how can i tell if my rescue pony is pregnant?

[HorsesinHaiti]

Sounds like Suz had the vet out and got a vet answer, she just doesn’t completely trust it.

FWIW, I’ve only worked / ridden in schoolie barns, never owned my own, can only borrow two ponies now - and I’ve already experienced TWICE having older full Vets tell us “nope, that mare isn’t pregnant, checked and re-checked her”. And then the mares dropped foals. Twice out of a very, very small population of exposed mares.

Personally, if ‘wee foal’ gets good recommendations from COTHers, I’m buying a kit when I go on vacation. I’d rather have a backup to confirm or disprove the vet opinion at this point.

[gloriginger]

she asked the vet when he did a wellness exam and he said he didn’t think so because of her age–not really a thorough check IMO. Also, Suz is cutting back the mare’s feed because she is getting fat…

Wouldn’t an ultrasound confirm if she was pregnant or not?

[CatOnLap]

There’s fat and there’s pregnant.

Any horse can benefit from a good “mare and foal” mineral/vitamin so go ahead and give it.
Read up on condition scoring. If your mare is fat, she needs regular feeding but to cut down a little, even if she is pregnant. You will be able to tell by the fat pads on her crest, withers, tailhead, dimples in her rump, etc. If she is simply “belly fat”, and doesn’t have fat pads, she may be pregnant or wormy or both and you need to have a vet to tell you.
Ultrasounding for a pregnancy is not that expensive. Feeding an unwormed parasite laden horse is, as is dealing with a foundered fat horse, especially if pregnant.

[jenm]

A gal I board with tried a horse pregnancy test kit when she suspected her new filly might be pregnant. It took two days and several hours for her to get a pee sample and when she finally got the results back, they were inconclusive!

It turned out the filly was not pregnant, but after all the effort she went through she should have just had the vet come out.

[Capriole]

You should have the vet check her the next time he/she is at the farm. None of these other methods will be definitive, and it’s worth $50 to know. I would say it is ESSENTIAL for you to know.

[AnotherRound]

I’m also concerned, because if this mare is pregant, she needs special feed and nutrient supplements she clearly isn’t getting. In fact, she’s getting a feed reduction.

I am also concerned because you say she is a “rescue” mare - may I ask a rescue from what? And if she is a “rescue” that means you are prepared to spend whatever it takes to make her healthy (actually, you should be so prepared with any horse) but you should be anticipating health problems which would necessitate diligent vet care;which includes having the vet out again, and again, until the health of the mare is addressed, which it isn’t, if you are asking about it on a bulliten board.

A preganant mare deserves a thorough exam for preganancy and the health of the foal (or foals). I hope you put down your dowser and call the vet back.

[suz]

she is a rescue from the camelot auction kill pen, and i can assure you she is getting excellent care. she has been fully vetted and vaccinated, wormed and her feet have been trimmed twice and with a great deal of care in the past seven weeks. not to mention she will get chiro and acupuncture in the next few weeks. i have an excellent vet and trimmer who work very well together and i am very happy with their results.
i simply came here to ask because it was a holiday week and my vet’s receptionist was away. i didn’t feel it was an emergency situation so didn’t bother him with my questions. i came here to gather information, which some posters did provide, and i thank them for it. i have never bred a mare, so was merely curious about it all.
she came into heat last night, btw.
oh, to be clear, at her first vet visit i had asked about the possibility of her being pregnant, was told not likely, and was advised to cut her caloric intake. which i did.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=suz;4598584]
she is a rescue from the camelot auction kill pen, and i can assure you she is getting excellent care. she has been fully vetted and vaccinated, wormed and her feet have been trimmed twice and with a great deal of care in the past seven weeks. not to mention she will get chiro and acupuncture in the next few weeks. i have an excellent vet and trimmer who work very well together and i am very happy with their results.
i simply came here to ask because it was a holiday week and my vet’s receptionist was away. i didn’t feel it was an emergency situation so didn’t bother him with my questions. i came here to gather information, which some posters did provide, and i thank them for it. i have never bred a mare, so was merely curious about it all.
she came into heat last night, btw.
oh, to be clear, at her first vet visit i had asked about the possibility of her being pregnant, was told not likely, and was advised to cut her caloric intake. which i did.[/QUOTE]

You are lucky she came in heat in the middle of winter?
In New England?:eek:

Most mares are in anestrous condition in the winter.
That is a time where they don’t come in heat from early fall until early spring, especially mares that were not in good condition and not kept under lights to simulate daylight hours.

