Conference noted::equitation

    Sharon-
    
    I wouldn't worry as of yet.  In my experiance some form of edema
    is to be expected in pregnant mares.  Needless to say this varies
    from mare to mare.  I can't say that I have seen a mare that has
    has this problem in the front legs.  It is typical to see though
    in the belly area.  
    
    Since her due date is still almost a month of I would guess that
    she would foal early, but I have all but given up trying to predict
    delivery dates.  Right now we've got a mare that is 367 days and
    and counting.  I talked to the vet. yesterday about her(starting
    to get a little concerned) he responded by saying that if she wasn't
    in discomfort and we could see foal movement not to worry.
 
    He did make the comment that foal seem to be "cooking" longer this
    year.  Any comments folks?
    
    -John-  

    John,
    
    By the time you read this maybe your mare will have foaled... I
    know that although 340 days is the average gestation period, the
    normal range is between 310 and 370 days (lately I have read and
    re-read all my books on breeding).
    
    As to my mare, the vet came out and he thinks she will foal in 2
    weeks.  As to the swelling, it is probably a combination of 2 things.
    For one, she has some superficial cuts on her legs (I don't know
    how she got them) that I had cleaned up last Sunday.  She may also
    have bruising associated with the cuts.  The pressure from the baby
    may have made the swelling worse than it would have been otherwise.
    The swelling on her stomach is probably due to the foal alone.
    
    As it turns out, I have been guilty of "killing her with kindness",
    something I am normally quite careful to avoid.  I had her on too
    much protein, which may be aggravating the problem.  She is a 16
    hand TB, and I was feeding her 1 1/4 2-lb coffee cans of grain
    twice a day, along with grass hay, alfalfa cubes, and Calf Manna,
    and vitamins.  I have cut her back to 1/2 can twice daily, no Calf
    Manna, and light on the cubes.  I felt horrible about this, but my
    mare last year was undernourished (because we thought she had absorbed 
    the embryo), and I didn't want that to happen to this mare (the other mare
    recovered, on 6 cans of grain a day).
    
    She is also on bute and that has helped alot.  Her legs are puffy,
    but at least it doesn't look like she has elephantiasis anymore.
    
    Good luck with your mare - would like to hear about the baby!
    
    Sharon

    Sharon, does your mare get much exercise?  I inadvertantly left
    a pregnant mare in a stall for about five hours and she stocked
    up.  I had to walk her for what seemed like hours, but was probably
    an hour to get the swelling down.  She foaled that night.
    
    Also, I'm curious why your vet would ask you to cut back the grain
    so close to foaling.  My vet told me this year that research had
    proven that foals don't actually get the extra protein we've all
    been told to feed our term mares, so I can understand cutting the
    protein.  But, mares drop a lot of weight during lactation; I've
    always been told to increase the grain the last month.  Maybe you
    could cut the Calf Manna, which, if I remember, is about 22% protein.
    
    There was a recent case report in Equus about swelling under the
    belly -- March or February.  Or, it could have been in Modern Horse
    Breeding, same time period.
    
    Please let me know how your mare progresses.  They are certainly
    fascinating creatures!
    
    Merrie Aiken
    

    Merrie,
    
    My mare gets a fair amount to exercise - she has a stall that opens
    into a fairly large corral which she currently shares with a yearling
    filly.  She shares a fence line with my other 2 horses, and they
    tend to play.  However, I don't ride her (not because I don't think
    pregnant mares should be ridden, but she's off the track, and when
    I bought her had not been ridden for over 2 years; I'm too busy
    riding my other mare and working with the yearling).
    
    I was also curious about the cutting of grain, because I thought
    that you were supposed to gradually increase the ration during the
    last 3 months of pregnancy.  A week before this happened we had
    increased the Calf Manna from 1 scoop to 2 (gradually), as she
    was in her last month and I thought, time to help her out.  She
    is *not* overweight.  However, it appears that the protein got out
    of balance.  I have increased the hay some, but I think she's getting
    to the point where only so much fits in her stomach - she never
    finishes it.
    
    My vet said to wait until after the foal heat to increase the grain
    to 2 2-lb coffee cans of grain a day; I guess this reduces scours
    in the foal. (But - last year's foal did not develop this problem, and
    the mare was getting 6 cans grain daily, plus 1 1/2 pounds of Calf
    Manna, plus lots of alfalfa.  This mare was being ridden/lunged.)
    
    I guess each case is different.  She is doing much better; this
    morning her legs looked normal.  I just hope everything goes ok;
    breeding can be nerve-wracking!  Eleven months of hoping, yet you
    have no guarantees...

    Sharon, I think I'd ask for a second opinion from another vet. 
    Excess protein is usually passed as dark urine.  Alfalfa has high
    protein, but the calcium/phosphorus ratio is out of whack.
    
    Does your vet deal with horses/pregnant mares much?
    
    I don't want this to sound like my vet vs your vet, but I'd be really
    concerned with his advice.
    
    Let me know.
    Merrie

    I apologize!  I just re-read your note about cutting off the Calf
    Manna and reducing the alfalfa cubes. I should have read it over
    before I opened my big mouth.
    
    However, I still think cutting her grain (assuming you're giving
    her 10%) is a mistake.  When the foal is born and she lactates,
    she will lose a lot of weight.  Vet opinions I've read and heard
    all indicate that it's important to increase the grain in the last
    three months before foaling.  I've usually doubled the ration by
    the time the foal comes.  Then, I monitor her carefully.  If she
    begins to look ribby, I add more.
    
    My vet, who is a nutritionist, suggested that I limit alfalfa to
    one flake, along with timothy/grass hay.
    
    My mare also ran with the herd until the day she foaled.  SSShe
    had 30 acres to play on.  Granted, the very last day, she wasn't
    as anxious to run, but she enjoyed the exercise.  She still had
    edema under the belly, front to back in a line.  That went away
    within about a week after foaling, as I recall.
    
    Merrie    

    RE: 255.5, 255.6
    
    Merrie,
    
    Thanks for your input.  I really do trust my vet, although he is
    more of a "leg man" than a "mare man".  However, I do agree with
    you about the grain.  I have been gradually increasing it.  She
    is now up to 1 1/4 cans/day (total) and I will increase this to
    1 3/4.  I will wait to get her up to the full 4 cans/day until
    after the foal heat as recommended by my vet, however.  And I
    have cut the Calf Manna completely.  I just don't want her to get
    too thin.  She now has slight swelling on her belly, and her legs
    are back to normal even without the bute.
    
    By the way - the grain mix is 12% protein.

    Thanks again for the helpful advice.
    Sharon