Will a Pregnant Mare Let a Stud Breed Her?

[Chelley]

Okay, so we have a mare that we *thought* was bred. We had seen her bred several times over a several day period the first week of last May (by proven stud), so we had her due date calculated to be this week. She is always kind of fat and "hay belly" looking, so even when she is pregnant she never looks extremely different. She does not bag up until basically the last second. She does usually get the hollowed out look in her hind quarters and I thought that she was starting too slightly-maybe just hopeful thinking.

Anyway, here we thought that she could be due anytime so had taken the stud out of the fence. (I know some are very much against having mare and stud together all the time but we only have these 2 now and they are buddies and hang together all the time except when it is feeding time and then she kicks him out of the barn-she is the boss.) Today we decided to start separating them in different pens as we have done with previous pregnancies around foaling time, but she began acting more nervous and they were calling to each other all day so I was afraid that she was feeling too nervous with him being separated and put him back in for a bit. The minute we put him back in with her he started trying to breed her, of which she was very receptive-numerous times today. We can see them all the time and have not witness any type of this breeding behavior since we seen her bred that first week of May last year.

Since she allowed this, am I to assume that she was never bred all year and is just coming back in heat now? Sorry, probably a really dumb question-we are obviously new/beginners at this and that was just so surprising. Should I take her and try to get her vet checked-ultrasound or something? I Googled and some answers said yes some pregnant mares will do this and some said no. Opinions?? Thanks!!

 

[Sandee]

Some mares will even let the geldings hassle them. It's a problem because it can cause infection and an abortion.

 

[disneyhorse]

Yes, pregnant mares will let a stallion breed.

It's best to have a vet find out for you so you can breed her of she's not, or separate them if she is.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Ditto... .yes, they can let them, and they can also be raped. It can very easily lead to an abortion.

 

[supaspot]

yes some will allow the stallion to cover them , you say they always live togther ...she must be pregnant or he would have been covering her all this time since last year

 

[Chelley]

They are always together and their pasture is where we watch them all the time. We have not witnessed ANY of this behavior since last breeding season when we thought she had been bred by him May 2011. That is why we really thought she was pregnant and due really soon. We have been watching her closely expecting to see her getting more hollow looking on her rump, feeling to see if she is bagging up at all-we were going to start separating them off at night as we always have....and we did that for a few hours yesterday afternoon because we had been gone for a little bit and didn't want him in there if she was to start into labor. After we got home we left them separated and noticed that she was really missing him and calling to him so I didn't want to make her too nervous so I decided to put him back in for awhile. When I did that is when this all started up and then carried on and off for an hour or more-I stayed out and just watching because I was in disbelief. She was very receptive and not unaccepting at all to him. So here I thought we were close to having a possible foal and now this. So confusing!

 

[Chelley]

Also, he doesn't get by with anything she doesn't want him to, like I said before SHE is the boss. So if she doesn't want him around there is never any question-generally when food is involved. She always eats in the barn. She will let him in there with her all day but when being fed she kicks him out-literally! The last 2 mornings she has looked at him in there and acted like she wanted to eat in there, but has let him stay in and has been content to eat outside where he is always fed. When that happened yesterday morning I told my daughter we needed to be on high alert because that was certainly different behavior-THEN the breeding episode happened.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I used to own a mare that was bred and would act like she was totally in heat and would let the stallion breed her. She was confirmed in foal by ultrasound and sure enough the next year she had her foal. Always best to get confirmation that they are in deed in foal.

 

[Barnmother]

I have a stallion that lives with his 1/2 brother (a gelding) they are stalled next to each other at night and they can see each other through the stall divder.  However every morning when I turn them out he has to dominate the gelding but mounting him.  Perhaps having been seperated it is "that type of behavior" that is occuring and she is actually in foal.

I will add that they have always lived together, they are the best of friends and this only happens first thing in the morning or if they have been seperated for any length of time.

 

[Chelley]

I have a stallion that lives with his 1/2 brother (a gelding) they are stalled next to each other at night and they can see each other through the stall divder.  However every morning when I turn them out he has to dominate the gelding but mounting him.  Perhaps having been seperated it is "that type of behavior" that is occuring and she is actually in foal.

I will add that they have always lived together, they are the best of friends and this only happens first thing in the morning or if they have been seperated for any length of time.

That is what I was wondering, if it was something like that since that is the first time they have been apart for a long time. The weird thing is that although they are buddies, he is only ever near her if she allows it-she is very much always in charge, so I thought it was weird that she would allow this unless she was really in heat. I just went and looked at her again a bit ago and they are just eating hay together, acting like normal. My daughter and I both thought that she looked like she dropped recently, and that before her belly had looked a little wider than just her usual fatness...unless we are just trying to see this because we thought she is due, who knows...just makes me totally unsure and second guessing now. Guess time will tell.

 

[Chelley]

Sorry it took so long to get pictures and they are not the best as she has been off pasture for quite awhile so all she wanted was grass. She is a muddy mess. Sometimes I look at her and think she looks so fat that she has to be pregnant, then other times I am not so sure. Have not seen anymore of the breeding activity going on, but she is still acting so different. She is usually so dominant and bosses and pushes him around, but now when he walks up she will just back off and let him up front for the attention, or not run him out of the barn when she wants to eat, almost submissive acting....so not her. Otherwise, she is eating fine and acting fine. She doesn't look sick or act like she feels bad, and still acts spunky, just not being her usual dominant self to him. Have you ever noticed that kind of change in personality with your mares and would it correlate with pregnancy or being in heat?

 

[raine]

She looks pregnant to me , I have a little mare due in about a month and she will let the stallion breed her if i let her!!

At first I thought oh no she isnt pregnant but shes getting bigger by the day and she was vet checked U/S to be in foal when she was just a few months gone and yes their moods can change, my other mare who is due about the same time is very quite at the moment ,shes not normally!

 

[pinkapache]

She looks pregnant to me and all my mares change personality while pregnant.

 

Many of the ladies are quite hussies, and will let a stallion breed even though pregnant.

I hope you will join us on the mare/foal forum here on LB. We'd love to help watch her as she grows!!

Try taking a picture standing at her back end and looking forward down her sides, right down at her level. What we're looking for is some lop-sidedness, as babies seldom lay perfectly in the middle. So, the ladies take on a lop-sided look many times when pregnant, as baby moves around in there.

She looks pregnant to me too, and personality changes can often be an indicator of pregnancy. As she nears her delivery date, you may see her personality becoming very "clingy" to you -- wanted your attention and comfort as she becomes more and more uncomfortable.

Has she foaled before, do you know?