Lost Foal

[secretlink]

I don't know if this post belongs her or in the helth section, but I will try here... I have a Thoroughbred mare that I bred to a Warmblood in September using AI/Frozen. She (Latin Light) is a maiden. She was confirmed in-foal with ultrasound at about 30 days and was not checked after that. A weak or so ago we had the vet out to see how things were looking, Light should have been about 5 months along, he checked her by palpation and said she was no longer in foal I told everyone that came within 10 feet of my about my disappointment. Many of them said to get a second opinion. My question is at 5 months wouldn't it be pretty obvious if she were pregnant by palpating her? What are the chances my vet is wrong? Should I bother with a second opinion? I was seriously bummed when I herd the news, but don't want to be grasping at straws... at least I will have my Taylor's Hope x Desert Warrior baby in a few weeks! Any advice would be appreciated.

[henthorn]

Zoe, ask your vet to explain to you the chances that palpation is adequate. Chances are that he is right. Same thing happened to my mare in reverse last year. Vivid Dreams was supposed to be 5 months pregnant, but didn't look it, so we had her palpated. The vet said she was still in foal. However, two months later she still didn't look pregnant, and by then she was definitely not in foal. Don't know when she resorbed the foal, whether before or after the first check. If in doubt, they could do an ultrasound.

[austique]

Zoe,

I don't want to get your hopes up, but somtimes maiden mares will not get really big with the first foal especially if they are recently retired from racing. This is mostly due to the muscle tone in the stomach. I agree with Henthorn, talk it over with your vet again and then if you really aren't satisfied ask for an ultrasound.

[aurora]

Depends on your vet. I went to a local TB auction where an older mare that had run out over $500K went through the sale and she sure did look preg. The sale announced that she was just checked and NOT in foal. The new owners bought her cheap and took her home, lo and behold she was pregnant.

[mary syers]

Not to get your hopes up--but, 5 months is the time when the foal is heavy enough to slip over the pelvic rim. You can't actually feel the foal or the bulge in the uterus. By hand you feel for the descend of the uterus over the rim and the weight of the uterus as you gently grasp the body and try to lift. Takes an experienced vet. I never try this, I let my friend with alot more experience do these exams. Maiden Tb mares being what they are, and as hard as they are to get a live foal out of, don't get too enthusiastic. But mistakes are made. Mary

[Kristie]

I'd have to agree and have her palpated again in another month or 2, or have her ultrasounded. It IS possible that the fetus is too far forward for the vet to feel. My mare's had a troubled pregnancy (and still looks as though she might lose it) and had her palpated at 6 months and vet had his arm up there so long I was sure she was empty, but he finally found viable foal. She was just carrying it really far forward, so there's still some hope yet that your mare isn't empty.

[secretlink]

Thank you all for all of your advice! I don't want to harbor false hope... but it sounds like maybe it would be worth having her rechecked. She did/does appear to be showing, but she was eating a bit more grain than normal. Should she be showing (plump belly slightly distended) at 5 months? Thanks again.
Zoe

[Intrinsic Worth]

At 5 months, the mare would not reabsorb the foal, she was miscarry it. It's pretty easy to recognize, the mare should have plenty of discharge coming out of her afterwards.

[mary syers]

Zoe,
Depends on the mare. We had an old paint mare--had 11 foals. Never showed until about a week before she foals. And I've had several that looked pregnant at two months and got worse from there. Let nature take its course. If you lost the foal, it was probably for good cause and there's always next year. Mary

[henthorn]

Today I asked my vet about whether my mare was probably abnormal when she was so large before aborting at seven months. He said every mare and pregnancy is different, and that contents of the intestine (both solid and gas) can cause some mares to appear further in the pregnancy than they really are. Of course, muscle tone, quality of elastic tissues, mare's bone structure, prior pregnancies, and bowel contents will be factors in apparent size, and the 7-9 month stage is when the foals are starting to grow in size to be the predominant content of the full belly.

[Jenarby]

I had my maiden mare check at 90 days and also at 100 days. Both times with ultrasound. Both times the vet came up with nothing. He said he didn't think she was pregnant but it would not hurt to treat her like she was. This wasn't good enough for me. So I drew blood and had it send for an estrone sulfate test. It came back in a week and she was VERY pregnant. Vet said the fetus must have dropped too low for him to find.

This was my mare at 5 months.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/j ... IGMAMA.jpg

This is 6 months.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/j ... ONTHS2.jpg

And this is one week before foaling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/j ... before.jpg

She really didn't get huge until about two weeks before foaling. So, you never know!


This is a neat link. I remember at certain times going to it and thinking....wow, she's got a Beagle in her belly!
http://www.uptownchex.com/fetaldevelopment.html

[secretlink]

Thanks again everyone for your continued info. Jenarby, very cute mare and thanks for the link.

[madelyn]

I just LOVE my vet; Bless her Heart, she is never wrong. Arms the thickness of a buggy whip, doesn't trust herself to palpate, always breaks out the ultrasound machine. I think, though, Jen's idea is best, just run the blood.

[Gizmo]

My QH mare was supposed to be pregnant (due March 9th). She sure looks pregnant....nice plump belly (my husband has come up with some new nicknames for her ). When palpation came up with nothing, Vet did an u/s to confirm it. Thinking back....there was a time this past Fall, that she was acting really strange out in the back pasture (very "out of sorts"). We searched, but couldn't find anything. My other two are fine (due March 9th and 10th).

Jenarby is right, have her blood run - if not for any other reason than your own peace of mind. Good luck!

~Gizmo~

[LSB]

Great link, Jenarby! Thanks for posting it.