Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 08:47 am:
Hi, my name is Trey. I live in Baton Rouge. I recently purchased a 20 yo quarter mare. She was in bad score when I bought her and is now gaining. I had her teeth floated and dewormed her twice in a two month period. She is getting fed twice a day ( Equine Senior, Bermuda hay and turned out on rye grass ) She is making great progress. My question to you is concerning breeding her. The old mare has an outstanding pedigree. She had a colt the spring of 2000. Since she was not properly cared for she didn't take when bred back in the spring of 2000. The owner at the time tried breeding her again in May - June 2000 she supposingly didn't take. I had her vet checked before I purchased her back in September 2000. She was said to not be bred. So I backed out of the deal. I was called back in November 2000 and was offered the old mare at a great reduction in price. In the meantime the owner had her running with his stallion. When I brought her home I had the vet work done on her in which I described above. This vet said that the mare was in foal because she could not feel the right uterus horn. She states that at five months or more the horn that carries the foal moves to a position where it can't be felt. So I had the vet to ultra -sound her and this vet states that she is pregnant also. But didn't give me a definite date as to when she was bred. The foal is on the right horn. The vet who did the ultra-sound is the same vet who did the first pre-purchase exam. I know this is a lot of info. Here's the question; with the info given how would you theoretically determine the mare's stage of pregnancy? What does the vet not being able to feel the right horn determines if anything. Is it true that the mare has to be 5 months and more for the horn to be moved to a position where it can't be felt? Any help will be greatly appreciated. The mare does have a big belly. I have seen the baby kick the fire out of the old mare. She is constantly moving around trying to reposition to find comfort. Please advise.
Jos
Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 06:39 pm:
Around 150 days post-conceiving ovulation, the fetus becomes heavy enough that it carries the uterus (not just the horns!) over the edge of the pelvic brim and into the body cavity. At this point it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to palpate the fetus per rectum. In about another 30 to 60 days, the fetus will have grown enough that it will protrude back to the upper regions of the cavity and will be more likely to be accessible upon palpation - it may be though, that a process known as "ballotment" will still be required, which is where the palpator taps the top of the uterus with the flat of their hand and the fetus usually responds by a recognisable movement.
Our vet came out Tuesday and palpated our mare and could only tell me "oh yeah she's definetly bred and it's big". He could not give me a defineite date either, just that "probably within the next 30 days". We have had our mare only 5-6 weeks and are in great anticipation of a new foal. Thanks for your info on the tipped uterus thing Jos! He doesn't think she's tipped, just that she's so heavy in foal that it appears that way from the outside. Also I wormed our mare when we brought her home and because they must have wormed her before we bought her we killed a lot of good micro-organisms too and have had to put her on Livactid? Not sure of the spelling but it is supposed to help put the good micro-organisms back in her to help her manure get to normal again. Thank you for all the info Jos - you've been a great help!! Jodi
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