| Author |
Message |
    
Kemah
Posted From: 63.226.35.126
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 03:56 pm: | 
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My 5 month "pregnant" mare squirted near the gelding that is now in the turnout next to her. I am afraid that she is no longer pregnant. She was last checked at about 50 days or so.
Thoughts? Words of encouragement? |
Painted Acres Farm
Posted From: 209.226.55.163
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 05:02 pm: |
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Hi There Kemah ! I once had a mare show signs of heat right up till the 9 month , I swore the mare was not in foal , then two months later out pops a little one ... Sometimes mares will get territoral or hormonal and do that not really sure why ....?? But if your still concerned wouldnt hurt to palpate for your own sence of knowing !  GOod luck ! |
twhgait
Posted From: 69.23.217.156
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 05:55 pm: |
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Mares will also "break down" as an act of submission. My mare did this exact same thing at 5 months when she was cornered by the "enemy gelding". I have no clue if your mare was feeling threatened or not, but that's just another consideration. |
Kathy T
Posted From: 63.228.83.90
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 11:08 pm: |
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My mare is at 7 months and has shown signs of heat on and off for the last couple months. Which is kinda funny since she didn't show her heat cycles well when I was trying to breed her. Anyway, yes mares can show estrus when they are pregnant but to be sure you should either have her palpated or there is a blood test you can run on mares at 100+ days. It checks for estrone sulphate which is a hormone that rapidly declines if there is fetal loss (therefore no chance of false + as with other tests). They have a web site foalproof.com. Good luck. |
Rooty
Posted From: 69.196.103.102
| | Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:03 pm: |
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We also had a mare that would occasionally look like she might be coming into heat during her pregnancy. I was worried so I had her palpated, but no problems. |
Anonymous
Posted From: 211.26.146.221
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 04:48 am: |
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I too have a mare that should be about three months, this will only be her second foal, but last year when she was bred, she settled straight away. I noticed only yesterday that she was showing signs of heat. I have put her with my stallion, and so far he has been refused every time, so it may be possible that she is pregnant and still showing signs??? This is the stallions first year at stud, and i havent had him checked for fertility as yet, but i really hope that she is pregnant. I will have her checked if she still doesnt accept the stallion after this heat. |
Anonymous
Posted From: 202.92.102.220
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 10:04 pm: |
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I called the lady that i bought my mare from, and apparently my mares dam showed signs of heat while she was in foal every single time!! Just a bit of info i thought might be helpful!! |
Jenny Edstrom
Neonate
Username: Medicjen
Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 08:27 am: |
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I have a 19 year old paint mare. She has had several healthy foals for me. I always give her a year off because i don't like how much the foals takes out of her. It seems as if no matter how much i feed she still drops weight when the foal is nursing. Well anyway, i had her breed again this year. She was ultrasounded on may 13th and given an injection to make her release her egg. ( i am sorry i am not up on all the technical terms for it.) the vet said that if she was going to, she would get pregnant that time. Well she showed no signs of heat the first part of june when i expected her next heat cycle, however yesterday she was acting as if she was in a standing heat and was trying to get my other mare to mount her. I am so confused. Is it possible she is in foal? The local vets here can not ultra sound my mare. They stated they are not experianced enough to tell this earily and i would be waisting my money. I don't understand why she would be acting that way 6 weeks out from the breeding, but not her normal 3 week heat cycle if she was in foal.
thank you |
Jos
Board Administrator
Username: Jos
Post Number: 10171
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 10:17 am: |
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Around 10% of pregnant mares will continue to show estrus during pregnancy. Most although they show estrus will draw the line at the stallion mounting and/or breeding them, but a minority will even allow that. That action puts the pregnancy at risk, as if the penis penetrates the cervix, there will almost certainly be an abortion. It is therefore important for mares to be pregnancy checked using either preferably ultrasound at around 15 and 28 days (see the article on twinning for the significance of two checks) or palpation at around 30-35 days. It is also why it is generally not a good idea to have these mares turned out with a stallion or a gelding (some geldings can and will mount and breed a mare - even though they are fully castrated).
