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Originally Posted by IkesLittleHope  I had an ultrasound on mine after I got her. She was at 60 days and the vet said there was only one fetus. But now, I've been reading about various foaling problems online and in a foaling book, and seeing/reading here about unexpected complications like twins and breech presentation. Do any of you have late term ultrasounds to check on these things? Or would it even matter at this stage if you knew? |
Late term ultrasounds can be done to check the status of the placenta, as well, to some degree, the health and well being of the fetus. However, because of the sheer size of the fetus, if there are indeed twins, it can be extremely difficult to identify one fetus from another unless you just serendipitously cross over the heart of both fetuses and can "landmark" where you are so that you're SURE you're not viewing the same fetus twice.
Unless I have a problem and suspect something like placentitis, I don't do late term ultrasounds. If indeed you have twins, most of those will abort and hopefully, before term. You do NOT want to attempt to save a twin pregnancy, but allow the abortion to occur naturally. By foaling out twins full term, you run the very significant risk of not only losing the foals, but losing your mare as well. Obviously, the absolute best plan when ever possible, is to have your mare checked at around day 14 post ovulation, again before day 30 and we like to do a third pregnancy check between 45 and 60 days. Be sure you have your veterinarian scan the entire uterus thoroughly to be sure that there aren't twins. Do not just merely confirm that your mare is pregnant. You want to also confirm that there is just a singleton pregnancy!
Good luck!
Kathy ST.Martin
Equine Reproduction Short Courses
http://www.equine-reproduction.com
03-02-2008, 06:54 AM
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