Is my horse pregnant or fat??

[S1969]

Well I can see why you’re wondering, that does seem like a big change in only a couple of months. It could be that she’s just gained weight but definitely need to know either way because if she is pregnant you don’t want to cut back on her feed thinking she’s fat.

I find the previous seller’s statement the she “didn’t think so” to be a little worrisome. If someone asked me if one of my horses might be pregnant I could say for certain that the answer is no. No stallion at my barn, horses have not been to a barn with a stallion, no loose stallions in my area. I would never say “I don’t think so.”

Fingers crossed she is not. Keep us posted.

[KBC]

I love this “pregnant mare” shot

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10208483}[/ATTACH]

But that is in fact Prue Critchley’s stallion Empres, in winter condition.

[trubandloki]

@S1969

I find the previous seller’s statement the she “didn’t think so” to be a little worrisome. If someone asked me if one of my horses might be pregnant I could say for certain that the answer is no.

The OP says this horse was bought at auction by the person the OP got the horse from which makes the answer of “didn’t think so” make sense to me.

From the original post:

@Missey

the girl I got her from bought her at an auction 3 months before me

[Missey]

and thats a one month and 4 day difference not two months…eeeeek

[S1969]

@trubandloki

The OP says this horse was bought at auction by the person the OP got the horse from which makes the answer of “didn’t think so” make sense to me.

From the original post:

I guess I would have expected a more “it’s possible but nothing made us think so”…sort of answer unless they knew the answer was no. So…I am only thinking that the “don’t think so” really means “it’s possible.”

[S1969]

@KBC

I love this “pregnant mare” shot

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10208483}[/ATTACH]

But that is in fact Prue Critchley’s stallion Empres, in winter condition.

That doesn’t even look like a mare.

[trubandloki]

@S1969

I guess I would have expected a more “it’s possible but nothing made us think so”…sort of answer unless they knew the answer was no. So…I am only thinking that the “don’t think so” really means “it’s possible.”

How would they know? They bought her at an auction. It is possible anything could have happened before they bought her. It is not like people at auctions are honest.

I does not sound nefarious to me at all.

If it was me answering I might have added ‘certainly not while she has been with me’.
But just because I would say that does not make them not saying it mean something else.

[S1969]

@trubandloki

How would they know? They bought her at an auction. It is possible anything could have happened before they bought her. It is not like people at auctions are honest.

I does not sound nefarious to me at all.

If it was me answering I might have added ‘certainly not while she has been with me’.
But just because I would say that does not make them not saying it mean something else.

I didn’t say it was nefarious, I said it was worrisome. Meaning, I would not take it for certain that it was true or not.

[Color_of_Light]

@Missey

and thats a one month and 4 day difference not two months…eeeeek

Around 6 months is when you can usually start to feel a fluttering movement from the fetus by placing your hand on the mare’s belly. Taking care not to get kicked, of course, stand next to her side. Gently lace your hand on her belly near her flank. Slide your hand under her belly about 1/2 to her umbilicus. Hold your hand here and wait a few minutes to feel if there is any movement. Then come back and tell us is you feel anything!

Disclaimer: Just because you don’t feel any movement does not mean she is not pregnant. Only a vet or a surprise birth will confirm her pregnancy.

[quietann]

@S1969

I didn’t say it was nefarious, I said it was worrisome. Meaning, I would not take it for certain that it was true or not.

I’ve basically decided that any female critter coming out of a chaotic/neglectful/unknown situation should be treated as pregnant until proven otherwise. Have too many friends who have ended up with “special bonus critters” – foals, kittens, puppies, etc. When I had pet rats, it was almost inevitable that any female coming from a pet store was pregnant. (And they have a LOT of babies.)

[arabiansrock]

One day about a week after my son and his then GF bought a guinee pig he got home to find 3 pigs in the cage. 3 for the price of 1!!!

[RiderInTheRain]

I got a surprise colt this spring from a very thin mare I purchased last fall. Once she started to gain weight on an all you can eat hay buffet plus ration balancer and was dewormed appropriately her barrel seemed to just expand exponentially! -We called my wonderful vet out and he did a rectal exam as well as a basic wellness exam - which we had planned to do as a follow up anyways as she was in rough enough shape when we bought her than we had the vet out the next day to asses her general condition. He determined that she was pregnant and was likely due in about two months. Both my vet and a good friend who is a longtime horse breeder (we met because I purchased my main riding horse from her 5 years ago) did a fabulous job in basically giving me a crash course on pregnant mare/foal management and my super hay guy tracked down fescue free hay for me in the middle of January!!! She delivered a healthy and gorgeous blanket Appaloosa type colt with four high white stockings and a big blaze within a week of the due date my vet predicted.

