gas can convincingly resemble a foal moving to the point of feeling tapping

-Tail swishing and belly kicking can also be flies/colic/random itching

-Butt rubbing is also a sign of shedding or worms

-Lying down a lot can also mean your mare is FAT!

-Pregnant mares usually don't/can't do the Indy 500 in turn out, on their due date

-The ones you put all the effort into breeding are the ones you have trouble getting in foal. When the stud gets loose however, the mare is guaranteed in foal.

Open mares do not care if you have awaited all year for the foal..as long as the food keeps coming!

 

[Genie]

hahahahahahaha.....very funny.

Just yesterday a "real horseman" who happens to have 2 minis, although he is a standardbred man, was saying the mare he has got a full udder, milk dripping, felt the baby moved etc, and at the due date went back to no udder etc.

 

[muffntuf]

Yes although I say very funny - I hav been there too!

"-The ones you put all the effort into breeding are the ones you have trouble getting in foal. When the stud gets loose however, the mare is guaranteed in foal."

This is so true! 4th time breeding a mare this week this year! Go figure!

"Open mares do not care if you have awaited all year for the foal..as long as the food keeps coming!"

And then this should be before the other - the mare was in UT confirmed pregnant and then somewhere the foal went. But she didn't care as long as she got fed. This is the same mare I am not trying to breed for next year.

Think she has an alternative plan? I have seen her pee and pee and pee the stallions deposit out! Even after making sure she walked for at least 10 minutes.

Stinker!

Sorry you didn't get the foal you were expecting, it surely is a disappintment.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

jeepers you guys, I'm going through the same thing. You may have seen my posts with pictures of my Grulla mare? This is my first mini and my first (possible) pregnant horse. I never dreamed it would be so hard to figure out if these little beggers are pregnant or not. I'm not feeding her as if she's pregnant, in fact I've fed her to try to get weight off her. Her belly just doesn't match the rest of her. I'm trying not to get excited, but I just can't help being a little bit excited. I guess we just keep waiting......

 

[Endless]

awwww! I am sorry you didnt get a foal! That is sooo diappointing!

 

[muffntuf]

When is her possible due date? You don't feed a mare for pregnancy - only the last three months do you pay attention to upping protein and nutrients, IMHO.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

muffntuf, were you refering to my post or critter countrys?

critter country, are you sure your mare isn't in foal? I've heard some crazy strories just when people give up on a foal, the mare gives it up! LOL!!

 

[CritterCountry]

Yep, pretty positive. No bag (she was swelling but it went away-and she has white fluid as we speak and has had this fluid for over a month)

Belly has stayed the same all year. Thought she was getting bigger (ribs expanded a bit) but nope, can feel fat deposits everywhere. No kicking. Thought I felt rolling and tapping and come to find out she double breathes and when she does she tucks all up and it feels like a foal rolling when in fact it is her tummy muscles contracting and retracting with each breath. Can push clear through her flanks and belly to almost the other side without hitting anything solid. No kicks, or visible poking, limbs or other in her belly. Plus her 340 due date was June 3. No signs, no changes, nothing. She is just hungry OH!

Came to find out the grain she was on had %33 protein and the farrier said that would surely make her fat.

Here is pics of her from today..you'll see why I gave up. Sure she looks about 8 months preggo, but not 11 for sure!

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I'm so sorry for you. I'm TOTALLY confused. 2 ultrasounds haven't found a foal. She's not supposed to be due until the end of September. These mares are enough to put us in the nut house, aren't they? What do you think???

Joyce

 

[muffntuf]

White fluid? You can express white fluid from her udder? Have you tested it?

 

[lotsofspots]

Hmm....crittercountry, I would say no, but luv2ridesaddleseat, I would say definitely YES. I can't stand it anymore myself...the vet is coming tomorrow to check my mare who looks very much like your mare luv2ridesaddleseat! He will palpate her...he's never been wrong yet. I will post when I know results.

Barbara

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Lots of spots, 99% of Vets anywhere near here won't palpate minis. But their is one I can go to that comes from a very reliable source. I even got a negative weefoal test in March! My husband thinks I'm nuts and that I just won't believe my mare ISN'T pregnant! I'll never hear the end of it if I have her Vetted a third time. Uggg. Could you post a picture of your mare? You can e-mail me privately if you want! [email protected] or PM. Best of luck with your palpation tomorrow!!

