How can i tell if my mare had a miscarriage?

Question

I have a quater horse mare that is due in 3 months(the vet confirmed the pregnancy with an ultrasound at 6 weeks), she has gotten a little bigger, but not as big as i would expect, im starting to think shes just fat because we have been feeding her more and riding her less....how can i tell the difference between pregnant and fat???? some times i think i feel the foal moving, but im not sure if its the foal or just her intestines or something...

Answer 1

Get your vet to check her over!

Is she a maiden mare (never had a foal before)?  If so, she may not get very big with her first foal.

We scanned all our mares at 18 days, 32 days and 40 days to confirm the pregnancy, but we are talking about Thoroughbreds so there is a lot more money involved!

Your vet will be able to tell if she is in foal either with a manual palpation (feeling her uterus) or with a scan.

Answer 2

If you are unsure and concerned it may be a good idea to have the vet out again and confirm either way---I don't know that a horse can, what they call, absorb the fetus at this late stage.  I would think if she had a miscarriage at this late stage, you would know, it would be like a still birth.  But , definitely check with your vet.

Check out the website, there is a lot of good information.

Answer 3

You should have your vet palp the mare again to see if she is still in foal.  There are a few other things that could make answering this question easier or give you a better idea.

1) Has the mare received her anti-abort shots (pneumabort K), they should get them at 5, 7 and 9 months of the term.

2) Is she a maiden mare.  Usually most mare don't start getting really big until the last 2 or 3 months, the foal does most of its growing then, where before is more developmental stuff.  But if she is a maiden she could not get big until the last month or even closer.  Usually the first foals are smaller, the mare will show larger in following years.

hope everything is ok, but I wouldhave your vet check her to make sure.