How To Check a Mare for Pregnancy

There is more light in the spring.A mare comes into heat every 3 weeks during the spring and summer.If you have a breeding mare that comes into contact with a stallion during her heat cycle, you may want to check to see if she is pregnant.The time a horse carries a foal is 11 months, and mares do not begin to look round in the stomach until the last 3 months of pregnancy.Instructions for checking mares for pregnancies can be found in this guideline.

Step 1: The mare's behavior around stallions should be checked.

If a mare is suspected of being pregnant, she can be brought into contact with a stallion fourteen days later to see if she behaves like a pregnant woman.If the mare is pregnant, she will likely refuse the advances of the stallion and not show her rear to him as she would during heat.

Step 2: There are signs of heat in a breeding mare.

During their heat cycles, some mares raise their tails, open and close their lips, and squat to squirt urine or mucus, in addition to becoming generally difficult.The mare is not pregnant if she shows these behaviors 21 days later.

Step 3: A transrectal palpation can be performed by a veterinarians.

A transrectal palpation can be performed 16 to 19 days after the mare has been with a stallion.The vet places his or her hand in the mare's rectum to check the uterus.The size and shape of her uterus and the swellings on her ovaries are some of the indications.

Step 4: Determine if the mare is pregnant with the help of the vet.

The vet has to insert a probe into the mare's rectum to take pictures of the fetus.They might be able to determine the sex at 55 to 70 days after the baby is born.Sound waves can be used to create a picture of the uterus and to watch the heartbeat of a fetus.It is the most reliable method of determining if a mare is pregnant.

Step 5: Have your horse have a blood test.

A pregnant horse can be checked for hormones.This is useful when the rectum is too small for a physical evaluation or when there is no chemical method to determine when a mare is pregnant.A vet will take a blood sample.The blood sample will be sent to a laboratory by the vet.40 to 100 days after your mare has been with a stallion, you can test the level of pregnant mare gonadotropin.The PMSG test can give inaccurate results if your mare lost a fetus.100 days after the breeding, analyze the level of oestrone sulphate.If the fetus is aborted, oestrone sulfate levels will go back to normal.

Step 6: You should give your breeding mare a urine test.

Oestrone sulphate can be found in the urine of a pregnant mare.A home test can be used to perform a urine test.You can get a home pregnancy testing kit.After they have been with a stallion, you can test your breeding mare's urine.Use a knife to cut a 1 gallon or 2 liter liquid container in half.The bottom is the best place to get your mare's urine.To analyze your mare's urine, follow the directions on the pregnancy test kit.It takes 10 minutes to get the results.

Step 7: The results of the pregnancy test should be confirmed.

If you use chemical-based tests to determine if your mare is pregnant, it's important to have another test done by a vet to make sure the foal doesn't slip the foetus.A positive result from a chemical-based test should be confirmed by a vet.

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