Open mare with small udder...

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roxy's_mom

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Hello all! I bought this mare in May 2007 at the Greencastle sale. She was open when I bought her and haven't gotten her bred yet. I did see her in heat in July last year but that was the only time I noticed her in heat. The one time I was brushing her I noticed she had a small bag. So I started playing around with it and was able to get a watery, cloudy colored liquid from it. So when I was at my next show I asked a couple friends of mine what they thought and they both said keep an eye on her as she may be close to foaling. I never saw foal movement and could never feel anything when I would push on her belly. My one friend even checked my mare's udder and saw the same thing I did and tried to find a foal to and she couldn't find anything either. I was told just to keep and eye on her in case she does foal. Well needless to say I don't have a foal on the ground.

I asked my vet about my mare's udder when he was out in February and he told me that sometimes when a mare's in heat they will get a small udder on them. It has to do with their hormone level is what my vet told me and it wasn't anything to worry about. I didn't bother to check her this winter b/c most of the time mares aren't in heat in the winter. So this spring when I was brushing her I kept an eye on her udder for any signs of her coming in heat and sure enough she has the same thing she did last summer. The only thing is she's had this watery, cloudy liquid for almost three weeks! It's not dripping out of her udder but I can milk it out. It makes her look like a gelding from a distance b/c her teats are kind of filled out and depending on how she stands you can see her teats. I had a judge ask me if my horse was a mare, gelding, or stallion because of this, this was at my local show that I go to, the class is open to all sexes of minis.

What would cause her to have an udder for this long of a time period? The last foal she had was in 2004 that I'm aware of that was registered. A friend of mine told me that sometimes a mare will get an udder when she's really wanting to have a foal. Is this a possibility? I can't decide if I'm going to breed her or not this year b/c this same mare hada mild case of laminitis back in February and I'm still trying to get her walk without being really stiff in her front feet. I do have boots coming for her to help support her so she can walk better but I haven't gotten them yet.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to make sure that I had explained everything right. Thanks for any help!

Becky
 
Some mares that have had previous foals never dry up completely so continuously have a small udder and sometimes a liquid.. One of our gals is open this year, (last foal was last spring), and still has some udder with white liquid..
 
I had a 3 year old filly, that was never bred and had milk come from her.

I do believe just heat cycles I was told.

No, I would not breed if she has a problem with her front legs, the weight of carrying would not be wise. Give her another year than breed, once your vet & farrier gives the Ok
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what I'll do with her this year. I'm going to give her a couple more months and see what happens. I don't want a late summer baby due to the fact that, that's when I show her and my other horse and it's to warm here for a summer baby. If anyone else wants to add their opinion please do.

Becky
 
My 18 year old mare always have a small bag and you can express milk from her at anytime. She is bred every other year and still has milk when she is not in foal.

Carlene
 

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