pregnant mare kicked in flank area

Question
QUESTION: My quarter horse mare is 2 months pregnant and was just kicked in the belly/flank/upper back leg area by another horse. The skin is broken and was bleeding. It appears the hoof grazed the under belly pretty good and than made good contact on the inside of the upper back leg, just near the flank. Should I worry about losing the foal at this early in her pregnancy?

Thank you.

ANSWER: Yes. You should have a vet come out and check her out with Ultrasound. My vet has always told me that while getting a mre pregnant is an accomplishment, the real miracle is getting them to carry one full term without complications. Oh yeah, keep her  away from that horse that kicked her. Best of luck with the new foal.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I took her in for an ultrasound and everthing looks fine. Thank you. Got another question not related to breeding. I have 2 mares. One I just got and the other I've had for 8 years. They love each other through the fence but I cannot put them in the same pasture. They will go at it like crazy. I'm afraid one of them is going to get seriously hurt. I like to trailer to our cabin and ride in the mountains. I loaded one horse and the other refused to load. So, I pulled her out and loaded the other mare. Once she was loaded I went to load the other and the one in the trailer went nuts, kicking the back of the trailer, as if she were kicking at the other horse. I thought she was going to have a broken leg! Have you ever experienced this? If so, do you have some advice for loading and pasturing these two dominate mares together. I have an old 2 horse trailer. Thanks for any help.

Answer
I am so glad she is ok and the baby is good. I raise Arabians and they are naturally claustropobic. They go crazy like you are explaining. I had a similar problem a few years ago. I do not think she thinks she was kicking another mare, she was kicking to get out.  you might try loading her and unloading her over and over for a week or so, and be sure and reward her if she does behave, but do not involve the other horse. Then you can see if she is having trailer issues or if it is a competitive or jealousy issue.

Sometimes it helps if you open the escape door in front if you have one. Sometimes this helps because the horse can see in front and does not feel trapped. I ended up selling my 2 horse and bought a six horse gooseneck with 3 large seperate stalls. It is open on the sides and the horses can see all outside and around.  I have not had a problem with it.  

Remember, horses are normally pasture animals and hate being closed in.  I also recommend always have another person there to help when you load and unload. As you know, it only takes a split second for an accident. Also, do you put hay bags inside before you load them. Sometimes it takes their mind off the perceived danger. Let me know if it works, but only with a buddy assisting. Brian
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