Your (Jenny Edstrom) veterinarians have shown admirable honesty in telling you their limitations with respect to pregnancy checking, but by now - 42 days - it should be fairly easy for them to identify the enlargement in the uterus that is the pregnancy. It will be around the size of a small orange. If they are still not comfortable with the idea of trying (and that's fine!) then you would be well advised to get another vet to check her, as you will need to know her pregnancy status so that you can use the correct immunizations for a pregnant mare, be on the watch for foaling next year, and so that you don't "lose" a year of foal production from this mare. |
Jenny Edstrom
Neonate
Username: Medicjen
Post Number: 2
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 10:32 am: |
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So do you suggest i have the mare palpated and see if she is in foal at this time? Is it possible that she is in foal and she is showing signs of heat anyway? She did have one faulse heat during a former pregnancy and i made the mistake of not feeding her properly for being pregnant. Both the mare and foal were fine in the end but it really did catch me off gaurd in the spring when she started to produce milk, and got HUGE. I agree that the vets are being very honest, i am just a little unsure what to do. This mare is really confusing me.
thanks again |
Jos
Board Administrator
Username: Jos
Post Number: 10172
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 10:53 am: |
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It would be preferable to have your mare palpated (or ultrasounded if that's available) at this time, yes. It will allow you to proceed forward with your plans to either treat her as a pregnant mare (i.e. immunize and feed accordingly), or rebreed if so desired.
If you do not have access to another vet that can do this for you, and your own vets are still not comfortable with the concept, you could ask them about the possibility of them checking the mare's cervix when she is displaying "heat". To do this, they would scrub up and prepare the mare as though for AI, and then - using a sterile insemination sleeve and sterile lube - insert their hand into the vagina. If the cervix is relaxed and a finger easily passed through (or into) it, then you have your answer - she's not pregnant. OTOH, if it is tight and firm, you're still not a whole lot further ahead, as some mares will have a cervix that remains firm even during estrus (it should of course be firm and tight if she is pregnant). Note that this cervical difference will only be present when the mare is in heat (estrus) or anestrus (i.e. typically winter), and will not be present in all mares, so palpation and/or ultrasound is still preferable.
You have gone past the point for dealing with twins (about 28 days at the latest), so lets hope that's not an issue!!! |
Jenny
Neonate
Username: Medicjen
Post Number: 3
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 12:41 pm: |
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On may 13th a vet ultra sounded my mare, said she should ovulate that day and gave her a shot to ensure she would because i was due to head out of state to get her that monday. She was breed that same day. That vet (in iowa) stated that there was no reason she would not become pregnant that time. Is it possible that the shot she was given is the reason she is haveing wierd hormonal things? If my understanding is correct there is no reason that the egg would not have been fertilized on may 13th or 14th? wouldn't she have shown sign of heat again the first part of June and not now? |
Jos
Board Administrator
Username: Jos
Post Number: 10176
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 05:52 pm: |
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Breeding and not confirming ovulation is often a recipe for disaster... mares can't read the same books that vets and breeders can, and don't always react or perform as predicted...
To say that "there was no reason she would not become pregnant that time" is a call I would not want to make based simply on the breeding time. Was there a pre-breeding work-up done on this mare? You've already indicated she wasn't evaluated post-breeding, so nobody knows if she had post-breeding uterine fluid... The list of possible causes for failure of pregnancy establishment (or maintenance) is huge! There is a lot more to establishing a pregnancy than breeding at the right time... 
The "shot" you mention to cause her to ovulate is probably hCG, and if so, no it would not interrupt the regularity of her subsequent cycle. If on the other hand she was given a product called "Ovuplant" (unlikely as it is not currently available in the US), then there could be a delay.
Your best bet is still to have her checked to see what is going on - you'll lose your mind playing "what if".... |