You may get more answers about pregnant mares and breeding in the breeding forum.

[RoyalTRider]

[QUOTE=cmdrcltr;4592851]

I don’t remember that little mare liking having her muzzle pricked![/QUOTE]

Oy! I would never get up the courage to prick a horse in the muzzle unless she was lame in four legs. That iron-test needle hurts more than giving blood, too. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with this- just wouldn’t be able to do it myself.

[nightsong]

@CatOnLap;4595232

There’s fat and there’s pregnant.

Any horse can benefit from a good “mare and foal” mineral/vitamin so go ahead and give it.
Read up on condition scoring. If your mare is fat, she needs regular feeding but to cut down a little, even if she is pregnant. You will be able to tell by the fat pads on her crest, withers, tailhead, dimples in her rump, etc. If she is simply “belly fat”, and doesn’t have fat pads, she may be pregnant or wormy or both and you need to have a vet to tell you.
Ultrasounding for a pregnancy is not that expensive. Feeding an unwormed parasite laden horse is

Yes!!!

And those pricks in the finger for blood tests DO hurt! And i’m not a wuss!!

[Woodland]

There have been many interesting ideas provided here. As a former horse breeder i have never heard of the string and ring test - that is new too me!

I am the first one to call the vet when I think i should. But vets can be WRONG! It is hard to ultra sound or palpate when you are not sure what you are looking for. i have had more than one mare called open and a set of twins missed. Using several vets over the years I am amazed at what an inexact science it is! So “call the vet” - yeah maybe but not always accurate.

If she were my gal i would measure here as suggested earlier - that may be your best indicator. Not fast but pretty accurate in my world. You are doing right by her so no worries - OK?

[Rodeio]

[QUOTE=Bluey;4598919]
You are lucky she came in heat in the middle of winter?
In New England?:eek:

Most mares are in anestrous condition in the winter.
That is a time where they don’t come in heat from early fall until early spring, especially mares that were not in good condition and not kept under lights to simulate daylight hours.

You may get more answers about pregnant mares and breeding in the breeding forum.;)[/QUOTE]

Bluey, one of my mares started showing heat signs two days ago. Healthy mare who has had babies before, but open this year. So it does happen!

[Porter_Road_Ranch]

If anyone is looking to order a mare urine pregnancy test we sell them for $25.
http://www.porterroadranch.com/preg-tests

[candyappy]

@suz

Since someone bumped this old thread up, do you remember if the mare was pregnant ??

What happened??

[suz]

@candyappy

@suz

Since someone bumped this old thread up, do you remember if the mare was pregnant ??

What happened??

Sundae was not pregnant, thank goodness. She was adopted by a dear friend and is living happily ever after in New York with her best friend Sox, a dozen hens, six cats and a few dogs.

[candyappy]

@suz

Sundae was not pregnant, thank goodness. She was adopted by a dear friend and is living happily ever after in New York with her best friend Sox, a dozen hens, six cats and a few dogs.

What a wonderful update! Thank you.

[bt1]

OK OK so you are willing to pay for Chiro & accupuncture (which I do feel is worth it) but not a preg check??? that makes no cents. I did see you wrote she came into heat so it is a moot point now, but if the $ was going to be there for chiro & accu you could have put it towards a preg check first

[findeight]

@Porter Road Ranch

If anyone is looking to order a mare urine pregnancy test we sell them for $25.
http://www.porterroadranch.com/preg-tests

That’s an ad. Might want to take the link out before the Mods do.

[S1969]

@bt

OK OK so you are willing to pay for Chiro & accupuncture (which I do feel is worth it) but not a preg check??? that makes no cents. I did see you wrote she came into heat so it is a moot point now, but if the $ was going to be there for chiro & accu you could have put it towards a preg check first

LOL maybe you need to go back and read. This was 8 years ago…mare was not pregnant.

I found the suggestion that the vet checking for pregnancy to be $50 well spent to be interesting. Maybe if they were otherwise coming to the farm, but nothing is $50 in my area. I had a mini checked for pregnancy and it included sedation and u/s…not sure if it was because she was so small that it would be hard to palpate and be sure, or if the vet agrees with posters above that palpation alone might be wrong.

My mini was not pregnant either, but my bill was definitely more than $50.