Is it possible to tell whether a horse is pregnant without a vet?

[Pebblestone]

Is it possible to tell whether a horse is pregnant without a vet?
Also, how long into a horses pregnancy should you stop riding it?

[Willem vd Mescht]

Back when I got Frosty, she been with a Stallion and she was so fat that I thought she was pregnant. Not wanting to take any chances, I got the vet out and he draw blood and had it tested. Turned out that she wasn't pregnant. 

As far as I know there are three ways to determine if a mare is pregnant.

• The most commonly used method is to do a blood test.
• The more reliable method is to do an ultrasound
• Then it is also possible to stick your hand into the womb and feel for a foetus. Now this might sound like something horse owners can do themselves, DON'T... There is a high degree of risk involved. From infection to injuring the foetus. I believe even a vet will try to avoid this method as far as possible.

So to answer your question, I don't think so, unless the pregnancy is well on its way and the mare's udder start swelling and milk is produced. On the other hand, the owner who know his/her horse really well, might be able to pick it up from the horses behaviour that something is up.

As for riding a pregnant mare. If she is fit (emphasis on fit) and healthy one could ride her gently up to 8 or 9 months into the pregnancy and the exercise will probably do her good. However if there is even the slightest doubt in your mind, then rather don't ride her and let her rest.

[Pebblestone]

Actually I wanted to know because my dad's friend still has his ponies and he said i could ride the biggest one but I am pretty sure she is pregnant. Her belly is really big but her owner insists that she is not pregnant. He hasn't got a vet to test her blood though.
I ride her bareback sometimes and i wonderd whether i should stop now that I think she's getting a baby. I guess i'll go on riding her gently.

[Willem vd Mescht]

I also know of someone who had a horse that the child(7) were riding (only gently, nothing serious) and one day they arrived and to their surprise the horse had a foal. So, one can't really tell, but if the owner say it is ok and you just keep an eye on her for signs of pain or discomfort, I'm sure it will be fine.

[Willem vd Mescht]

By the way, the ponies you are talking about now, is it Bree and Dynamite?

[Pebblestone]

No( ) it's some other small ponies he always had.The biggest one (the mare i spoke about) is about the right size for me so I ride her sometimes. But she obviously can't go half as fast as the horses and it takes out some of the fun of riding. Besides I don't have that special bond with her the way I had with the horses(Bree and Dynamite).

[Presence]

Ask the owner if there was a stallion near them at any stage? Or if the nabours have stallions or colts.

And also ponies may look like they are pregnant, because they get very fat with little food, it can also be that she have had a few foals before.

[Pebblestone]

Yes, two of the ponies she is living with are stallions and she has had some foals before. Right now she has a big one(i've no idea how old it is).

[Willem vd Mescht]

In that case I think it is very likely that she is pregnant, these ponies seem to just get the smell of a stallion and then they get pregnant. (Not really, but you get the idea  )

[Pebblestone]

Well i rather hope that she is not pregnant. I love foals but there are already enough ponies and if she is getting a foal I won't be able to ride her.
Btw her name is CC. I know the first C stands for Catstone but I forgot what the other C stands for 

[Adel]

I can add that a horse was bought for the riding school here in Riversdale....and one morning she had a foal! She was not fat and nobody noticed an udder. 3 months prior to that she was ridden about 70km over 3 days, we just did not know that she was pregnant.

[Pebblestone]

Well, it turned out that she wasn't pregnant after all...