Symptoms of a Pregnant Horse

Question
We have a stud and a mare.  We think our mare may be pregnant.  Symptoms now are heavy stomach and eyes looking glazed over and sleepy looking all the time.  How can we tell if she is pregnant?  What obvious symptoms do we look for.  She is approximately 9 years old and the Tennessee Walker is about 3 years old.  Please let us know.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Olivia,

Honestly, there are no obvious outward physical signs or symptoms of pregnancy in a horse until late in the pregnancy.

If your 3 year old stud and your mare have been allowed to run together, chances are pretty good that she is probably pregnant.

Most mares will not exhibit a heavy looking belly until approximately 7 or 8 months along and some hardly look pregnant at all.  At about the time you do notice a larger than normal looking belly, you should also be able to feel the foal moving low in the belly.  Later on, between 9-10 months, you can usually see the foal moving in the flank area of the mare and the movement becomes more frequent.

Approximately 4-8 weeks prior to the mare having the baby, her udder will begin to change, getting larger as it prepares to fill with milk.

Did you ever notice your mare not coming into heat any more throughout the summer months?  That would be the first sign of a possible pregnancy, but does not always mean they are definitely pregnant.

Glazed over eyes and looking sleepy all the time is not a normal sign of pregnancy, especially for a 9 year old mare.

You're not going to know if your mare is pregnant without a vet exam until you see or feel a foal moving, or if her udder begins to fill.  I wish there were early physical signs of pregnancy in a horse, it would save all of us breeders a lot of money on vet exams to confirm pregnancy!

Best of luck,
Sandy