March 2006

Pregnant Mare Red-Flag Signs

Changes can be normal for pregnancy or abnormal. It’s critical that you know how to recognize the difference.

Even experienced breeders can miss some of the signs of pregnancy problems. Be sure you know your mare well, and report any questionable changes to your vet.

Whether it’s your first foal or you’ve been in the business over 50 years, as the clock winds down toward foaling day, the anticipation rises. You wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t find yourself worrying about the mare and how awful it would be if something went wrong at the 11th hour. What would you do? How can you prevent this from happening to your mare?

Heavily pregnant mares tend to be subdued (or grouchy) anyway, and often don’t move around too much, so it can be difficult to tell if they’re feeling well. Having a system for monitoring them keeps you organized and makes the job much easier. Red flags…