Is it possible to miss a foal with palpatation

Question
My mare is a 23 yr old Tb who has produced a number of foals. She has always been a very poor doer and always looks a bit thin though her coat is shiny and she is otherwise healthy. She does not have a very enlarged abdomen. I have not specifically bred her but do have a stallion in the yard. She has bagged up, has a slightly enlarged vulva with a white mucous discharge. On palpitation she had a follicle on the right ovary and a large amount of liquid in the uterus but the vet could not feel a foal. Is it possible to miss a foal at this late stage or is this just a false pregnancy,

Answer
Dear Jenny

Your vet would have to be more than a poor diagnostician to miss a foal this late in the spring after a mare has bagged up.  Far more likely than a "false pregnancy", your mare may have a hormone imbalance or a uterine infection that is causing the discharge. It isn't unheard of for old broodmares to develop a bag when not pregnant.

Lynne Curtis Gudes
"Common sense isn't."