Serving while pregnant

[Taya]

Hi

I have a mare that was served, then less than a month later was served by a different stallion.

I had no idea they would accept a stallion again if they were pregnant. Found that out on this forum (thanks!)

She is in foal but the vet isnt sure exactly how far along, as its less than a month between servings.

Is there a good chance she is in foal to the first stallion or is it more likely the second.

She will be monitered closely regardless and dna will be done on the foal. Just wondering what the odds are

Thanks

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

She may or may not have been pregnant from the first breeding. If she was pregnant, and was bred a second time, then she could have aborted the foal and now be open. If she was open after the first stallion, and bred by the second, she could be pregnant by the second stallion. So, she could be pregnant by the first or second stallion, or may be open.

Hows that for a roundabout answer?!

 

[Taya]

lol

Ok so she is definately pregnant has been confirmed now by a different vet (and shes a whale lol)

Do most mares abort when served whilst pregnant. Also why is it due to bacteria etc??

Thanks!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Although some mares will accept service whilst in foal it is far more likely, given the time scale, that your mare was not in foal the first time and simply returned in heat and was covered naturally by the second stallion.

It is never good policy to turn a bred mare out with a stallion that has not bred her as it is instinctive for a stallion to attempt to breed a new mare in his herd, sometimes to the point of "raping" her and aborting the foal she is carrying.

 

[Taya]

My goodness!

Thanks for that Rabbitsfizz we are hoping she is in foal to the 2nd stallion.

She is happy running out with the other pregnant girls now (no stallions at my place)

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

It is very rare for a stallion to "rape" a mare... one of the most dangerous thing is a female threatened by a male with sexual "abuse"... many female animals will end up killing the male. While I have seen a few papers document out of heat matings they are very uncommon.

The mare has the biggest chance of aborting due to the foreign material (semen) being injected into the sterile enviroment of the uterous. Stallions can ejaculate at 35mph, this has the potential to get into all but the tightest cervixes.

 

[Riverdance]

When a mare re-absorbs her foal or aborts, it will take longer then the next heat cycle to come into heat. Say she got pregnant on the first breeding, she would not have come into heat in less than a month. So chances are, she did not get pregnant by the first stallion.

When a mare aborts or re-absorbs, it takes her system a while for her hormones to come back to normal, so she will not come into heat right away. Many times a mare will get in foal, then re-absorb a month or two down the line, then take another month or two before she is receptive again.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

If a mare is less than 50 days pregnant she will come back into heat immediately, her cycle will be the same as if she wasn't pregnant. (ie she'll go back into heat a week after her CL stops producing progesterone, which will happen within a few days of an abortion.) There is no time needed to level out hormones. If your mare is so far along as to have endometrial cups develope, those are the next step in maternal recignition (the process by which a mare realizes she's pregnant). If those cups form it will take several months for her to realize she's not pregnant and by then usually the breeding season is over.

 

[Taya]

Thanks for the replies !!

Most of the replies have been in the scenario that she would have aborted (absorbed??) if she was in foal to the first stallion. Is this usually the case, that they abort if bred whilst pregnant?

Im assuming the most likely scenario is what rabbit mentioned. But have read (on here) lots of situations where mares that are quite far along accept a stallion. So am I right that thinking because of the time scale between mating that if she was in foal to stallion #1 then it was very early on (if she was) and she would have lost it due to that.

Still puts me at Nathans first post of either one haha

Sorry im a little confused lol

Thanks again

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

She will not ALWAYS abort if bred, it depends on the mechanics of how it happened and if anything made it past the cervix. It is very possible that she didn't take to the first stallion and was in heat for the next cycle after that when the second stallion got her.

Mares do not absorb or resorb fetuses... they can only do that in the first 5ish days. After that it is aborted... many, many breeders and vets say that a mare who aborted "absorbed" the pregnancy... no she didn't. It is impossible

A mare can not break down and absorb the tissue. It goes out the same way the sperm got in, through the cervix, out the vagina, and into the shavings. But, they are very, very, VERY rarely found by the owner/stall cleaner, so the mare is just said to have lost it!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I had a mare this year who exhibited normal heat at the beginning of the year.

I bred her in hand and she exhibited normal symptoms for the first three breedings then very abruptly decided the stallion was a Gigolo and she was having nothing to do with him at all, my Goodness!!! What sort of a horse do you think I am?????

I recorded the whole sequence in my diary at the time, so I know exactly how she acted.

I had assumed she had missed this year, she stood normally at first.

She produced a normal, very tall, Bay filly six weeks later!!!

As Nathan says horses do not "re-absorb" but it is a common term for pre-16 week abortion, where signs are hardly ever seen.

 

[shelly]

I had a mare this year who exhibited normal heat at the beginning of the year.I bred her in hand and she exhibited normal symptoms for the first three breedings then very abruptly decided the stallion was a Gigolo and she was having nothing to do with him at all, my Goodness!!! What sort of a horse do you think I am?????

I recorded the whole sequence in my diary at the time, so I know exactly how she acted.

I had assumed she had missed this year, she stood normally at first.

She produced a normal, very tall, Bay filly six weeks later!!!

As Nathan says horses do not "re-absorb" but it is a common term for pre-16 week abortion, where signs are hardly ever seen.

Rabbitsfizz,

I'm sorry, but am I missing something here? You are saying that your 10 1/2 month pregnant mare stood and was bred 3 times by a stallion, then had a filly born 6 weeks later with no problems?

 

[Taya]

Wow rabbit what a keen horse lol glad to hear she had a healthy foal

Nathan, thanks I always enjoy reading your posts on breeding they are very informative!

I have worked out serving dates and think its more likely scenario 2 but will be watching her earlier anyway just to make sure in case she surprises me

Thankyou all for your replies I appreciate it.