Ask the Vet - How to tell if your horse is pregnant

In this excerpt from the April 2020 episode of Ask the Vet ( • Ask the Vet - Spirulin... ), Dr. Gray and SmartPaker Dan talk about how to tell if a mare is pregnant. Dr. Gray goes through the different methods your regular veterinarian has for detecting equine pregnancy, how a pregnancy early in a filly’s life affects their foal’s wellbeing (and their own), and why simply looking at the size and shape of the belly isn’t always a good predictor. Poor Newman!
Question answered in this video: I have a 2.5 year old from the BLM and she has been progressively getting round in the belly. But she doesn’t really seem fat, if that makes sense. I have suspicions she may be pregnant. Are there any signs that I could be looking for or anything at all I should do aside from just getting the vet out and doing a test? Ultimately that is what I will do. If she is pregnant, how does pregnancy effect a young horse? Is the process harder on them?
Additional reading/watching material mentioned in the video:
Horse Health Library Videos: www.smartpakequine.com/learn-...
Ask the Vet Blog: www.smartpakequine.com/blog/c...
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Happy learning and #haveagreatride.

[@Equestrianmommy]

I bought my horse from a lady who tried having her bred. She was told by her vet the pregnancy didn’t take. About a month after I got her, she was getting rounder and rounder and my girth wouldn’t fit. I kept saying she looks pregnant! Called the Vet to come and sure enough there was a cute little foal in there! The most amazing time for my family and for my children to be part of. And her foal who is now over a year old lives happily at our farm! What a blessing they both are!

[@Equestrianmommy]

Thank you! It was crazy! But good crazy!

[@ositaxems8597]

Thank you so much!
Update on the situation: she was seen by the vet the week we brought her in, but she was not exactly gentled at the time so we couldn’t do too much of an exam and the vet wasn’t too concerned about her appearance. She’s an attention loving domestic horse at this point lol so I had the vet back out and SHES NOT PREGNANT, thank god. She went through a growth spurt and went from looking fat and awkward to tall and lanky. Plus she had been eating sand. I’m not sure if it was the growth spurt or the psyllium, but she looks much healthier and not pregnant now. She also has access to the minerals she was looking for which has stopped the sand eating behavior. Thank you so much for taking the time to research and share your knowledge on the subject! Great information for anyone dealing with something similar. U guys are the best!

[@makena8535]

Thank you!

[@kristiwetsel5473]

Always have to check for twins to !

[@vincejenabe8465]

They are talking about pregnant female horse

[@Evelyn_equestrian]

Thank your for clarifying it wasn’t a male pregnant horse

[@bubbascoutdog]

Well, that was absolutely worthless!!!