I think the vet may have missed pregnancy. Thoughts?

[Poohb10454]

A l![](ttle history. We bought this large pony mare from a local known horse trader the last weekend in August this year. She looked nice and healthy, not too fat, not skinny. We had the vet check her out, vaccinate and worm her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and then we noticed that she was getting larger and larger.

We had her palpated the first week in October. This vet has a dog/cat clinic but does horses on the side. They are the only vet within 2.5 hrs of us, so we figured he would be as good as any. We were guessing her to be 6-7 months along and surely he couldn’t miss that. He said she was open, even went as far as to say he felt her uterus and it was small.

We have a miniature mare that we bought for our kids, knowing she was in foal for a winter baby and she is very similar shape to the large pony we bought this summer. Also, the large pony has some swelling right in front of her utter and in the last few weeks I have noticed that her respiratory rate when she is standing (resting) is elevated which is also the same as the mini who is due to foal any time now. She was worked this past weekend by one of the kids and she was breathing so hard after a few times around that I had him put her up. Which is not normal, she is worked regularly enough that she can handle that amount of exercise without being out of breath.

Here are some photos of this mare progressive from when we bought her to now. My question is, could he have missed a pregnancy that far along?

This was when she first arrived

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone111113217_zps120cb105.jpg)

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone111113034_zps3f8669e6.jpg)

August
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone1111131111_zps06d4b937.jpg)

Here she is mid september
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone1111131178_zps25bbd001.jpg)

Sept-Oct
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone111113797_zps95a41244.jpg)

October
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/iphone1111131166_zps5c735850.jpg)

I don’t have any photos between the first of Oct and now but here she was today.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Aaronsmommy2/stormy_zps87067c27.jpg)

[Snowfox]

I have a pony who the first year I had here she kept getting bigger and bigger and I thought for sure she was pregnant, but nope just a giant hay belly. I had another horse who surprised us with a baby one morning. Never showed a sign. Found out later the people we bought her from had been trying to breed for 3 years and finally sold her out of frustration.
So really it could go either way. lol Sorry I’m not much help.

[Christa_P]

Some possible reading for you

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?369618-do-vets-miss-full-term-mare-pregnancy&highlight=Missed+pregnancy

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?299448-So-my-open-broodmare-played-an-April-fools-day-joke-on-me&highlight=Missed+pregnancy

[Laurierace]

You should be able to see the foal move by now if there is one. Slap her gently with an open hand on her belly in front of her stifle. The foal should kick back. I couldn’t really see much in the last one because it is upside down but the others she just looked fat to me.

[Poohb10454]

I think the final photo is fixed now.

I will try and see what I can feel, she isn’t the friendliest mare around.

[ThistleDewDressage]

I’ve had this happen twice now. One was a pony mare I bought at auction, after a month or so she looked awfully round, preg check positive. Bought a draft mare who was fairly thin out of a field with a pony stallion that clearly had been trying to breed her, as she gained weight she also had the look, preg check neg. I guess if you wait long enough the mare will show you. She does look to have gained a lot of belly weight.

[Poohb10454]

I have had easy keepers and horses that get fat but this one is shaped totally different and she has completely lost her flanks. Which really has me wondering.

[willitbe]

she doesn’t really look preg to me - we rescued a pony in September and we didn’t know she was preggers - but after a month we were pretty certain and indeed she is. Due probably in march.

[tucktaway]

Appearances can be deceiving, I have some pregnant looking geldings… If you have doubts in your vet’s palpation skills, ask him to test her total estrogens.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

She looks kind of fat to me in the second to last picture. Does look pregnant in the last one, but that could easily be a hay belly too…

Several times I have fantasized that the vet missed a foal and it never works out in my favor. Of course, I wanted the mare to be pregnant in that scenario.