Mare behavior change

[Robin2]

Hello all,

I was on this forum last year trying to find a stallion for my arabian mare. I decided eventually to breed her to a lovely arabian stallion (live cover). And now I have joined the ranks of worried horse owner.

I have some questions for folks who are a bit more experienced with breeding behavior. The mare had pre-breeding inspections, ultrasound, swab and genetic testing to rule out carrier status for some of the common arabian recessive disorders. So did the stallion. Breeding was live cover. The stallion was seen mounting her at the last heat cycle approximately Aug 14-16. She is missing two patches of skin on her shoulder with no deep injuries. No leg injuries. Preg test upcoming Sept 6th with the repro vet.

For the past 3 days, the mare has not really been herself. She eats, but is more disinterested than normal. Same with drinking. She loves her mineral block though. She doesn’t have any signs of colic, an she is passing stool that looks ok, no diarrhea or other abnormality. She is moodier than she typically would be, but also less interactive. I have taken her to the vet because I was worried I might be missing something, vet says he isn’t worried but can’t explain the behavior changes and says he’s not sure he sees that this early on. It’s too early for a preg test.

My question is - did anyone here notice behavior changes this soon? It’s only been 10 days since conception, but I can say with certainty that she is not really acting herself at all. Is there anything specific I need to be watching for? She was wormed within the month prior to being bred. My understanding is that colic and such things start usually later on during the pregnancy and not really this early, so I’m just hoping for some insight from folks who have done this recently!

[Warmblood1]

Is your vet a repro vet? I would be concerned about possible uterine inflammation or fluid accumulation, something going on reproductively after live cover. Was any bloodwork done such as a CBC?

I also wouldn’t rule out colic. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to colic, it can occur anytime for broodmares. The stress of live cover and changing environments can certainly increase the odds of colic.

[Robin2]

Yes. Repro specialist. No bloodwork was done but she was examined and felt to be normal.

I guess if she’s not back to baseline by tomorrow I may take her back for assessment. I had sort of been thinking maybe UTI but it’s not even like I have objective signs pointing to it. Apart from being quieter and a bit less interested in food I have no real findings. And she does eat and graze with the rest of the herd without any issues, like I said she drinks, she poops, she has no other colic findings. I’ve been checking for vaginal discharge or pus but haven’t really seen much in that way. She has no diarrhea.

She also has a follow up appointment in 8 days for the 3 week preg test and if positive for the ultrasound to rule out twin gestation. I just wasn’t sure if I should take her back sooner. If I had more objective signs of something I may have an easier time deciding.

[Laurierace]

Three weeks later, is there an update? I don’t understand your timeline for pregnancy check at all, hope she is back to normal now.

[Robin2]

Re: timeline. Yes, I was just going by what the breeder’s vet had recommended - I think she said they normally do the initial ultrasound preg check for twins at about 14-18 days but called it a 3 week check?

And update - so I took her to the vet 3 times in total. The first time she saw the vet covering for my repro vet but who was also a repro vet. Said she was fine, no colic. The second time I brought her back 2 days later because she was not herself. They kept her overnight for observation but she was eating for them, pooping and didn’t have a fever. She was discharged after bloodwork looked ok, I brought her home and she was not herself. Like she was minimally eating, minimally drinking. Then 3 days after the 2nd vet visit she got horrific diarrhea and was severely dehydrated within 24 hours, I took her back and she got hospitalized to their intensive care area and eventually diagnosed with Potomac horse fever.

She was on antibiotics for her stay and she did get better. Luckily she did not get the Potomac associated laminitis. She was discharged about 6 days later. Her preg check was during her hospitalization and she was positive and then had slipped the pregnancy a week later at her follow up. I’m honestly glad because the antibiotic treatment for Potomac isn’t exactly benign on an embryo and can affect their joint development.

The kicker? She’s fully vaccinated including for Potomac. I know the vaccine isn’t very good, but still.

Anyway, I’m not sure if I’ll try breeding her again. She just had her 2 month follow up and the vet says she’s back in excellent shape and this had nothing to do with breeding and it was just all very terrible luck. I’m just glad to have my horse back healthy honestly, so I’ll try to recover from this adventure and see how it goes.