a weight/ pregnant mare question

laceyfreckle

laceyfreckle

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2007
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Essex/Suffolk
I have been a little concerned lately about lacey's weight but have put it to the back of my mind as me being paranoid and having baby's on the brain.

Now i had the saddler out today (see tack and saddlery section for the outcome on that:() but....

she did pick something up on which has bothered me for a while as well...........lacey is a VERY odd shape. I mean she is ribby as in you can see her ribs and has a bit of muscle wastage over her withers/shoulders which is how she came back from being on loan but more worringly she has a huge belly which makes her look almost fat:confused: she has been wormed regularly for the past year or so on a worming plan that is changed yearly. Also she hasn't had a season since she has come back off loan nearly three months ago. I put that down to maybe she had had a winter stop although she has never done so before and thought her being underweight might have stopped them. When you stand behind her you can see her belly either side but you can also see most of and feel all of her ribs and the bits of her spine. it has suggested she may be in foal but if she was surely she wouldn't be showing just two months in?

vet is over next month for her second vaccination jab but i don't want to waste mymoney on a blood test if it culd all be in my mind/just her as she is in poorer condition

this isn't a very good pic but this is how she looks from the front (and behind)
EBAY301.jpg


her general shape (doesn't show her ribs very well but she is ribby as in they can be seen all the time)
EBAY273.jpg
 
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Maybe just a grass belly, does she look any different once shes been exercised?
 
no, looks the same after exercise....do you mean when she is in regular work? i can post a pic of her in good condition last summer when in regular work if it helps?
 
I dont think she looks that bad atal, she will probably pick up once the spring grass comes.
 
vieshot said:
I dont think she looks that bad atal, she will probably pick up once the spring grass comes.
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hoping but thats where the problem is..... she's a funny shape rather then under/overweight. if she puts much more weight on she will look huge/fat but with ribs only just covered:confused:

her shape is one reason why the saddle fitter said she couldn't really fit her:confused:

prob me just worrying though
 
I think there is a chance she's preggers as when on loan there was a section a colt and she is a floozy :D so how do you fancy a herd of four :p

As for what she looks like never seen a pregnant mare so will leave that to the breeders online ;)
 
shandy84 said:
I think there is a chance she's preggers as when on loan there was a section a colt and she is a floozy :D so how do you fancy a herd of four :p

As for what she looks like never seen a pregnant mare so will leave that to the breeders online ;)
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are you saying my mare's a bit on the loose side:mad::p how dare you lol.

(the red light on her head is a fashion symbol so she tells me;):p)

seriously it is worring me though.
 
I bought a very skinny little pony from the sales a few years back. As soon as we got her home I just 'felt' she was in foal. Vet confirmed this, previous owners denied all knowledge and so it was a waiting game! She finally produced and we then worked out she'd only been around 8 weeks when we got her. I still don't really know why I thought she was, have v little experience of pregnant mares, so maybe they can show that early and more so if they are on the thin side?
 
When did she go on loan? Do you know if she has had a foal before? Will help in assessing her shape, when a mare is in later stages of gestation their ribs "spring" and do expand considerably to make way for the foal to do most of it's growing. They don't always get an enormous belly though - Puzzle goes more out than she does down - very often the belly will drop a few weeks before foaling to make way for the foal to turn around as labour starts. I would get a scan done to make sure - if she is preggers and showing her ribs it can cause post natal laminitis as she will be giving everything to foal and not keeping enough for herself afterwards, also will make sure she has enough to produce good quality milk. Better to be safe than sorry in these circumstances!
 
soz - just re-read your post! If she is three months having come back off loan she may well be starting to show now - is her belly usually that wide? it may be worth having a chat with the peeps she went on loan to and asking how much work she was in as she could just be slacking off in general.
 
bitsnpieces said:
soz - just re-read your post! If she is three months having come back off loan she may well be starting to show now - is her belly usually that wide? it may be worth having a chat with the peeps she went on loan to and asking how much work she was in as she could just be slacking off in general.
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thank for replying :)
no her belly isn't usually that wide although she is deep girthed. she normally puts weight on her crest, face and bum rather then belly. can't really chat to the people she went on loan to as i took her back (with a big argument and back up) because they wern't looking after her properly. they were jumping her round big jumps (for her height) and she came back with a sore back and was very spooky (went as a 'childsafe' pony) i suspect she was in moderate pony club type work. she was in light work when she went but looks more of a funny shape now.

