When do you consider a mare to be "in foal"

[J-Lu]

Just curious....When do you consider a mare to be "in foal"? Positive ultrasound at 13 days? 30 days? 60 days? 6 months? When she drops a live foal? :D Seriously...How common is it for a mare to lose a foal after the positive 15 day check or 30 day check or later? When would you consider your mare to be "in foal"? Thanks!!
J.

[Dressage_Diva333]

Well, I consider them "in foal" at the first ultrasound, 14-16 days. However, I don't really get confident until the 45 day ultrasound.

To put it in prospective, out of the 10 breeding's I've done, that have been positive at 16 days. Only one has disapeared by 25 days, the rest carried to term. *knocks on wood*

With my younger girls who've never had an issue, I'll admit to being overly confident at the 16 days ultrasound. I've got two mares who I pretty much "trust". I'm on pins and needles for the rest, until 45 days. Then I get a blood test done at 150 days, only because I'm paranoid LOL. I do have biopsies done on all of my mares, just so I kind of have an idea what we're working with... I also keep immaculate records on unterine tone, vet's notes, etc... that mare that lost the pregnancy between the 16 and 25 check this year is 46 days in foal, yesterday we saw the little guy (well, hopefully girl..) on the ultrasound and all looked well. Now we wait.

[Jesse'sMom]

I consider in foal when there is a heart beat.
not for me specifically,but i know alot of people who have had many many mares lose foals after their 14/16 day check.

[FriesianX]

Heart beat. Until then, it is just a mare with a blob...

[clint]

Heart beat. Until then, it is just a mare with a blob...

Yup, ditto that. My mare this year was checked in foal at 15 days, and yes I considered her in foal, but had lost it by 30. I'm a lot more confident about the pregnancy after the first 30 days, but technically she is "in foal" if there is a blob at the first check.

[VirginiaBred]

I will admit when I see the speck on the screen, my heart pumps a bit faster...........BUT that heartbeat does it for me.

[J-Lu]

Thanks, guys! The status of my mare's blob won't be able to be checked until another 2 weeks. Nerve-racking.

[Horsejudge]

There is only in foal or open. When ever you see something "alive" in there, she is in FOAL!

It's like pregnant or not. There is nothing in between.

[Home Again Farm]

In foal at first check. I am not confident until 60 days, though.

[gubbyz]

When she's in labor! :D

[hunterjumper22]

This is my mare's first and my first foal ever. I am nervous already. She took right away and is almost 4 months along. I hope everything goes fine now. I feel like I am always at the vet. Everything looks perfect right now.

[Coppers mom]

Well, with one of our mares, we consider her in foal if a speck of semen gets within 100 feet of her. That girl is FERTILE :lol:

The rest of them? They're in foal as soon as they're a blob, just because I get excited.

[J-Lu]

Thanks again, guys. The reason I asked the question was to gauge the spontaneus abortion rate/false positive/resorption rate in a population of otherwise healthy mares. Thus, do you get excited when you see "the blob" and consider that your horse is in foal or do you get excited when you see "the blob" but remain skeptical that the it will result in a foal until "X" days or visualization of heartbeat. It's what people consider that "x" to be that I'm interested in. I know breeding success depends on a million factors and that foal success depends on a million more. I've been around enough breeding operations to know that skepticism, joy, elation, disappointment and heartache go hand in hand with breeding.

Hunterjumper22, I've seen good times and bad times with breeding and foaling, but I never felt as sensitive to the whole process as I do now that I bred my wonderful beloved mare. She wasn't super easy to get in foal and now I'm a nervous wreck.

[EiRide]

Thanks again, guys. The reason I asked the question was to gauge the spontaneus abortion rate/false positive/resorption rate in a population of otherwise healthy mares. Thus, do you get excited when you see "the blob" and consider that your horse is in foal or do you get excited when you see "the blob" but remain skeptical that the it will result in a foal until "X" days or visualization of heartbeat. It's what people consider that "x" to be that I'm interested in.

She's in foal from the blob. From then on, I say she will have Hopeful [insert year foal expected] if the gods are willing and the crick don't rise.

I am a small potatoes, home bred for my own pleasure sort of once every chunk of years in my practice.

Mare One: TB, crossed to Cleveland Bay. '95 pregnancy, caught first breeding, 11 uneventful months, strapping healthy colt.

