[TrueColoursFarm]

Who has experienced a false pregnancy with their mare?

A client bred her mare to GG last year and she was confirmed in foal at the 16 or 17 day mark, and then again at 60 days.

Throughout the spring she kept saying "My mare doesnt look like she is in foal. I wonder if she lost it?" and then she started to get quite rotund, she started to bag up, milk veins came in and she thought "okay - I was wrong. She IS still in foal!"

Her due date was the end of May and about 2-3 weeks ago, she lost her bag, the milk veins disappeared and that was that. No other mare on her property is in foal. And there is no chance she had it out in the field either ...

She has 2 other mares and they have been cycling through the spring. This one - nothing. Now we are wondering if the false pregnancy has fooled her system into thinking she really WAS in foal and it has shut down for the year???

Has anyone gone through this before? Is there something the mare needs to kick start her system once again? Might she cycle on her own or is she going to need some help?

Thanks as always!

[bay_blnd jmpr07]

My boss had this happen last spring. She had a pali pinto mini bred and confirmed in foal pretty much. Didn't go into heat. She started getting bigger. Bagging up. But nothing was happening when it got to her due date. Then one day she lost her round shape and bag. Had the vet out to see if something was wrong and was confirmed no baby...psuedopregnancy.

She came into heat later in the summer.

[shell]

Several years ago my husband's Arabian mare did this to us. Finally at 13 months along, bagged up and fat as a house we called the vet. She was empty. No foal at all. We did other tests and a biopsy and she had a class 'C' something, I forgot what. Anyway, it meant she could not get pregnant without a lot of medical help. We decided to just leave her be and enjoy her without a foal. She is 25 now. I would have loved to have a foal out of her, but ho well.

[PaintedHorses]

We had the this happen 2yrs ago. mare was checked in foal and when she was getting closer to due date got rounder and started bagging up. I could even get milk out. I was checking her milk and waiting and waiting until I finally called the vet and he palpated her and she was empty.

[Rumonek]

I never had this happen with a horse, but one of my dogs had 3 false pregnancies! Milk and everything!

[Spotted Mustang]

That's interesting. I have never had experience with a mare having a false pregnancy before.