I also had massive anxiety before my mare’s vet appointment, so totally understand where you are coming from! You will feel so much better once you have a real answer. For what it is worth, the BOGO colt (now almost 5 months old) is a total joy and has been so much fun for my husband and I. If your mare is pregnant, the best advice I can give is to find yourself a good mentor. My breeder friend has been absolutely invaluable and has been so generous with her knowledge. And I have found it so reassuring to talk to a real person rather than rely on books or the internet!

Not sure my post is much help, I guess just wanted to say been there, done that, have the T-shirt and the new/potential parent anxiety does get better with time and good advice!

[BeckyS]

Ah, the excitement of auction horses.

I mean, my coming four year old gelding really turned out to be a hardly two year old stud colt. Poor little man was so underweight that nothing ever dropped.

Hoping for a good outcome all the way around!

I understand the anxiety–I found the surprise nuts on a Saturday. I was on edge until I could schedule a vet appointment ASAP on Monday morning!

[Highflyer]

@Kashtan

Are there any reliable sources and guides to recognize pregnancy in mares? I know, I read the whole thread and the Internet is not the best advisor. But maybe some of you can recommend some sources in this topic?

No, you really need a vet exam. The most reliable methods are ultrasound, rectal examination, and blood test, none of which are things you can do yourself.

[drafting_dots]

@KBC

The internet is the worst pregnancy predictor out!

I know of at least one recent instance where the internet predicted a pregnancy and the vets didn’t

[JB]

@Kashtan

Are there any reliable sources and guides to recognize pregnancy in mares? I know, I read the whole thread and the Internet is not the best advisor. But maybe some of you can recommend some sources in this topic?

When you see a nose coming out, that’s reliable :winkgrin:

Every mare is different in how they present, and many (most?) won’t show visible signs until maybe around Month 7, and that’s usually only if you know how the mare looked pre-pregnancy. From 7-9 months mine just looked “fleshy”, which is why so many people ask “is my mare fat or pregnant?”

Some mares will look very, obviously pregnant by month 9-10, when they carry low and wide. Others barely look “fleshy” by the time they drop a foal - that’s why there are always surprise foals from mares bought at auction (and sometimes from reputable barns).

Even a sudden bagging up and producing some liquid is not 100% - false pregnancy, a large enough intake of clover, and other things can cause that.

Bloodwork is the most reliable the most often, but you do need to know which test to run based on how far along the mare allegedly is. Ultrasound and palpation are not always reliable, depending on how far along things are.

[Brooklyn_Born]

I agree with Highflyer. A vet exam is the best and most reliable way to go to determine if your mare is pregnant. And it is important to find out. Years ago I purchased an Appy mare from a local seller. The mare was definitely on the thin side. Within a few weeks, I noticed her belly getting bigger and bigger. Many people just kept saying that it was a “hay belly”, but my instincts said otherwise. I had the name and phone number of the original seller (who sold her to the dealer I bought her from), and the woman admitted that the mare had been exposed to their stallion. I had a vet come out and he determined through a manual exam that my mare was indeed with foal. We immediately started her on vitamins to support the pregnancy. That is why it is important to find out if your mare is pregnant. Good luck!

[Where_sMyWhite]

@RiderInTheRain

She delivered a healthy and gorgeous blanket Appaloosa type colt with four high white stockings and a big blaze within a week of the due date my vet predicted.

I’m sorry, but you know the rules here… if there are no photos it didn’t happen

He sounds absolutely spectacular.

I love me horses with chrome.

[Libby2563]

@BeckyS

I found the surprise nuts on a Saturday. I was on edge until I could schedule a vet appointment ASAP on Monday morning!

“Surprise nuts”!!! :lol: You owe me a keyboard!

[tulachard]

Another auction BOGO chiming in…with a donkey. I bought a skinny, skinny jenny donkey from a local horse auction last summer - I felt sorry for her so, why not buy her and bring her home? I figured even if she was bred she couldn’t have kept a foal due to her condition. :lol: She started gaining weight but it was all in her flanks so called the vet out and yep, pregnant! We were going to go with the blood test but my vet did a quick rectal and baby was easily found. Baby donkey jack born on St. Patrick’s Day this year. He’s a stinker but is a lot of fun too.