This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Equine Reproduction » Pregnancy, Foaling, & Neonatal Care » Pregnant Mare Care and Nutrition »
  Discussion on In foal or not
Author Message
New Member:
cevans

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 12:09 pm:

Hello HA,

I have a 3 yr old Paint filly that we rescued in Oct. 2007. She was a rack of bones when we got her, weighing only 300 lbs at about 13 H. We were afraid that she wouldn't even survive the trailer ride home.

Now, 9 months later, she is a very healthy, happy, 'plump' girl.

My question is, about 1 month ago her teats began to become enlarged...never any pain, she likes when I scratch her and has always acted with her norm.

We do not know if she was bred, before we got her, she was turned out in a big field of mixed horses and cows...there may have been a young colt..and I say 'may' very cautiously...the previous owners say that she wasn't bred...but then again, they starved her.

please see the pics for the details!

Thanks for your time,

Cindy


Member:
scooter

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 3:29 pm:

Hi cindy and welcome to HA. No way can anyone tell by looking at the pics if your mare is bred. A vet is the only one that could probably tell you for sure. Sometime their teats get bigger when they put on weight.

From your time-line though she should be REAL close to foaling, IF she was bred in SEPT right before you got her. Does she look PG??

At this stage of the game she should be pretty heavy in foal. If you think it possible, have your vet out to check her, if she is she will need some pre-foaling care SOON. Vaccs. worming ect. Let us know what you find out, would be a nice surprise

Member:
paardex

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 3:34 pm:

Ditto to Diane and I would love to see picture of the whole lady
Jos
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 6:00 pm:

Not to be weird or anything...,but they are Spotless!!! .good job with the cleaning :-)

great job with the rescue too!
Member:
lhenning

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 10:05 pm:

You have done a great thing taking this mare in and bringing her back from death's door. Please post a picture of her whole self. (Sorry, can't help with an answer to your question.)

Linda
Member:
lindas

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 - 10:44 pm:

I would definitely get her checked for pregnancy as soon as possible. Looks like she is "bagging up" to me. Late pregnancy is the most obvious cause of this degree of mammary development, and with that history, who knows?
Linda
New Member:
cevans

Posted on Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 - 5:26 pm:

Hello all,

I appreciate your advice. Up to about 3 days ago a clear liquid could easily be 'milked' from her teats, she didnt mind me doing it. The other day when I was checking the status of her teats I was unable to get any liquid from them. Also they felt different, not as firm, and she didnt care for me to squeeze them. (she still enjoyed the scratches). Her teats are clean.

So, i am beginning to think that she is not in foal, as the only indication of it was the mammary development, which has appeared to decrease.

Could horses have a false pregnacy, or have the desire to have a foal, perhaps like a dog or even human is possible of doing?

On another note, here are some pics of her. I dont have a lot of pics of when we first got her on the computer. But I will describe. When we got her in October, she had a 'winter coat' (prob from the year before!) that was about 2 inches long, she was infested with bots and mites. we had to body clip her to remove the bots and mites! She had barb wire cuts on her neck and hind leg, abscesses on all 4 hooves, and probably never seem a tube of wormer.

My husband and I picked her up and put her on the trailer (hence the name of Daisy, from Driving ms. Daisy). It took us a week to convince her to eat grain, she would just smell it and walk away. She wouldnt touch her yummy hay.

We are go glad to have her, she is a very special gal.

image/jpg
daisy.jpg (45.1 k)
image/jpg
little daisy.jpg (8.4 k)
New Member:
cevans

Posted on Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 - 5:41 pm:

Heres another, her new pasture mate put some bite marks on her :-( THey have since sorted things out.

image/jpg
dasiy side.jpg (39.1 k)
Member:
juliem

Posted on Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 - 6:29 pm:

Love to see these success stories. Just yesterday I sold my girl that I got in April. Here's a before and after:

The guy who bought her is tickled to death and she likes him too!
Member:
pbauer

Posted on Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 - 11:06 pm:

Dear Julie,


I can see you took great care of your filly...a benchmark of professional excellence, and a sincere,strong,and well deserved recommendation from all of us ( I'm sure) on HA to many others!


Paul and I would be very happy with her, too! My husband said, "It doesn't even look like the same horse!"


Sincerely,
Tonya
Member:
pbauer

Posted on Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 - 11:12 pm:

Dear Cindy,


Many, Many Thanks For Adopting a Rescue, Too!!


Blessings,
Tonya
Member:
juliem

Posted on Sunday, Aug 10, 2008 - 12:02 am:

Well Tonya and Paul--no thanks necessary. It was my pleasure. I loved working with her and I really hated to see her go, but that was the goal--to get her a home where she'd be loved, appreciated and well cared for and never see the inside of an auction ring! Everyone was surprised (including me) how pretty she turned out! And she has a wonderful disposition and really tries to please. Thanks go to Dr. O for the articles about worming and feeding debilitated horses. For my part, I was blessed to have her!
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC