Do you think she's pregnant?

[CrescentMinis]

My Annie was bred last April (would be due 3/14), but I had the vet (whom I love-love-love and has been treating minis for 20 years, so I think she knows her stuff) palpate (October) both the pregnant mares I bought last August, and she said Annie here was not pregnant. Yes, she is fat and has been the whole time I've had her, though she gets 1/2 the grain the others get, but I measured these 2 girls again and just wonder if the vet could've missed something? She has no bag, and also, if it makes a difference, she did have a filly last year who was born a little early and didn't survive because no one was attending and she apparently got too cold.

Annie 10/07 girth: 45" / widest part of belly 56.5" (she would've been 6 months along then)

Annie 02/08 girth: 45" / widest part of belly 61" (she would be 10 months along now)

Here's a picture from today:

Now for comparison, here is Sofie. The vet also palpated her and said she was definitely pregnant. She is a maiden mare and was pretty trim back in October. This foal is by Landry's Cowboy Del, by the way, and I am very excited about it!

Sofie 10/07 girth: 45" / widest part of belly 48" (she would've been 4 months along then)

Sofie 02/08 girth: 47" / widest part of belly 59.5" (she is 8 months along now)

Pic from today:

So what do you all think? I am new at this and looking to you experienced people for input.

Thank you!!

 

[MBhorses]

i will keep a close eye on her just in case.she looks like she could be bred.

let us know.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Hey Faithie!

Wow,,, she has quite the little belly there! How far along was she when she was palpated???If it was early on, it is sometimes pretty easy to miss it.

When you bring her in to eat or drink,, wait a couple minutes, then try hugging her with your palms flat against her belly in front of her bag. Wait a while, if she is 10 months along, you should feel something.The start running out of room soon though! Sometime it takes a few tries. But you will know when you feel it. Not all babies bounce around though. Good luck!

 

[Devon]

Id keep an eye on her

Shes pretty V shaped/dropped looking for hay/feed fat. Looks like a baby too me

 

[CrescentMinis]

Thank you so much for looking and letting me know more of what to look for.

Hey Kimmie....the palpating was done at 6 months along and I remember the vet saying she "could feel a small non-pregnant uterus." I'll give little miss Annie some hugs later and see if I can detect anything. By the way, I look forward to finally meeting you in person at the schooling clinic in 2 weeks!

If she does end up being in foal, I need to get cameras up and order my equi-page a lot sooner than I was going to (been coasting along taking my time thinking I have only Sofie to worry about in late May, and no one else).

I'll post later tonight if I can figure anything else out when I go out to the barn.

 

[CrescentMinis]

OK, I spent a little extra time out in the barn tonight talking to the horsies. Gave Annie the long bear hug and I didn't feel any movement, so if there's a baby, it was in a deep sleep tonight.

I'll watch her a little closer but I guess maybe that belly is just extra winter chub. OH!

Anyone have a mare palpated at 6 months along where the vet was wrong about the mare being empty?

 

[Minichick]

OK, I spent a little extra time out in the barn tonight talking to the horsies. Gave Annie the long bear hug and I didn't feel any movement, so if there's a baby, it was in a deep sleep tonight.

I'll watch her a little closer but I guess maybe that belly is just extra winter chub. OH!

Anyone have a mare palpated at 6 months along where the vet was wrong about the mare being empty?

Yes I had a big mare palpated in October (6 months along) and the vet said he could pick up the uterus and drop it, floppy, no foal! She was clipped and put back into hard work jumping, Xcountry etc. Five weeks of her due date I was taken ill and she was looked after by a friend. The mare was rugged naturally and no one could see what was going on. When I got back home and was taken to see her I asked to have her rugs off. Under there was a mare with a big belly and a few weeks later a very healthy foal. Good outcome in the end. The foal was named Wheelans Blunder as the vets sir name was Wheelan. He was very happy.

 

[CrescentMinis]

"Wheelan's Blunder"

funny! Thanks for sharing the info...I guess you can't be 100% sure!

 

[Windhaven]

Well I think she looks pregnant, but I do know that looks can be deceiving because I had a mare that looked pregnant and even got a belly and a bag with fluid. I had her ultra-sounded 3 times because I thought the vet was wrong. Everyone that saw her would ask when she was due. Well it turned out she was not pregnant.

I am again watching an older mare that looks like she could be pregnant. I have not felt the foal move yet though. So I will just have to play the waiting game with her because I have moved and the vets that I am using do not ultra-sound minis. OH! Said that I would have to take them to the state hospital to have that done.

She would be due mid May.

Some of these mares can sure keep you guessing.

Good luck and hope she is pregnant.

By the way I love what I can see of your barn.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Thanks Windhaven! My vet didn't want to ultrasound either.

The barn used to store 2 big motorcoach RVs before we bought this place last year. So we've built a couple of rows of stalls in there. It works for us!

 

[bfogg]

Expect a cute little bundle ! And i am going to say it is a colt!

Bonnie

 

[Becky]

I've had more than one mare palpated as open over the years who turned out to be in foal. I've never had an open mare palpated as being in foal! For what it's worth, she looks pg to me. I'd just keep an eye on her and check everyday for udder development.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Oh, now I thought of a question:

if she IS pregnant, she has not had her pneumabort vaccine series like Sofie has been getting. Do all mares usually receive those vaccines when in foal, or was that something we do for maiden mares to build immunity? See how green I am at this?

Edited to add:

Never mind about pneumabort....I researched and since we have no horses around us and I am not in contact with anyone's horses to carry any bugs home, I won't worry about it at this point.

BUT....... what about the other vaccines the vet would normally do at about 30 days before foaling? If she does not have a recent set of those, will that affect the foal's immune system adversely, or will mom still pass on the immunity she has from the last time she was vaccinated?

 

[backwoodsnanny]

If she were ours and we thought there was a chance that she could be PG then we would go ahead and have the pre foaling shots a month before she would supposedly deliver. If you do routine shots anyway she would need them eventually.

 

[CrescentMinis]

UPDATE: the vet came by yesterday to take a look, and she wanted to palpate Annie to check, because she is pretty confident she got an accurate palpation in October (that she was definitely open). This time, Annie turned into a bucking, rearing bronco and in spite of twitching and other efforts, it was impossible to check her internally. The vet thinks she must be getting a lot of grass to give her that belly. The grass is just starting to come up now and they are only on it a couple of hours a day, so I don't know about that.

Oh well, I guess we'll take our chances. The lady who I bought Annie from also thinks she is looking pregnant, so I just have to wait and see. No bagging up though, and she'd be due in the next 2-3 weeks.

I'll let you know if we get a foal of course, but it looks like maybe we won't have one from Annie this year.

 

[ontherisefarm]

Well, wether or not the vet was accurate you will know soon enough but with minis since they are small sometimes it is hard for a vet to be able to palpate completely back into the horn of the uterus.So foal could still be there and be missed. Either the colon is full or just plain can't reach it.Definitely more room in large mares as opposed to our minis. But of course you would think at 6 mos they wouldve been able to tell by uterine tone if by not actually feeling the fetus.. Anyway, goodluck and your horses look so nice and healthy....