My Mare is Possibly Pregnant.
- Thread starter Pitter Patter
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Pitter Patter
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Come on Rosie!!!
Pitter Patter
Well-Known Member
Still no changes with my girls....but she does look a little more "pregnant" if that makes any sense? LOL
Is there any chance your big mare would be producing colostrum?Hopefully! But I’m currently having a freak out and on the phone with the vet as I just found fescue in my “fescue free” hay
On page 17
Pitter Patter
Well-Known Member
Still going back and forth on whether or not Pepper is pregnant 
Snickers doesn't look much like she is, but the movements are pretty obvious. Their udders haven't changed much since last time, so i will spare you all those pics again! I really need to know opinions please! My vet hasn't answered my calls and he's the only large animal vet in the region at the moment. He usually does so he must be overwhelmed or sick 
. Hopefully he calls yet tonight or tomorrow.
Pepper is in photos 1,2,4. # 3 is Snickers. In all fairness, Pepper has gained a lot of weight this summer. She's dominant AND a total food hog. They were all taken this evening. *Just got a call from vet! He will be out next Wednesday evening. I asked him if he has ultrasound to check for pregnancy and he says he prefers to palpate but to do that he needs to medicate. When I asked him if the medication would hurt a fetus he said not get ahead of myself. He also wants to vaccinate. All this invasiveness makes me nervous for the mares and any possible babies. Any advice? Vet says it won't hurt them. I don't think he has much mini experience but he is an equine vet as his specialty.
Snickers doesn't look much like she is, but the movements are pretty obvious. Their udders haven't changed much since last time, so i will spare you all those pics again! I really need to know opinions please! My vet hasn't answered my calls and he's the only large animal vet in the region at the moment. He usually does so he must be overwhelmed or sick . Hopefully he calls yet tonight or tomorrow.Pepper is in photos 1,2,4. # 3 is Snickers. In all fairness, Pepper has gained a lot of weight this summer. She's dominant AND a total food hog. They were all taken this evening. *Just got a call from vet! He will be out next Wednesday evening. I asked him if he has ultrasound to check for pregnancy and he says he prefers to palpate but to do that he needs to medicate. When I asked him if the medication would hurt a fetus he said not get ahead of myself. He also wants to vaccinate. All this invasiveness makes me nervous for the mares and any possible babies. Any advice? Vet says it won't hurt them. I don't think he has much mini experience but he is an equine vet as his specialty.
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Snickers really doesn't look pregnant and never has but the movement your seeing is the answer there, they don't have to look pregnant to be pregnant. It's just another way to make you crazy
. Pepper doesn't look very fat to me. No fat pads beside her tail, her belly hangs down more than out and has gotten lower, she looks like she has cover over her ribs but she should. I really do think she's pregnant from the difference in the pictures and I think you said you saw movement the other day?
. Pepper doesn't look very fat to me. No fat pads beside her tail, her belly hangs down more than out and has gotten lower, she looks like she has cover over her ribs but she should. I really do think she's pregnant from the difference in the pictures and I think you said you saw movement the other day?No idea if Roxy is producing colostrum or not, it’s white, not very sticky if that means anything?
The vet said to take her off of it right now (which I did as soon as I saw it), and I’m feeding her hay cubes as the safest option. I’ve just been told to watch her very closely and have some colostrum on hand just in case.
The vet said to take her off of it right now (which I did as soon as I saw it), and I’m feeding her hay cubes as the safest option. I’ve just been told to watch her very closely and have some colostrum on hand just in case.
What a nightmare!! Did the vet give you any colostrum? At least you can get milk from Roxy if you need it short-term. If you milk her a bit it will keep her going if you think you're going to need it. Hopefully Rosie will start an udder soon and you can relax, some at least.
I know, as if I wasn’t panicking enough now this gets thrown into the mix! She said they don’t have any on hand but she’s pretty sure the farm store in town does, so at least there’s that. I’ll be going in there tomorrow to get some to be on the safe side. Yes I’m really hoping that it’s more to do with her “not being quite ready” rather than the fescue. She is not happy that I took her hay net away, but I’m splitting up the hay cubes into multiple feeds so she doesn’t get bored. I told her that if she’s not really pregnant then I’m really sorry for all of this! Here’s some pics from tonight. I cut the top of the vulva picture off as she just had a rather loose poop and some was still hanging out
(I held her tail to the side rather than lifted it up though, as per Elizabeth’s instructions 
) Her hair is growing back in odd clumps, longer in the places where it didn’t quite get clipped as short as the rest - I thought she was getting fat pads but no, it’s just thicker areas of hair. I’m having to get more hands on to feel differences as it’s harder to tell just by looking with her coat growing in.Attachments
Pitter Patter
Well-Known Member
I think Rosie and Pepper look quite similar belly wise, not that that necessarily means much, but still.
Still going back and forth on whether or not Pepper is pregnant
How big are Pepper and Snickers again? I personally wouldn’t want the vet going internal - unless he’s a really tiny guy/your girls are large minis, I don’t know how safe that would be? My vet is sort of an average sized woman and she wouldn’t even go in Rosie to clear out the feces for an ultrasound so as not to do any damage - she just slowly put the probe in and worked with what view she could get, which yes it would have been nicer to be able to get a full picture, but definitely the safety of the mare comes first.Still going back and forth on whether or not Pepper is pregnant
I agree, I wouldn't palpate or do an internal ultrasound just to get a definite answer if there wasn't something that had to be checked. Izzy is 33/34 inches and the vet didn't even want to try when I got her and didn't know if she was pregnant, said to just wait and see. I know mares who have been tranqued while pregnant and everything was fine but I'd be nervous, it sedates the foal as well. YES vaccinate(in my opinion). Izzy didn't have any shots in the last 5 years and I was worried about that and about vaccinating in case she had a reaction. I talked to my vet when he was here doing everyone and he said it was only an issue if the mare had a high temp as a reaction and he'd never had that happen. Tilly got everything and then a booster a month(by chance) before foaling which is recommended for the colostrum to protect the foal best. When I've had a reaction from shots it has always been the west nile which is seperate here from the 4 way. I would do tetanus even if you don't want to do anything else, it's very safe and they are exposed to tetanus 24/7. Izzy had all her shots at the same time not knowing if she's in foal or not and she hasn't come back into season so if she is it didn't bother anything.
Poor Rosie. Are you soaking the hay cubes? The worst choak I've ever had was from dry hay cubes. I don't see much more than hair in her udder shot but the others look good.
Poor Rosie
. Are you soaking the hay cubes? The worst choak I've ever had was from dry hay cubes. I don't see much more than hair in her udder shot but the others look good.
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I am - the first feeding I gave to her I didn’t, I just broke them up until they were fully crumbled but since the second feeding I have been soaking them.Poor Rosie
The hair is growing back way too quickly! I’m going to have to clip an area back there.
Pitter Patter
Well-Known Member
Snickers is 34" and Pepper is 31". I think I will have him work with our four dogs, Cobb gelding, and others before moving on to the minis. By then maybe he will be too tired to do anything else but look at the minis and maybe vaccinate. He can be a bit pushy sometimes. Unfortunately, he is the only available. He usually knows his stuff but could improve in his manners! Thanks everyone for the advice!!
Yeah I definitely wouldn’t be entertaining the idea of him palpating - to put it into perspective, Rosie is 30 inches and palpation was ruled out instantly. Even if he is pushy, don’t let him do something you’re not comfortable with.
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