Inducing abortion in filly NEW UPDATE March 10

[cardinale]

What is the standard protocol for terminating pregnancy in horses? Earlier this week the pony filly I bought to be a companion to another horse arrived from out of state. The vet who did the PPE 2 months ago did not mention possible pregnancy, but now she looks suspiciously as though she might be pregnant. The seller got her from a ranch where I now suspect she ran in a mixed age and sex herd. She’s only 2 1/2 and too young and small to risk her health, so terminating the pregnancy seems indicated. Vet care in this area is tough to come by–there is an out of town vet who visits once a month, so I’m going to have him check her out, but he doesn’t come until later this month, and at this point I’d just like to know what to expect. She’s maybe ~6 months along?? Just starting to show slight abdominal swelling. I ordered an “at home” equine pregnancy test, and there’s an experienced ranch hand who can palpate her, so soon we could know her status, and give the vet a heads up before he visits.

Presumably hormone(s) are given? How many shots? Can the vet do “one and done” or will she need a series of injections? Thanks.!

Update–photos added. She is 14.1 I call her a “grade quarter pony.”

Sale photo from late August

Now

[NancyM]

Yes, you can give her an injection which should expel the fetus. “Should”, but no guarantees that it will work as advertised. Your vet can supply the drugs if you explain the situation.
Foaling out at 3 can go OK, with a bit of luck and human help.
A hard decision either way. Good luck.

[Simkie]

You may want to post this in the breeding forum for more response, to but it’s always been my understanding that aborting past the early days/weeks of pregnancy is dangerous, and it’s often advised to let it continue. Foaling at 3 is not uncommon.

Definitely get some expert veterinary input before proceeding. Plenty of speciality centers will advise you or your vet over the phone.

[JB]

It’s pretty dangerous to abort at this age.

Why do you feel she’s too small? She’s not too young, though reputable breeders don’t breed at 2, they wait until 3.

If she’s truly 6 months, have someone draw blood and get it tested - very reliable until about 2 weeks before foaling.

[enjoytheride]

I have only seen it done much earlier, like right when you catch the stallion in your mare’s pasture.

[joiedevie99]

I believe Lutalyse is only considered super reliable in the first month, and somewhat reliable up to 90 days (with multiple doses). I’ve never heard of someone using it after that.

[cardinale]

Thanks for the information. My goal is to do the best for this girl; I have zero repro experience. I worry that the sire might be her father or brother, plus she is young, which is why I thought it might be best to terminate the pregnancy. But, If it’s more dangerous to abort at this age, she will go to term.

[JB]

Inbreeding isn’t inherently a bad idea. I’m not advocating for it at all, but it’s just not going to produce a 3-legged 4-eyed foal

It is still a good idea to find out if she is pregnant, asap. Anti-abortion rhino vaccinations need to be done (ironic, huh!), and her nutritional needs are going to skyrocket to support her growth and the foal’s.

[cardinale]

Thanks, JB. Quite frankly, if she’s confirmed pregnant it will be a big shock because I never intended to deal with breeding or raising a foal. But, if that’s the situation, I will educate myself and do the best for her.

Geez, I never thought to request a pregnancy check when she was PPE’d.

[JB]

I wouldn’t have considered a preg check either, from what you describe. Hopefully she’s not pregnant, but if she is, let us know. Got pics?

[S1969]

Can you post a photo? I’m just curious to see whether she really looks in foal or not.

I took in an older mini broodmare who started to look really pregnant a few months later. But, she wasn’t. Just fat. It’s less likely that your filly is fat, but lack of muscle and awkward growth stages might make her look a little round in the belly.

It was a relief but sort of a little let down when we confirmed that my mini mare wasn’t in foal. It would have been fun/cute…but, I certainly didn’t need another, and not having any repro experience myself made it sound pretty scary.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that your young mare is not actually pregnant. But I definitely agree that if she is 6 months along I would not induce an abortion (if you could even get a vet to try).

[JB]

FWIW, my mare didn’t really start showing until about 7 months, and even then, if you didn’t know her real shape, you might not have seen it.

[candyappy]

I agree with the others. If she is that far along it isn’t in her best interests to pursue abortion unless you fear the stud is huge compared to her and that the foal will be too large for her to deliver.

If you are really worried why not find another( equine) vet, tell them what you are afraid of and take her there now.

[JB]

@candyappy

unless you fear the stud is huge compared to her and that the foal will be too large for her to deliver.

There are enough studies showing that the equine uterus doesn’t allow that. Never say never, but draft embryos in Shetland mares is a pretty good test

That doesn’t mean that shoulders can’t be too big for a given mare, and that may be more of an issue in a 3yo since at 3 they aren’t really finished widening yet. But that situation can happen in full grown horses too, the uterus can’t do anything about that.

A blood test is simple and reliable, no palpations (especially if someone is not VERY experienced, please don’t risk tearing her), no ultrasound.

[candyappy]

Studies may show it is rare but it can happen and I wouldn’t want any horse ( or owner ) to have to endure that if possible. I hope there wasn’t a draft stud in there??

Sounds like a father or sibling? Which wouldn’t make a size issue. Just a genetic issue but that too while undesirable, can work out just fine.

[SuzieQNutter]

If it happens when you dont want it to, it is called inbreeding and looked down upon.

If they engineer it to happen it is called in line breeding and the offspring is too expensive to buy!

[2DogsFarm]

@candyappy

Studies may show it is rare but it can happen

& Did to an acquaintance/fellow boarder many (30+) yrs ago.
Intentionally bred her OTTB mare to a WB stallion & lost both mare & foal when baby was too large for mare to deliver.
Mare was living at a facility experienced with breeding in her last few months.

OP: terminating a possible pregnancy should be your vet’s call.
If there’s a good Repro vet, or vet college near you, that should be an option.
If it comes to caring for mare & foal, that s/b done by somebody experienced.
I hope it turns out well for all.

[JB]

Line breeding is never crossing parent with child. That’s flat out inbreeding. The old joke is “if it didn’t work, it’s inbreeding, if it worked, it’s line breeding”, but that’s misleading

Lots (and lots) of TB mares are bred to WB stallions. Most of them produce foals that are very size-appropriate. It’s very, very rare for a foal to be actually too big. The most often “too large” part is because the mare’s pelvis is too narrow, or the foal’s shoulders are too large

[Bluey]

First, OP is not yet sure filly is pregnant?
Second, is a long guess if she is, who the sire would be, if related, much larger, all that mere guesses.

Definitely is bad breeding practice to use relatives and we don’t hear about how that turned out when things went wrong.
We were lucky, one of our best cow horses was an accident, when a farmer left his yearling colt out with his two year old full sister too long one spring.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to have inherited any bad doubled-up genes, mostly the good ones, as he turned out to be a great horse for us for many years.

The OP would be best to find a reproductive vet clinic and take filly there, see what is going on with the filly.
We used to pregnancy check mares rectally, today they use ultrasound.
Any vet should be able to advise OP.

[JB]

But she doesn’t have to take the filly anywhere, let alone a repro clinic (and it sounds like good vets are hard to come by anyway). All it takes is a blood draw. But, those equine preg tests are good too. Either of those are very reliable at this potential stage of pregnancy - not too early, and foaling isn’t imminent.