Mare One Part Deux: Repeat breeding several years later. First season, did not catch. Second season, in transition heat *forever*, then caught on first breeding. Carried to 5 1/2 months and aborted, placenta like crepe paper. Mare started to founder, scared the crap out of me, retired to pasture potato status. This was in December.

At this point, I was given a TB mare as a replacement mare, but then the stallion owner called with a terrific deal on a mare 5 months along to the stallion I was booked to; that was a 15 hand QH mare, no papers, but I had seen her two prior foals by the same stallion and would have gladly taken either home. So I bought Mare Two for less than it would cost me in vet fees to get the other mare settled even if all was perfect, gave the TB to the stallion owner. :-) Five uneventful months later she had her '99 filly a month early, strapping healthy foal, now my primary ride.

Mare Three: Appendix QH booked to RID. She took all summer to settle, BUT, I think what was going on what that she was getting in foal and then kicking it out to bring along another ovulation; the vet at the stallion owners kept saying "I think she's in foal but I'm not sure, maybe that's it but she's deep and it's hard to tell." That happened twice. Then she declared her really and for true in foal, she came home and went into season three days later, checked not in foal by my vet. We did a last hurrah of the season Hail Mary breeding in middle August, she checked in foal, and we put her on regumate. Eleven months later, healthy filly born. She had bright purple (I am not kidding, looked like kid's cough syrup) discharge which freaked me out in March, but, no troubles.

Mare Four: TB mare to RID, caught on second AI (my not regular vet from the practice missed the ovulation the first time--came out on a Saturday to breed her, said she was miles from ovulating and he would not bother to do it Sunday, call for semen Monday and breed her Tuesday. She had ovulated Sunday late or Monday early when my regular vet came to do her on Tuesday. Gggrrrr). 11 uneventful months and an easy foaling.

Mare Five, bought as riding horse, owner swore had not been exposed to stallion, aborted fetus in March, looked like a little filly should but very early and stillborn. Mare turned out to have a very very rare once in a breeding lifetime problem, very unlikely to happen to her again.

SO there is my small sample. Hope that is what you are looking for.

[J-Lu]

Thanks, Eileen, I'm even more of a nervous wreck now!! But yes, experiences like that remind me how much breeding is really rolling the dice...

[EiRide]

Thanks, Eileen, I'm even more of a nervous wreck now!! But yes, experiences like that remind me how much breeding is really rolling the dice...

Well, from my perspective I've lost one planned pregnancy out of five attempts, since we had no idea Baby was pregnant, were riding her and giving her no prenatal care (and who knows when that microbe was introduced, either--they were hauling her all over and trail riding her in mixed herds of strange horses, etc., stuff I would not do with a preggers mare. Ride yes, haul all over gods green earth, no).

I've had four lovely foals and would do it again in a heartbeat. Babies are FUN. And unlike many people, I count the pleasure of owning a horse from the time it shows up, not when I can start riding it.

[Home Again Farm]

J-Lu, most pregnancies tend to hold on for the duration. However, over the years (I just counted it up and now have over 30 foals on the ground, so have some statistics :eek::winkgrin:), I have had mares lose pregnancies between 30 and 60 days several times for no known reason. That is why I feel good when I see an embryo on the 1st ultrasound, but I don't feel really comfy until after a positive 60+ day check. :yes:

[trakmom]

My mare is close to 4 months (Aug 6th) with her 3d foal. Last foal was in 2008. She is beginning to look rolly-polly already which has me a little concerned as she is a 14.3 Arab mare, and she still has a lomg way to go. We've had a lot of rain and our pastues are lush (no fescue), and we haven't started to up her feed yet. She gets regular lunging. Should I be concerned?

[Laurierace]

I think the real question is when do you consider your mare SAFELY in foal? The answer to that one for me is never! I consider them in foal at the 16 day check and cross my fingers for every check we have following that. Inbetween I more or less forget about it. It does get a little less stressful later on when I can see the foal moving but we all know things can and do go wrong at any time.

[J-Lu]

Thanks, Mary Lou. I love statistics and facts. It helps me get over the "Omigod my horse is pregnant" moments. Lauriesrace, you hit the nail on the head. I've been around tons of pregnant and foaling horses but this was my former competition horse/great buddy and I feel so.... so... antsy. My friends can't imagine 11 months of me already.:winkgrin: