When can you hear a foals heartbeat while its in its dam?

Question

i have a quater horse mare that is about 3 months pregnant...i really want to hear the babies heartbeat for the first time!

Answer 1

you can see a heartbeat on the ultrasound machine between 30-45 days (we usually do a 16 day preg check, 30 for the hearbeat, follow up at 45, then just a rectal palp at 60).  As for hearing the hearbeat, never bothered to ask or look into it, but I think the mares gut sounds and the heartbeat would probably drown out the heartbeat of the embryo, you may just have to be patient for another 8 months to hear it.

Answer 2

I am not too sure at what stage in development the heart is present and starts beating, but I doubt very much that it is there by three months.  Ask your vet, but I am pretty sure you'd have to wait until at least 6 months before locating a heartbeat.

I've never known a vet listen to the foals heartbeat - they simply scan at 18 and 40 days after covering to confirm the pregnancy and then after that (as the embryo is too big to be scanned) they will perform a rectal exam.

Check with your vet he/she should be monitoring the mare through her pregnancy and should be able to tell you if it is possible to listen to the foals heartbeat.

Answer 3

Im not too sure about the hearbeat, but you can hear its little hooves kicking around in there a long little while into the pregnancy. Oh, and you do know horses concieve for eleven months before they give birth instead of 9 like humans?