Signs that a mare is pregnant?

[NickelsChram]

There is a 13h pony mare at my farm were I board my horses. We just got a new boarder who's pony is in with the mare. We realized the mare was chunky esp around her belly but she didn't look pregnant to us.She has been there for a bit less than a year and she does not have a lot of back round info. The new boarder went out to get her gelding and looked at her and said that she swears she saw something kick in the mares belly and said she looks pregnant. Me and my mom thought about it and it is not entirely impossible for her to be pregnant. She is fat as a tick though she is getting barley any grain and this is the fattest she has been since moving to the farm. If she was bred right before she was rescued her due date would be coming soon. She isn't my horse so i don't always pay a lot of attention to her but we feed her once every week and her pen is right next to the main barn and I don't really remember ever seeing her go into heat this year .The gelding she lives with would probably have tried to mount her or payed special attention to her since he seems to have retained a lot of studdish behavior and he knew every time the other mare he used to be with came into heat. I realize thats not rock solid proof but put everything together and its a bit suspicious. I feed her tomorrow and im going to check to see if she has any bag starting and im going to start looking at her bum and see if she relaxes over the week and feel for the baby. But is there a best/good time of day when the baby is more likely to kick or move around? should i try to see if i could gently try to get some milk or something from her? if i try to get milk form her and i do get a little does that mean she is more than likely pregnant? our vet is coming out very soon for my horse and im gonna tell the owner she should get looked at to make sure. is there anything else i should look for to sugest that shes pregnant? thanks

 

[Matt73]

Sorry...just reading this quickly. I could feel movement with the three foals I've had here at at least 6 months on (with this last one, I felt him from 5 months). Very very active movement at 8+ months; I'm always surprised when people aren't sure (even though I know that every mare/fetus is different). Normally, mares will start bagging up within 6 weeks of foaling.

 

[cassie]

I find that my mares foal is most active while suzie is eating breakfast but she gets hard feed so that's a bit different I have also felt it move when she has been drinking some mares will have a small bag without being pregnant n I have heard can even have a small amount of milk not sure how true the milk thing is though hmm can you take some pics I take pics every fue days so I can see the changes. Tummy drop bag increase vulva relaxing behind shot n it also makes a really good record got if she was ever to be put in foal again...

Because she us 13hh maybe try n see If the vet can palpate the mare to make sure there is a foal... Minis are really hard but because she is a fair bit bigger the vet might have a chance at feeling it Please keep us updated with how you go??

 

[lucky lodge]

I agree with cassie and photos would be a great help

 

[NickelsChram]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to start taking pics today but I cant post them on here because shes not my mare. But ill take pictures as often as I can and compare them. I know her owners and I have permission to handle her but her owners are not very experienced, so it would be best if I was wrong and she wasn't pregnant. But the only reason were not sure is because shes not supposed to be bred and this is just a hunch but a possible one. She came from a rescue case where I think she was seized along with other horses. Her and her gelding companion moved into our barn as soon as they were rescued and they were adopted by a lady and her sister who board minis there. We have no idea if she was with a stallion before she came and we haven't noticed her looking pregnant because we see her almost every day and thought she was fat. It took a fresh pair of eyes from a new boarder to bring this up. But she easily could have come from a breeding farm and been exposed to a stallion. Shes a sweet mare but shes scared to death of people, she's getting better and lets us halter her and pet her. but if I make any move towards her hind end she goes into a full out gallop to get way because she thinks im going to hit her even though shes never been hit since she came. So we will see how picture taking goes.

 

[Jill]

If truly something was seen kicking, that is a pretty valid sign. A vet check or pregnancy test are the best bets, so that's good you've got the vet coming out.

For you or others, some of the signs I've seen in some of our mares are:

• newly pregnant mares acting studdish and even mounting mares who are in heat
• a previously not very affectionate mare being more affectionate to me or doing more social grooming w/ their paddock mates than normal
• with many mares, you cannot see a pregnant "shape" until about the last 3mos

Good luck with your potential mom-to-be

 

[Eagle]

For you or others, some of the signs I've seen in some of our mares are:

• newly pregnant mares acting studdish and even mounting mares who are in heat
• a previously not very affectionate mare being more affectionate to me or doing more social grooming w/ their paddock mates than normal
• with many mares, you cannot see a pregnant "shape" until about the last 3mos

Well said Jill, I always forget about these signs as they happen at the beginning.

 

[Mareish Mom]

If your vet will be there anyway it shouldn't cost very much to have him/her palpate the mare if the owner agrees. I would say, if you are suspicious that she is pregnant when you really check her out, encourage the owner to take advantage of the fact you are already paying a farm call for your vet to come and have her palpated. 13 hands is more than big enough to do so and it's the only really sure way to know (except a baby actually coming out!)

 

[NickelsChram]

I checked on the mare the other day, and were leaning towards she has a bad hay belly. She is super fat though but she isn't any bigger than a fat gelding that's there and he looks more pregnant than she does. I felt her belly at dinner time and it is really really weird. Sometimes it looked and sorta felt like something might be moving around in there but it didn't really feel like a foal. its really hard to describe. She doesn't have any bag but i took a pic so I can compare next time I look. I'm gonna keep checking on her though.