Sorry, Everyone. This thread is taking us poor dial-up users forever to open, and the old thread was getting some really bad vibes. Hopefully this one can stay a positive thread, all those still waiting on their "little ones" are going thru a lot of stress and need positive feedback and support from all of us! Happy Foaling to everyone!!
Jennifer, I am interested in your advice. My mare was confirmed pregnant by ultrasound twice in the early months of pregnancy. Then she was palpated and confirmed still pregnant at 5 months. I asked the vet if we should check her at 9 months when she was out to give the pneumabort and she said she could check her if I want, but that she looks very pregnant.
She had a caslick's up until a couple weeks ago, so if she lost the foal after 5 months, would it be still small enough for her to expell without my knowing? I have no reason to think she lost the foal, just got nervous when you said your friend had lost one and had been checked still in foal at 5 months.
She is 339 days along now and has been slowly bagging up over the last couple weeks. She is at the vets foaling facility, so I will have her checked if she goes much longer because I am paying double board and it would be a shame to continue if she wasn't pregnant.
Are there any risks with having them checked this late in the pregnancy?
Here are some pictures from yesturday at 338 days and some from 334 days.
Nothing like a close-up horse vagina picture in the morning! I am not going to pretend to be an expert! But, yes a mare can expel a 5 month fetus with caslicks without issues. There is no elevated risk of checking...it could be done by a simple palpation and the vet would know immediatly...They can even wait to feel movement and confirm it is alive at this point.
The only thing I have learned for sure about breeding is that all this talk of signs and changes are just to make us feel better! Mares do it differntly. Some bag up weeks before foaling, some don't get milk in until the contractions start or even later. Some mares LOOK pregnant, some look simply fat. On very toned mares you can see muscle relaxment but on most mares a regular person would have no idea what was relaved and what wasn't....its all just stuff that gives us something to do and talk about so we don't die of anticipation. And, yes, I totally do it too. I check all the signs and say "yup, I think it will be tonight"
Breeding horses is hard. This particular friend had a NIGHTMARE of a breeding season. She had the vets out to check on her two broodmares because one was way past her due date and the other was not bagging up yet. She just wanted a check-up. The mare that wasn't bagging up had slipped her foal sometime after the 5 month check and was open. And, they had been talking about how pregnant she looked and the vet was even saying he could see the fetal movements. And that her bag looked normal for her stage. The other mare looked and felt good and the vet said she was ready to foal. It was not hours after he left that the mare DID foal but was breech and did not survive. What was worse the mare tore so much she had to be put down. It was a heartbreaking year for her. I think these kind of stories need to be told because they are the reality of breeding. Sometimes you get a beautiful and perfect foal like Justin's and there are no answers. Horse breeding is not for the weak!
But, your mare is probably fine..Those signs that I was talking about...well she looks pregnant, bag looks good but not extremely full..Of course I have a 25 year old who is NOT in foal and hasn't been in 6 years and I could go milk her right now. So, you just never know for sure without the vet. BTW, your mare looks a lot like my Bella in the face. http://www.faliastx.com/bella/bella.JPG
Wow. That is a very pretty little girl! And she has white in the same places as momma! Congrats! Bella was bred on Monday so hopefully she will have a foal next year.
Kristyn Wow you have a clone of your mare!!! Wow amazing!!! They are both gorgeous!
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Sorry, Everyone. This thread is taking us poor dial-up users forever to open, and the old thread was getting some really bad vibes. Hopefully this one can stay a positive thread, all those still waiting on their "little ones" are going thru a lot of stress and need positive feedback and support from all of us! Happy Foaling to everyone!!
