horse pregnancy?

Question

how long is a mare pregnant for before you see a change in apperance? and is there any way to check if a mare is pregnant without involving a vet?

I work for a riding school, and am almost certain a horse we bought is pregnant because of the shape of her belly, but the club won't pay for a vet to check her as the manager is convinced it is just a straw belly

any advice or ideas welcome.

SHES PREGNANT! vet thinks shes at least 6 months gone. think i better invest in some books! Thankyou for all you help

Answer 1

hmmmmmmm.....didn't the manager have a vet check her when she first arrived? I mean she is up to date on her shots? Has she been wormed? Basic questions first....

Are her milk glands swollen too? Does her uterus appear enlarged? Is her behavior akward, always wanting to eat, tired and cranky? It is hard to say, a lot of mares act this way most of the time. (hahaha)

It would be ashame if she is pregnant and not getting vet help and proper nutrition. Sneak her a little extra feed and vitiman power at night just incase she is. Give it a couple months to see if her milk glands start to swell. If she already has a belly it shouldn't be long before the milk glands start to act up. Make sure she gets dewormed, that can cause swelling.

You know I have worked with only two pregnant mares in my life, I have seen tons of them, but worked hands on with only two. I really believe sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between fat and pregnant, until the horse is in the later part of the pregnancy then there is no doubt!

I don't know if I have been a help, but I can understand your concern for the mare and her potential foal. I am a rebel by nature and would sneak her food and vitimans at night until I was sure she was NOT pregnant. That's just me. However, use your judgment about your manager's skill as a horse person. Do you truly trust her opinion? (maybe not completely since you are asking this question right here today.)

See if you can get a community fund together to pay the vet for a special visit to this mare and put your mind at ease.

I hope it works out.

Good Luck

Answer 2

A horse starts showing on about 6 to 8 months. It depends on how well u know the mare. A really reliable way to test of a mare is pregnant is to take her to a stallion. If neither the mare nor the stallion show any interest in each other then u know the mare is pregnant, if the stallion starts sniffing and showing interest in the mare u can be 99% sure the mare is not pregnant.

I work for a stud stable in South Africa and own two mares of my own and the test I have told u about was one hundred percent accurate every time in my experience.

Answer 3

It is really hard to tell by looking at a mare to tell if she ispregnant.
Just they way they are built many mares look like they are all the time. Some are at and some it is just they way they are put together.
I worked on a breeding training racing farm and the only sure way I know of is to palpate the mare and most people do not have the experience to do it and they have the vet do it.
Exposure to a stallion will only tell you if the mare is in season what about the other 28 days in her cycle?

Answer 4

Usually you don't see a difference till the last trimester. Thats the last 3 months of there pregnancy. They are pregnant for 11 months. I've had fat mares that I swore were pregnant except they never bagged up. (make milk) I put my mares out to pasture and they do not get stalled up at night until a month before they are due. Don't let the size of there belly fool ya. If you pay close attention she will come into heat every 21 days. Just look for her to come into heat and pay close attention to her bag. I sure hope she isn't pregant, not a good time to have one anymore this year.

Answer 5

I have known people to buy mares and not realise they're pregnant at all, until they arrive one day and find a foal. I also had a mare on loan that looked as though she was pregnant, due to the amount of grass she was on and her inactvity. The only way to tell is to get a vet out to give her a scan, particularly if the animal's background is unknown.

Answer 6

a quick way to tell if its a straw belly is keep her on shavings for 48 hrs with just her feed and hay net she wont be able to get bloated if she cant eat the straw which means if she is still bloated its possible she could be in foal mind you if you think she could be due it would be a late foal and unless it was an accident that she got covered not many breeders would plan a foal this late in the year

Answer 7

Many breeders have a sona-gram they use to check for pregnacy in a horse,
ask around and see if any local breeders have one and see how much they would charge if anything to see if you-all are gonna be taking care of a foul soon.

Answer 8

Sorry, if you want a fool proof methed, you will need to have a vet palpate her, and spend the buckos