Ultrasound Question

[Candice]

We bred one mare this year. At 20 days post breeding she was ultrasounded and Doc found nothing. I normally don't ultrasound that early but he was here for something else so I had him check her. She has not been back into heat. My other mares are cycling constantly. I do plan to have her checked again hopefully next month, but Doc is pretty confident that she is not in foal. Any thoughts??

 

[Charlotte]

Yep, just happened. Mare ultrasounded around 20 days as open (and our vet is VERY good with seldom a mistake) Never came back in heat. Ultrasounded at 55 days and very much I.F.! YEA!

Charlotte

 

[topnotchminis]

My mare was checked by ultrasound at 5 or 6 months and the vet said she wasn't bred. We took her back a few months later to a different vet, and she was very far along.

 

[nnadams]

Absolutely possible for the vet to miss! I just had this problem. My vet ultrasounded my mare and told me she was not pregnant. A month ago this same mare started looking very pregnant. I caught some of her urine and tested it with a WeeFoal preg test. She tested positive 83 days after the vet said she was not pregnant. This test is not recommended to use until the mare is 120 days along because there would not be enough hormone for the test to detect. If this mare got bred the day we came home (not likely) I would have done this preg test over a month before I was supposed to and the test should not have detected enough hormone. I called my vet who then conceded that she could have been wrong! Mare was most likely pregnant when she was ultrasounded.

 

[WLS]

In 2007, our excellent Vet had ultra sounded our mare Nicky NOT in foal in mid August. All winter I was suspicious she could be in foal, and sure enough, she started to develop an udder in late March and our little Chico arrived on April 13th. A very nice surprise.!!! So ultra sounds are never 100%.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

A single ultrasound isn't very useful... its only a snapshot. In order to say that a mare is definately open I'd have two or three ultrasounds done. Small embryos aren't always easy to find! Even if a pregnancy is detected I'd want to look at it a few days later to make sure its healthy and growing.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I had one detected at 11days.....Vet said at the time that, at this early, it is only possible to tell for sure if you actually see something.

If you don't, it does not mean the mare is not pregnant.

Since I am always there, looking at the screen, I can't see what difference the number of pictures would make...I thought that was how everyone did it??

I am assuming that what I am paying for is the Vet's opinion, as well, so again, the number of pictures is irrelevant.

Do some Vets charge by the number of pictures taken, or am I missing the point???

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Are you refering to my post? If so, when I say "ultrasound" I mean one session... until the embryo becomes too big to move, it migrates around the uterous. Normally I do a 12 day, 16 day, and 21 day ultrasound, if all are "positive". If they are negative, I'll look every day for two or three days. If nothing is found each time then they are most likely open. If the embryo is hiding it can be very difficult to find, so giving the mare even a half hour to an hour between ultrasounds can give the embryo time to move into a more favorable viewing position. But the vet isn't going to wait an hour, so usually they'll just come back in a day or two for a second ultrasound.

So in that situation, you ARE paying for each ultrasound... not each picture, but each session.

 

[palsminihorses]

Like in Charlotte's case, my vet is very good. But last May I had one of our mares ultra-sounded. He didn't see an embryo and told me that she wasn't in foal. The mare never came back into heat all summer long........and by the looks of her, I suspect that she is, indeed, in foal! So yes, even good vets can miss one now and then!

Pam C.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I had a vet (who I considered good) miss a twin every single time she/he ultrasounded one paticular mare for a whole year... she/he examined this mare almost 20 times... missed it every time. It certainly is possible, however unlikely!

 

[Candice]

WOW!! Congratulations to all of you on your "surprises". Guess I better get Doc back out here for another ultrasound.

 

[ontherisefarm]

alot of times if the embryo is way up in the horn of the uterus they can't see it because minis are so small it is hard to reach that far. So mistakes can be made..

 

[Candice]

I understand that. It also doesn't help that they are "free floating" at that time too.