bitsnpieces said:
When did she go on loan? Do you know if she has had a foal before? Will help in assessing her shape, when a mare is in later stages of gestation their ribs "spring" and do expand considerably to make way for the foal to do most of it's growing. They don't always get an enormous belly though - Puzzle goes more out than she does down - very often the belly will drop a few weeks before foaling to make way for the foal to turn around as labour starts. I would get a scan done to make sure - if she is preggers and showing her ribs it can cause post natal laminitis as she will be giving everything to foal and not keeping enough for herself afterwards, also will make sure she has enough to produce good quality milk. Better to be safe than sorry in these circumstances!
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Lacey went on loan in January until february. She has had two foals before one when she was 4/5yrs old and one later on. she was a 'easy foaler' with both from what i've been told. the thing i find bizarre is her ribs she's normally a good doer that i have trouble getting weight off:eek: if you look at her from behind if anything she looks overweight (more on the right hand side) but then if you move to the side or above her she looks underweight as all her ribs and back show:confused: i know her last season was in january (she was in season the day she went on loan) and i know she hasn't had one since (she was back here before her next season was due) but as i say i don't know if older mares/unfit mares skip seasons like people do? she is very noticeable when in season normally. I am going to ask my vet to have a look when he comes out at beginning of may to do her vaccination. (are pregnant mares ok to have their vaccinations as normal?) i just wanted to check when they show as i didn't want to think she's showing a bit if they don't til much later on and find i was worrying about what could be nothing. i can say for definite i would never ever loan her out again though!

if it helps here is a pic of her last summer in light work living out 24/7
EBAY742.jpg


and the day after she came back from loan
EBAY090.jpg


this is after she had been back a month in no work at all (stabled at night out during the day)
EBAY126.jpg
 
just to update and say i *think* Lacey's come into season today!!!! albeit three months late! but i;m really happy that she has and is definitely back to her normal self............looks like its just going to be work and time that sorts her bodyshape and topline back out!:)
 
good god!!! no wonder you took her back?? You obviously keep her beautifully and they managed to make a right royal mess!! It could also have been due to the colder temperature etc sometimes can make mares "switch off" (I wish someone would tell Puzzle that though!) I would say it's more than likely that she's just been run into the ground a bit then if she's been jumped alot and generally not been ridden correctly etc then she may also have muscle wastage which means she would drop her belly.
 
bitsnpieces said:
good god!!! no wonder you took her back?? You obviously keep her beautifully and they managed to make a right royal mess!! It could also have been due to the colder temperature etc sometimes can make mares "switch off" (I wish someone would tell Puzzle that though!) I would say it's more than likely that she's just been run into the ground a bit then if she's been jumped alot and generally not been ridden correctly etc then she may also have muscle wastage which means she would drop her belly.
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yes i am thinking that as well. I only thing i can think of with lack of seasons was she dropped even more weight rapidly when she first got home i think because she was so cold for the clip, she hasn't ever stopped having seasons over winter before but maybe this year she got too cold and that stopped her coming into season? Only thing i can think of.

At least she's getting back to normal now, and i don't have to worry too much. she'll be back in gentle regular work this week and i'm hoping that will change her shape for the better.

as for her clip, well at least its growing out now and she no longer has black bits (apart from inside of her legs and her ear tips!) which is good. she's casting her normal coat now too so hopefully will look more even soon.

i'm assuming bic sales went up when lace went on loan lol.
 
I heard something once. Just running it past you as I really dont have the expertise to know if this is true or not...:confused:

I was once told that the "Typical Laminitic" pony looked, cresty, fat on the arse yet ribby....:confused:

Is this what Lacey looks like?? Maybe it could be a case that the weight is going onto her crest and arse first and then will go onto covering her ribs last...:confused:
 
She sounds like a classic Cushings' shape. Which will be the 'laminitic look' NN mentioned above - cushing ponies are very very prone to lamintis.

It may well be the start of cushings for her - they don't always have all the symptoms in the right order. It would be well worth having her blood tested.

As for being pregnant - whats the max length of time? If she could only be a max of 3months along then I would be suprised if she was showing yet - foal's tennis ball sized! If however she could be as much as 6months then, yes, she could be showing to that extent now.
 
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