Crittercountry, your mare is BEAUTIFUL!! I hope she has a baby for you. Do you have any other mares due?

 

[CritterCountry]

White fluid? You can express white fluid from her udder? Have you tested it?

Nope, but she has always had fluid in her udder. The reason I thought something was up was because it turned white, and it has never done that. Other days it is whiter than others. Her udder gets tense and hot. Her milk veins are also huge and she has veins running up her belly to her armpits. So I for sure thought she was in foal. But unless she can hide that foal in her rib cage and it's the size of a rabbit, I do verily believe she is not. Plus we have had so much bad luck this year I actually bet my hubby that no matter what signs she had or how big she got, that with our luck, she will not be in foal. I guessed it.

Ever since I had my first foal born here I became addicted. When I first bought Sable she was supposedly bred for May 25, 2007. I waited until April when the vet looked at her and said, nope, not in foal.

After that I gto frustrated and stupidly bought a 12 yr. old stud and the situation quickly turned disastrous. So I gave the stud away, (just finished paying for him this month and he was here for 3 days) but brought Sable to him to be bred at his new home. She stood for 8 days, came home, went back and stood one day, July 15, then quit. So, I had assumed she took. Nope.

I have now bawled like a baby for two years in a row over this. Obviously she has an issue that the vet is going to have to look at, but I have no studs to breed her to now. The owner of the stallion said she has no time or room this year to take Sable in (and there are no other studs near me) So it looks like I am not having a foal next year either.

I just cannot afford to send her off to be bred this year anywhere else. My biggest wish is to have my own colt to raise the way I want to and avoid BAD stud behavior like the one I had and use him as my breeder or to have a mare in foal for this year. Sadly, there are not many left in foal for this year and I just can't buy one outright. It's my biggest dream to breed minis, but I just don't have the room for more than two, so I hoped I could at least get a foal from my girl. Guess some things are just meant to be?

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I'm so sorry for you Jen.

 

[CritterCountry]

Crittercountry, your mare is BEAUTIFUL!! I hope she has a baby for you. Do you have any other mares due?

Thanks! She is my pride and joy! she is my only horse/mare. I only have a small hobby farm so can't breed on a larger scale like I'd like to.

I am crossing fingers for you but your mare certainly looks in foal to me!! Good luck!!!

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Thank you Jen, you sound so nice. All I have is one mini and my one big riding mare. I just have a small place too.

 

[lotsofspots]

The vet arrived yesterday to palpate my mare. I generally do not have my minis palpated and only do it as a last resort. Verdict: SHE IS JUST FAT! So now that means I've gotta do something about this lard butt! The vet did pull blood to check her thyroid and I will know more Monday. Disappointing that she's not in foal and that she is so fat, but at least I know. The good news is that maybe I will save some money on my feed bills

For those that want to see my mare, here is a link to her page...and you can see why I thought she could be pregnant! JTR Dinah Royal

 

[barnbum]

Pregnant mares usually don't/can't do the Indy 500 in turn out, on their due date

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Pregnant mares usually don't/can't do the Indy 500 in turn out, on their due date

Now the funny thing is I was in your place last year, and my mare had been confirmed in foal but must have lost it and still had all the hormones. She also got fluid in her udders, and toward what would have been her due date would not even leave the barn she was so uncomfortable. She was the only mare I bred that year, so I was pretty disappointed also. Her half sister this year was pregnant and carried full term, and she trucked along at the front of the herd until the day before her foal was born (and she went 351 days). All the pictures I have of her leading up to foaling she is trotting. If she hadn't been so huge, I would have wondered about her too. I think the moral of the story is, as soon as you think you know something, the mares just do it another way.

Here is the mare in question only hours after having her foal, chugging along as usual:

 

[choclat dreams]

My little mare that I have talked about a few times on this forum, was confirmed in foal also. She got big and started getting a little bag. I truly thought she was pregnant. the vet even did an ultrasound a month ago and told me she was. We had her back out to re check her since she has never foaled, and was told that she may or may not be in foal. and told me to tease her to see if she comes into heat? I am devastated, I was really looking forward to a baby this year. She is my only mare all my other minis are geldings. Anyway I am guessing she is not in foal, she is teasing in heat anyway. I guess I will breed her on her next heat cycle, since then she would have for sure had a baby!